Customer Reviews

Creating and Designing Multimedia with Director 5.0

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This is an update of my last review of this book. I am using it in a college course I teach where we use Windows 95 and Director 5. The book is 80-90% instruction steps to follow on the computer.

Chapter 1 has a zero error rate. After that, through chapter 4 where I currently stopped wading through there are 1-2 errors per page. Many are simple proof reading errors but significant enough to stop you. A novice could not follow the steps. An experienced Director 5 user would spend 2 - 8 hours per chapter deciphering the mistakes. Chapter 4 took me 8 hours. Without errors estimate 1 - 2 hours per chapter.

Each chapter is a long project so if you get off part way through you are lost. The authors needed to provide intermediate progress files to make long exercise projects work.

All of this is unfortunate as the projects have merit and the media is useful. It would be a 4 or 5 without the errors.

I created an errata for Chaps 2-4. I have asked the authors and the publisher for an errata., No response as of 10/1/98.

I am on page 39 and have found many errors. The book is 80 - 90 % step by step instructions such as a lab book. However, the authors did not see that all the exercises were checked and double checked and rechecked.

I selected the book for my Fall College course and I can see I am in for a real trial with the students trying to use this.

If the remaining chapters get better, I will amend this comment but beware at this point. If they get worse, I will post a web page with all the errors I find.

For starters, page 20 the preview on CDROM is not completed and does not work. On page 21, start with a new movie or you will get lost.

The authors count using row zero on the color chips so when they say row 1 choose row 2 (page 27 step 5).

Bottom of page 27 is a misprint of something you did earlier.

You cannot do pages 38 and 39 because the cast members you have are not the same.

And these do not include some strategic problems of never ever make step by step instructions too many and too long before you see something useful. This book has at least a two chapter project and I am not sure if it is longer.