Raspberry Pi For Dummies features in the Maker Advent Calendar 2021

22 December 2021

Thank you to Les Pounder, who featured the new 4th Edition of Raspberry Pi For Dummies in his Maker Advent Calendar today. In the video, shown below, he reviews the book and outlines its contents. The new edition of Raspberry Pi For Dummies is out now. I'll update my site with more information and a new photo when my author copies arrive.

Check out the rest of Les's Maker Advent Calendar 2021 here, packed with ideas for cool gifts for makers (or treats you could buy for yourself!). You can also view my Scratch Advent Calendar here, featuring a Scratch project for each day of advent. You can read my previous blog about Christmas fun on my site here (note, though, that Earworm is no longer free on Kindle).

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Ten new Microsoft Excel tutorials

07 December 2021

I've published ten new tutorials for Microsoft Excel, taken from my book 100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel. If you've already downloaded the free PDF sampler, you'll recognise these. They're now online in HTML format, so it's easier to take a quick look at the book.

The book is aimed at anyone who uses Microsoft Excel and wants to be more effective with it. It's packed with ideas that will make it easier to enter and manage data, improve the accuracy of your spreadsheets, and enable you to learn more from your data. You can use the book as a reference tool on the desk beside you, including for common formulas, or you can read it through from start to finish to power up your skills. See the full table of contents.

The book is 10cm x 18cm, so you can tuck it in a pocket and read it on the go, or gift it as a stocking-filler at Christmas. The recommended retail price is £5.99. You can buy it from all good bookshops (ask them to order it in for you), and you can find links to buy the book in my shop here.

The new how-to guides cover:

• Entering data with Auto Fill
• Filling to match the neighboring column
• Using Flash Fill
• Adjusting column widths and row heights
• Inserting multiple rows or columns
• Managing large spreadsheets
• Forcing valid data entry
• Adding a drop-down menu
• Creating custom validation
• Removing duplicates

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Download my novel and music for free, plus more Christmas news

01 December 2021

For the next few days, you can download my novel Earworm for free on Kindle. This book for adults takes a satirical look at the music industry, and explores the point where music and tech collide.

Each year that passes, it seems little bits of it come true. The book shows what happens when a record label replaces musicians with artificial intelligence (AI), and there are more and more experiments in this realm going on. Generative music apps are already being used to create soundscapes for library music and to enhance concentration. Perhaps the most interesting of the generative music apps is Jean-Michel Jarre's EON, because it goes beyond the usual ambient moods to create more energetic music. For my album Artificial, I used computer-generated vocals to sing the songs. In my novel, I suggest a way that entire bands could be invented by computer, including a way they could be named (which has dated somewhat), and how the lyrics could be generated.

The paperback edition of Earworm makes a great Christmas gift for a music fan or musician, and picked up highly positive reviews from magazines including Electronic Sound, Metal Hammer, Record Collector, and MusicTech. You can get your copy signed and dedicated virtually here.

• Order Earworm in print from Amazon.co.uk
• Order Earworm on Kindle from Amazon.co.uk
• Order Earworm in print from Amazon.com (includes free Kindle edition through the Amazon Kindle Matchbook programme)
• Order Earworm on Kindle from Amazon.com

Free music

I've also made my album Artificial and the EP of bonus tracks Additives available on a "name your price" deal at Bandcamp. Feel free to treat yourself and download them for free, or pay what you'd like to for them. You can also stream them on Spotify and other streaming sites. Search for me as "sean.uk". Find out more about my music here.

The Scratch advent calendar is open

As it's Christmas, my Scratch advent calendar is now open for fun and games. If you have a young coder in your family, check out my books Scratch Programming in Easy Steps (now in its 2nd edition), Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps (which includes 3d glasses), and Coder Academy (recently updated for Scratch 3, only available in the US). My book Mission Python for older children and adults shows you how to build a space adventure game using the Python programming language on a PC or Raspberry Pi.

Stocking filler book

My book 100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel is perfectly sized and priced for a stocking filler this Christmas. If you know someone who works with Excel routinely, boost their skills with this powerful book. RRP £5.99.

More Christmas fun

• Play Snowman, a Javascript version of Hangman with a festive theme
• Play Christmas Pairs, another Javascript game which is a bit harder than the non-festive version
• Virtual Sean has put on his Santa suit!
• Add a Christmas Countdown to your site with my Javascript Smart Marketing Toolkit

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