Leo Laporte's 2005 Technology Almanac (Leo Laporte's Technology Almanac)

Rating:
Summary: Short vignettes on current technology trends
Review: After reading the 2003 edition, I never want to be without the latest issue of the Technology Almanac. Laporte & Miller use the calendar format to present historical tidbits, not all technological in focus, as well as information on trends in technology.
Each month begins with a calendar and for each day there is a caption describing a significant event that occurred on that day. There is a focus on a specific aspect of technology for each week, for example, the emphasis for the first week of August is web design. Each technical segment for the days in that week describes some aspect of the focus. Two other items also appear on the page devoted to the day. The first is another significant event for the day with a companion web site containing additional information. The second is one of seven different "of the week items." They are:

*) PC gadget of the week.
*) Download of the week.
*) Mac gadget of the week.
*) Web site of the week.
*) Portable gadget of the week.
*) Fact of the week.
*) Software of the week.

Since only one page is devoted to each day, the explanations are very short. Nevertheless, they are thorough enough to satisfy any initial interest you may have and easily point you in the appropriate direction. An additional list of historical facts for each day of the month is included after the last day of the month.
This book is a joy to read, it presents most of the significant trends in technology in short, easily digestible bytes. It is also a primary resource in the true sense of the word. It gets you started with the appropriate and understandable initial information.


Rating:
Summary: unsatisfying format
Review: Laporte uses a format that lets him roam over many aspects of personal computers. The title says 'Technology', but the emphasis is mainly on PCs [including Macs]. A free wheeling, informal style that I personally found unsatisfying. I prefer a text to be in a more structured format. But some of you will hark to his style.

Topics include using Google, running Microsoft XP Special effects, using Internet Explorer, and good notebook usage. On each, he gives brief descriptions and tips that should be quite understandable to you. Trouble is, just when a topic might be getting interesting, he's often done with it. This bite-sized brevity makes for easy reading, but that is its drawback.

Rating:
Summary: A Technology Fix for every day of 2005
Review: This is a daily guide to technology for 2005. Each day of the year there is a page for just that day. The page contains a bit of history, a short essay on some technology subject and a small snippet about a gadget, download or factoid.

For instance on July 8th, the history note is on the Roswell incident - you remember, where either an Air Force experimental balloon blew up or else a UFO crashed in Roswell New Mexico.

On April 24th the essay is on closing stuck programs in XP.

On January 25, the download of the week is the Picasa software for organizing photographs.

There's enough information here that you almost absolutely certainly will find something that is useful. You may have to search for it however.

Rating:
Summary: Thank You Leo
Review: We have TechTV no more, we no longer can watch The Screen Savers and see Leo, and I can not watch Call For Help anymore now that it is only shown in Canada. All of those things are sad but we still do have Leo's wisdom, teaching, and advice coming to us each day through the pages of his new almanac. Just like the past three almanacs...the information is clear, simple, and to the point. I enjoy getting my daily dose of help and technology with this book. Yes you can search the web for this info, but that is not the point. This is a daily one stop source for some everyday, useable information on computing. I own all the almanacs that have been produced and this new 2005 version holds true to it roots of teaching, humor, and just plain fun.