Tap into the power of the newest member of Microsoft’s Office suite. Learn to use InfoPath’s robust set of tools to capture information that’s locked away in document-based forms. Quickly create forms and data-gathering applications that use XML to separate form and content. This raw information can then be integrated into back-end systems, providing an end-to-end solution for data capture in the enterprise.

* Get ready for some down-and-dirty hackin’! Over 200 serious hacks readers can use to force Windows XP to do it their way, written in the ExtremeTech no-holds-barred style
* Sinchak doesn’t waste time tweaking Movie Maker or Instant Messenger-these hacks are heavy-duty, detailed instructions for squeezing every drop of power from Windows XP and maximizing speed, appearance, and security
* Not for the faint of heart! This book is written for users who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, risk voiding their warranties, take total control of the task bar, uninstall programs that are supposedly permanent, and beef up boot speed
* Mines gems like unlocking hidden settings, customizing boot screens, supercharging online and program launch speed, maximizing the file system and RAM, and dumping hated features for good
* Written by the creator of TweakXP.com, a site considered Mecca for Windows hackers and trusted by more than ten million Windows XP users worldwide
* Includes a hacker’s dream CD-ROM with a set of ready-to-install hacks, theme creation tools, custom boot screens, “undo” files that help the reader tinker with Windows XP’s registry, and a whole lot more

* This is the “user manual” that didn’t come with any of the 30 million GPS receivers currently in use, showing readers how to modify, tweak, and hack their GPS to take it to new levels!
* Crazy-cool modifications include exploiting secret keycodes, revealing hidden features, building power cords and cables, hacking the battery and antenna, protecting a GPS from impact and falls, making a screen protector, and solar-powering a GPS
* Potential power users will take the function and performance of their GPS to a whole new level by hacking into the firmware and hacking into a PC connection with a GPS
* Fear not! Any potentially dangerous mod (to the device) is clearly labeled, with precautions listed that should be taken
* Game time! Readers can check out GPS games, check into hacking geocaching, and even use a GPS as a metal detector

Fuzzy sets were for a long time not accepted by the AI community. Now they have become highly evolved and their techniques are well established. This book will teach the reader how to construct a fuzzy expert system to solve real-world problems. After a general discussion of expert systems, the basic fuzzy math required is presented first, requiring little more math background than high-school algebra. This book will fill a void in the market because although there are many books on expert systems, none devote more than a few pages to the notion of fuzzy sets and their applications in this domain. Therefore their use in this book is timely and should be well received.

The book is designed as a text and has ample problems with solutions, a solutions manual and an accompanying program on our ftp site. Coverage is accessible to practitioners and academic readers alike.

Ajax burst onto the Web development scene by offering highly interactive, desktop-like Web applications that can be deployed through any modern Web browser without the need for special plug-ins. Ajax is built on existing Web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and it is used in conjunction with your favorite server-side language. Foundations of Ajax explains how to combine these technologies effectively to implement Ajax into your new or existing Web applications. Like you, we are developers who are “in the trenches,” tasked with building Web-enabled applications that provide real value to our customers. As the Web continues to grow, the demand for more expressive and engaging interfaces will continue to increase.

Much of the early hype surrounding Ajax centered on its use by Internet powerhouses such as Google and Amazon. However, just because the initial forays into Ajax were pioneered by leading software development firms doesn’t mean your application wouldn’t also benefit from these techniques. You already know how to develop Web applications, so this book uses specific, focused examples to teach the Ajax tools and techniques you’ll need to bring your applications to life. Armed with this book and your existing development expertise, you too will be able to apply Ajax techniques to your application to enrich the end user’s experience.

When we first saw the potential of Ajax, we knew we had to start leveraging it for our own applications. Along the way we’ve learned some hard-earned knowledge that we thought needed to be shared with the rest of the development community. With this book you’ll be able to easily extend your own applications with Ajax and have fun while doing it. We hope that someday we’ll be reading about your great Ajax-enabled application!

* Worldwide telecom spending was over $4 trillion in 2004, and virtually all 12 million businesses in the U.S. buy phone and other telecom services
* Our book shows people at small and medium-sized businesses how to make sense of telecom lingo and get the best deals
* Includes an overview of the major players in the telecom industry and an easy-to-understand explanation of the existing telecom infrastructure
* Helps people pinpoint the telecom services best suited to their business needs, understand billing, and troubleshoot problems
* Covers emerging industry trends, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and how they can help businesses cut costs

Microsoft Windows XP may be the latest in a popular family of operating systems, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. However, the designers of Windows XP have built enough flexibility into their product and provided users with a sufficiently large toolkit to overcome most shortcomings. In Windows XP Annoyances David Karp reveals his ideas about how to use Windows XP most effectively, for maximum fun and productivity and as little aggravation as possible. If you’re comfortable working with Windows XP (or any of its recent predecessors) but find certain aspects of it, well, annoying, you’ll find this book to your liking. Karp guides his readers through potentially risky procedures, such as editing the Registry and adjusting hardware device drivers, with skill and precision.

The author’s tone is to the point and professional without being dry, without any of the phony, forced humor that appears in a lot of operating-system books. Though he inexplicably ignores the Windows XP Power Toys–some very handy utilities you can get from Microsoft’s Web site–he does a great job of handling important questions. Case in point, the important issue of which files can be deleted to free up disk space, and which you shouldn’t touch even though they look like pointless garbage. Similarly useful attention goes to the question of which background processes can be safely halted, and which are important. There’s fine coverage of scripting with the Windows Script Host (WSH), as well

An unparalleled learning tool and guide to error correction coding

Error correction coding techniques allow the detection and correction of errors occurring during the transmission of data in digital communication systems. These techniques are nearly universally employed in modern communication systems, and are thus an important component of the modern information economy.

Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms provides a comprehensive introduction to both the theoretical and practical aspects of error correction coding, with a presentation suitable for a wide variety of audiences, including graduate students in electrical engineering, mathematics, or computer science. The pedagogy is arranged so that the mathematical concepts are presented incrementally, followed immediately by applications to coding. A large number of exercises expand and deepen students’ understanding. A unique feature of the book is a set of programming laboratories, supplemented with over 250 programs and functions on an associated Web site, which provides hands-on experience and a better understanding of the material. These laboratories lead students through the implementation and evaluation of Hamming codes, CRC codes, BCH and R-S codes, convolutional codes, turbo codes, and LDPC codes.

This text offers both “classical” coding theory—such as Hamming, BCH, Reed-Solomon, Reed-Muller, and convolutional codes—as well as modern codes and decoding methods, including turbo codes, LDPC codes, repeat-accumulate codes, space time codes, factor graphs, soft-decision decoding, Guruswami-Sudan decoding, EXIT charts, and iterative decoding. Theoretical complements on performance and bounds are presented. Coding is also put into its communications and information theoretic context and connections are drawn to public key cryptosystems.

Ideal as a classroom resource and a professional reference, this thorough guide will benefit electrical and computer engineers, mathematicians, students, researchers, and scientists.

· Hardware/Software Partitioning
· Cross-Platform Development
· Firmware Debugging
· Performance Analysis
· Testing & Integration

Get into embedded systems programming with a clear understanding of the development cycle and the specialized aspects of writing and testing software in this environment. Learn how to apply your development skills to new software and hardware tools you’ll need to work effectively in this cross-development environment.

Learn the design considerations unique to embedded systems, a few of which include:

· Processor selection for optimal cost, system performance, and testability
· Software failure, the need for testing, and the use of the watchdog timer
· Writing code that directly manipulates the device hardware
· Code placement and memory space limitations
· Parallel HW/SW development and the hazards of system integration
· The need for dedicated debugging circuitry
· Tool requirements and the implications of tool intrusion

You get the key methods and technologies for each phase of the development process: specification, partition, design, integration, validation, and maintenance and upgrade. With these you will be able to:

· Appreciate the consequences of early design decisions
· Anticipate the potential pitfalls you may encounter in this new environment
· Make more effective use of embedded systems tools
· Survive the challenges in the parallel development process

And you will be prepared for the challenges of integrating your untested software with untested hardware by effectively using logic analyzers and ICEs (Integrated Circuit Emulators) in basic debugging and test coverage measurement.

Writing robust enterprise applications presents a special challenge for developers, but Microsoft has addressed that challenge with the free, downloadable Enterprise Library for the .NET Framework.

Enterprise Library is a collection of application blocks and guidance documents that together provide functionality common to enterprise applications; each application block includes full source code. Lacking in the guidance provided by Microsoft is an overall roadmap to the process of using the application blocks. Effective Use of Microsoft Enterprise Library is that roadmap.

Microsoft application development lead architect Len Fenster explains exactly how to build applications using Enterprise Library application blocks. Fenster covers all seven application blocks as implemented for .NET Framework 1.1, shows how to develop and use a new application block, and explains how Enterprise Library is changing for .NET Framework 2.0.

Readers will learn

* How the Configuration Application Block is designed and can be used at runtime to easily read and write configuration data
* How the Configuration Application Block works at design time for all blocks
* How to use the Data Access Block to create a portable data layer
* How to use the Exception Handling Application Block to implement a policy-driven, application-wide exception handling system
* How to use the Logging and Instrumentation Application Block to log and instrument messages independent of the message destination
* How to add authentication, authorization, role membership, security cache, and profile membership features to an application with the Security Application Block
* How to use the Cryptography Application Block to add functionality to encrypt and decrypt data and create and compare hashes
* How to build your own application block and providers that “snap” right into Enterprise Library

Whether you plan to extend Enterprise Library for your organization, or just use the existing application blocks to add functionality to your architecture in a consistent, extensible, integrated way, this book will guide you through the complexities and help you find a clear path to success.