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In this sequel to the popular Ruby on Rails Essential Training, expert instructor Kevin Skoglund teaches comprehensive techniques for web developers who already feel comfortable with the fundamentals of Ruby and the Rails MVC framework. This training will help developers move toward creating full-featured Ruby on Rails applications. Kevin begins by explaining how to update software and projects to the latest versions. He then demonstrates alternative ways to interact with Ruby and your Rails applications and teaches the intermediate aspects of the Ruby language. Kevin provides step-by-step instructions for creating a custom blog and content management application. He uses this practical example to show how to work with database migrations, how to get more from ActiveRecord and avoid common pitfalls, how to create flexible controllers and views, and how to improve performance, security, and code management. Exercise files accompany the tutorials. NOTE: Several key features of Rails have changed since the release of Ruby on Rails Beyond the Basics in the lynda.com library. The following link details these changes: www.nullislove.com.

By choice or by circumstance, most designers will be freelancing one or more times during their career. In this course, Petrula Vrontikis provides an overview of the financial and creative advantages and disadvantages of being self-employed, along with methods, tools, and insights for starting out. The course helps you customize a strategy for your unique situation, from setting up accounts and tracking business expenses, to entering into contracts and invoicing for your work. The last chapter contains Petrula's advice on maintaining good business relationships and tactics for staying motivated and inspired.

In this course, photographer and graphics professional Taz Tally shows home and business users how to get the best results from their scanners. The course begins with a look at scanning essentials, including how to clean and care for a scanner, choose scanning software, and understanding concepts such as resolution and file format. Next, Taz uses the basic mode that most scanning software provides to show how to perform an array of common scanning jobs, from scanning photos and artwork to capturing text using optical character recognition. Three real-world projects are also included, which show the process of scanning something and then editing and sharing the results.

In SEO: Search Engine Optimization Getting Started, author Jill Whalen explains the importance of site rankings and why search engine optimization is necessary for increasing web site traffic. The course covers choosing the best keywords, performing keyword research, augmenting keywords with search-friendly site architecture, creating social media networking strategies, and measuring the success of an SEO campaign.