Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Windows Me Annoyances is an Asian painted frog (Kaloula pulchra), also known as a Chubby frog. The Chubby frog gets its name from its large, round body, bloated appearance, and absence of a visible neck. It is approximately three inches long (though width varies between individuals). Its distinctive markings include a rich brown color and off-white bands of spots running down the sides and the spine.
In accordance with its large body, the Chubby frog is slow and docile with a calm disposition, so it may be handled by pet keepers. However, it is not recommended that you handle this frog often, as it is covered with a sticky slime coating that is difficult to remove from your hands and may last several days. This coating is actually a skin toxin, which may irritate the handler's eyes and throat. In addition, if the Chubby frog is to be kept as a pet, it should not be kept with other species of frogs, as their interaction may produce toxic skin secretions.
The Chubby frog is nocturnal, digging down under a layer of substrate during the day and emerging at night to feed. It is terrestrial, living on land near the water rather than directly in the water. Found in Southeast Asia, it prefers temperatures in the range of 7 to 8F with approximately 80% humidity. It is, however, able to survive dry conditions by crawling a few inches underground and resurfacing once rain has provided a more humid environment.
The Chubby frog, as with all amphibians of the order Anura, has a larynx, vocal cords, middle ear, and eardrum. The male, louder than the female of the species, is able to amplify its voice with vocal sacs in the base of its mouth cavity, drastically increasing its sound output. Its voice is described as a croaking or mewing sound, often heard at night. In fact, the Chubby frog is reported to be quite loud and obnoxious. Jeffrey Holcomb was the production editor and proofreader for Windows Me Annoyances. Paulette Miley was the copyeditor. Jane Ellin, Ann Schirmer, and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Linley Dolby, Ann Schirmer, Mary Sheehan, and Matt Hutchinson provided production assistance. Judy Hoer wrote the index.
Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.
Melanie Wang designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Judy Hoer implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Jeffrey Holcomb.
