Books, Music and Movies

Announcing our book on Computer Password Security!

Book cover - Computer Security PasswordWe are proud to announce that the geeks, yours truly – Doug and Khalid, have written and published their very first book. We saw a great need for a single source of compiled information and advice that the average computer user could follow to improve and secure their online accounts and passwords.

Being in the IT and information security field, this is a subject that we speak about constantly, and yet while there are thousands of articles online, there were no books that nicely encapsulated all of that knowledge.

Every week, thousands of passwords and/or identities are stolen, and those are only the breaches we know about. Don’t become a statistic – follow the easy-to-follow advice in our book to greatly reduce your exposure.

As a holiday special, we’re giving it away tomorrow, Christmas Day, 25 Dec 2014! 

We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have a few minutes, help out other shoppers by posting a review on Amazon.

Gift Guide for Geeks

Amazon FireDo you have someone on your gifting list with particular taste in all things Geek?  If so, the Geeks have your gifting playbook depending on your level of investment (how much money do you want to spend?).  Below are some great gift ideas under $50, under $100, under $200 and over $200 but you can also check some geek-centric stores such as ThinkGeek, Hammacher Schlemmer and Sharper Image.  Enjoy!

Book cover - Network Security Monitoring

Book Review: The Practice of Network Security Monitoring

Book cover - Network Security MonitoringSome more geek entertainment from No Starch press! The full title of this book is: The Practice of Network Security Monitoring: Understanding Incident Detection and Response. The Practice of NSM, as it’s abbreviated in the book, was written by the CSO of Mandiant, Richard Bejtlich, who also blogs at TaoSecurity.

So what is Network Security Monitoring? First, NSM isn’t about control, i.e. blocking, preventing or filtering; it’s about awareness and visibility. You may have a dozen of the best security products in place, but what if they’re either not doing what they’re supposed to or not catching other attacks? NSM gives you insight into the state of your security regardless of what products you have in place.

Book Review: The Modern Web, Multi-Device Web Development with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript

modern-web-bookPeter Gasston follows up his CSS3 book (“The Book of CSS3“) with this more encompassing subject on web development.

While I hardly need to restate a statistic that has been beaten to death in the past few years, mobile platforms are not only growing but outstripping traditional desktop computers in some parts of the world and in some industries. However, that doesn’t mean that all web development needs to be solely targeted at small screen devices. For that reason, adaptive and responsive web design has arisen to avoid the original method of building separate websites for desktops and mobile  devices. And as the author opines (and I agree), with the increasing variety in screen sizes, trying to build a set of fixed-width pages, even adaptive ones is a “fool’s errand”.

So what is the “modern Web”? Is it HTML5? Is HTML5 merely HTML + CSS3 + JavaScript? Actually, no; the reality is even more amazing. Just take a look at the platform that is HTML5 to see the huge array of web browser technologies that exist today.

What does The Modern Web cover? Not every subject under the HTML5 umbrella, but it does hit all of the higher profile technologies. For example, new CSS3 layouts, device-responsive CSS, what modern JavaScript can do, SVG graphics and multimedia, web APIs and more.

Enter to win 1 of 10 free electronic magazine subscriptions from Zinio

Bestof2012 300x250The good folks at Zinio have teamed up with us to offer 10 free electronic magazine subscriptions to our readers. So what we’re going to do is run this as a contest where we’ll randomly pick 10 lucky winners at the end of the entry period.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for about 10 years now, Zinio is the premier publisher of electronic magazines, as well as books and other docs. They have gorgeous apps for your smartphone, tablet and desktop computer. We featured them as far back as 2004!

For an idea of what Zinio offers, hit the link (or the image) to the right. Do check out their Editors’ Choices for the best of 2012, or if you can’t wait, take a look at the titles on sale now for 50% off.

Hit the jump to find out how easy it is to enter… …

Updated eReader Comparison Report is Out!

The eReader market has changed dramatically in the past 2 years with most vendors like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Kobo offering full-color, full featured tablets in the vein of the iPad. During that time too, E Ink readers have tacked on the features, with most now featuring E Ink Pearl technology, backlights, and more.

We’ve updated our eReader Comparison Report, and it’s yours free. All you need to do is sign up below. If you’re already a loyal subscriber, don’t worry, you’ll get your own personal note telling you where you can download it.

If you haven’t seen our report, it not only gives you the rundown on what the top devices and their specs are, but it also includes the Apple iPad and iPad Mini, and gives you a ‘cheatsheet’ for picking an eReader based on your needs and main interests.

Don’t want to sign up? Buy it instead!

What has the Digital Revolution Actually Done for Musicians?

The music industry has changed significantly in the last decade alone. Gone are the days when you would enter a store and buy a brand new album. Now, you visit one online store and only buy the songs you like. The world sure has changed for musicians. What has the digital revolution done for musicians of the world? Let’s delve into that, shall we?

5 Roku 2 XS Features You Should Know About

The Roku is well-known for its streaming media capabilities, but that’s not all this versatile device is known for. If you have never explored the extended capabilities of your Roku player, you’re missing out. From playing your own media to using the box to check your social networking profiles, you’ll get far more use out of the box once you’ve read this.

Going to College? Make Sure These Gadgets Are In Your Bag

If you’re heading off to college for the first time, it’s essential that you know what you need to take with you. If you’re already in college, you may find that things are a bit lacking, but can’t quite put your finger on what. Technological gadgets are an absolute must for the modern college student, but which should you pack and which should you leave behind?

We’ve made the decision an easy one! Here are our top five gadgets no college student should be without:

My New MacBook

1. Laptop

Sure, you can use your Kindle Fire as a quasi-tablet, and yes, you may have an iPad, but, when it comes down to it, nothing is going to serve you better in college than a laptop. Thanks to their popularity, and the shrinking use of home desktops, laptops are more affordable than ever. From taking notes to completing assignments; listening to music to watching videos, a laptop offers everything you need in one compact piece of machinery.

Book cover - Head First HTML5

Book Review: Head First HTML5 Programming

Book cover - Head First HTML5Unless you’ve been under a rock the past 2 years or so, you’ll know that HTML5 is the next generation of the markup language that has been powering the Web since its inception. Tech publisher O’Reilly has been busy ensuring that they do their part to educate the Web developers and programmers of the world and they accordingly have a slew of books on HTML5, one of which is in their Head First series.

Head First HTML5 Programming is really that – a book about programming, specifically in JavaScript. It is expected that you already know HTML and CSS, and while some JavaScript would be good, it’s not a requirement. The book starts off with a quick intro to HTML5, but by page 20, you’ll already have seen some JavaScript code.

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