Peachpit
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| Parent company | Pearson Education |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Ted Nace and Michael Gardner |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Berkeley, CA |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Technology |
| Imprints | Adobe, Apple Certified, New Riders |
| Official website | www.peachpit.com |
Peachpit is an educational publisher and has been publishing books, PDFs, and videos on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, web design and development, digital video, and general computing since 1986. Peachpit is the home of the Visual QuickStart Guide, Visual QuickPro Guide, Take Control of..., and Classroom in a Book series, and the design imprint New Riders and its Voices That Matter series. Peachpit is the publishing partner for Adobe Press at Adobe Systems, lynda.com, NAPP, Apple Certified at Apple Inc, AIGA Design Press and others.
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[edit] History
Peachpit Press was founded in 1986 by Ted Nace[1] and Michael Gardner, and the two co-authored the company's first book, LaserJet Unlimited. Gardner served on the board of the company from 1986 to 1994 but did not take an active role in the company. Nace and Gardner named the company Peachpit because at the time, Nace and several of his friends were "living and working in a peach colored house in Berkeley that was such a dump it was considered a 'pit.'" [2] Computer writer Elaine Weinmann described how Nace let authors typeset and illustrate their own books and described his publishing approach as user-friendly and innovative.[3] The company grew in size and sales, and had a publishing orientation towards books relating to Apple computers, and was described as a leader in books about digital graphics.[4] Nace served as publisher from 1986 until 1996, when Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel assumed the publisher position.[3] In 1994, Nace sold Peachpit Press to London-based media conglomerate Pearson PLC. Peachpit Press continues to operate out of Berkeley today.
Although known as a Mac publisher Peachpit started out publishing Windows related books. Its first Macintosh books were The Little Mac Book and The Mac is not a typewriter, both by writer Robin Williams. In 1992, Peachpit purchased the Macintosh Bible series from Arthur Naiman's Goldstein and Blair (aptly named after characters in the George Orwell novel 1984). Peachpit became popular with the Mac community via its strong outreach and support of user groups.[citation needed] In 1998, when Apple user share was down to 4% of the computer user market and Power Computing was making Mac clones, Peachpit was still publishing a large portion of its books in the Mac space.[5] Peachpit’s popularity with Mac users grew even stronger with its Visual QuickStart Guides.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable authors
Some notable Peachpit authors include: David Blatner, Deke McClelland, Ted Nace, Steve Roth, Scott Kelby, Robin Williams, Don Rittner, Joe McNally, Larry Magid, Steve Krug, Jeffrey Zeldman, Jakob Nielsen, Bruce Schneier, Fred Davis, Seth Godin, Gary Wolf, Lynda Weinman, and Maria Langer.
[edit] Publications
Peachpit’s publishing history includes :
Zap!: How Your Computer Can Hurt You - and What You Can Do About It[6] by Don Sellers
Zap! is considered the first book written on Computer Safety.[citation needed] In order to make sure this book reached the hands of the people who needed it most (mainly office workers) Peachpit gave away over 75,000 copies to companies and corporations who promised to provide it to their employees.
Kid’s Web Kit by Lisa Lopuck
When the web first began gaining popularity adults were not the only ones browsing -- children were surfing too. Lisa Lopuck who taught multi media and Web design at San Francisco State University wanted to help kids shape the future of the Web and wrote the first Web design book for kids.
Ecolinking: Everyone's Guide to Online Environmental Information[7] By Don Rittner
Ecolinking was the first GREEN online guide.[citation needed] Ecolinking brought forth the many ways computer users could go GREEN.
Computer Privacy Handbook[8][9] by Andre Bacard
Peachpit published the first guide to PGP. (Pretty Good Privacy)[citation needed].
Gay and Lesbian Online by Jeff Dawson
Gay and Lesbian Online was "the first trade guide to lesbian and gay cyberspace".[10] When it first published it debuted at the Pride Parade where Peachpit set up a booth and author Jeff Dawson signed copies.
Avatars! Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet[11][12] by Bruce Damer
In 1997, six years before Second Life launched (and nine years before it became mainstream), Peachpit published Avatars with Bruce Damer.
[edit] Imprints
Although Peachpit Press is Peachpit's flagship imprint, Peachpit also publishes or partners with Adobe Press, Apple Certified, lynda.com, and New Riders.
[edit] Conferences
Peachpit hosts the Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference series.
| Year | Location | Conference Site |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2007 | San Francisco, CA | 2007 website |
| Jun 2008 | Nashville, TN | 2008 website [13] |
[edit] References
- ^ Monadnock Summer (August 08, 2004). "Ted Nace: Confessions Of A Recovering Capitalist". New Hampshire Public Radio (nhpr). http://www.nhpr.org/node/6718. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ http://jtchatter.blogspot.com/2008/01/another-bedtime-story-for-designers.html jtChatter
- ^ a b By Elaine Weinmann, Peter Lourekas (2004). "Photoshop CS for Windows and Macintosh". Peachpit Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=pCCmjQ0vVMIC&pg=PR3&lpg=PR3&dq=%22ted+nace%22+peachpit&source=bl&ots=IZpLWrjzFf&sig=r8HF7gCVW4bNfcdyrctIOaNCSt4&hl=en&ei=wzfnTJL-M4LGlQfcoI2uCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22ted%20nace%22%20peachpit&f=false. Retrieved 2010-11-19. "... Ted let authors typeset and illustrate their own books -- with Ted's feedback) ... in 1996, Ted handed the baton to successor Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel ..."
- ^ "Ted Nace". Orion Magazine. 2010-11-19. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/mag/contributor/507/. Retrieved 2010-11-19. "Ted Nace, founder of Peachpit Press, the world’s leading publisher of books on digital graphics, is the author of Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy."
- ^ http://www.macgathering.com/2005exhibits/index.html#peachpit Mac Gathering
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1510/is_n84/ai_15958316 Find Articles
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5DC1230F931A25756C0A964958260 NY Times
- ^ http://www.andrebacard.com/press.html Andre Baccard
- ^ http://www.businessweek.com/1996/37/b3492110.htm Business Week
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Lesbian-Online-Indispensable-Cruising/dp/1555838227 Amazon
- ^ http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/ DigitalSpace
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pj7sBPSYw YouTube
- ^ http://press-releases.techwhack.com/17446-new-riders TechWhack
[edit] External links
- Peachpit.com
- Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference
- Peachpit Podcasts
- Macintosh Reference Guide
- Photoshop Reference Guide
- Web Design Reference Guide
- Apple Pro Training Series
- Ben Waldie Podcast: Automating Manual Tasks with QuicKeys
