Dan Gookin explains the latest consumer trend in PCs in Digital Scanning and Photography: specifically, how to choose, buy, configure, and use scanners and digital cameras. The book addresses both Microsoft Windows and the Mac OS, and general information (what resolution is) intermingles with specific instructions (how to resize an image in Adobe PhotoDeluxe). The illustrator of this book deserves great praise. The technical drawings, which showcase such details as where you plug cables into a scanner, are razor sharp and almost photo-realistic. Maybe they're ink-enhanced photographs--it's hard to tell; but, in any case, they're far better than the grainy photos that usually populate books that have a hardware angle.

Gookin, a pioneer of the trend in lighthearted writing (as in DOS for Dummies), communicates lots of facts and well-reasoned opinions without being dull; often, he's downright funny. But sometimes the flip shtick goes a bit too far, as when he remarks that all scanners should come with some kind of software that makes them go: "If you haven't found the scanner software," Gookin writes, "search the scanner box again." Okay; but less obvious advice would be to go to the scanner manufacturer's Web site to see if they have the software available for download there. --David Wall

Topics covered: Digital imaging for home and small-office users of scanners and digital cameras Consumer information on equipment features and pricing Instructions on hooking up a scanner Information on alternative image-file formats Tricks for getting the effects you want by using image-editing software

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Picture yourself creating amazing digital images for print, e-mail, and the Web with Digital Scanning And Photography. Best-selling author Dan Gookin makes it easy to get started with the tools and how-tos for digital imaging on your home computer. Dan offers friendly, expert advice for matching the right scanner, digital camera, and software to your needs. And he shows you with fun tips and easy-to-follow steps how to take, scan, photo-edit, print, and e-mail digital pictures right now!

Get fast facts to help you: Share photos with friends and family by e-mail, post them to the Web, or get great-looking results at home with your color printer Make good pictures look great using photo-editing software to crop, resize, retouch, and add cool effects to digital images Try Dan's quick scanning tips and tricks and master the basics of operating a digital camera Restore old photographs and create online albums Learn which features are worth paying for and which you probably don't need when buying a scanner, color ink printer, or digital camera Get handy task lists for everything from checking your computer's graphics-processing horsepower to installing your scanner, saving files in the right format, and more!

SYNOPSIS

Written by best-selling computer book author Dan Gookin, this book offers an engaging, easy-to-understand introduction to the tools and how-to's of digital scanning and photography. This fast-facts reference teaches the basics for using the latest digital imaging technologies, including the built-incapabilities in the new Windows Millennium Edition operating system to take, scan, edit, print, and e-mail digital pictures. Coverage includes converting pictures from conventional point-and-shoot cameras and other media to digital format, selecting and operating a digital camera, manipulating images on the PC, adding special effects, and sending pictures electronically.

Key Benefits: Delivers a jargon-free, easy-to-understand introduction to the latest digital imaging technologies Explains how to take advantage of the photo editing tools and digital picture Wizards in Windows Millennium Edition Readers learn the basics of how to scan/digitize conventional photos, select and use digital cameras, work with image editing software, send pictures via e-mail, create an online photo album, and more Written by Dan Gookin, well-known author of IDG's top "For Dummies titles and other best-sellers

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION

Dan Gookin is a writer and computer guru whose favorite saying is "Computers are a notoriously dull subject, but that doesn't mean I have to write about them that way." Combining his dry wit with an entertaining and engaging writing style, Dan has written over 70 books about computers, including the international bestsellers DOS for Dummies and PCs for Dummies, both from IDG Books Worldwide. All told, his books have been translated into 29 foreign languages and have sold over 5 million copies. Dan's current titles include How to Use Excel 2000, Word 2000 for Dummies and Dan Gookin Teaches Windows 98, from Macmillan Computer Publishing.

ACCREDITATION