Actually I'm one of the people that would much -prefer- to read a PDF over a
book. If I purchase a technical book that has the entire text in PDF
format, the only time I actually open the book itself is to get at the CD.
There are obvious piracy problems when the contents of a $50 book are
available as a PDF, which is a little disappointing. Seeing as I work for a
video game publisher I see quite clearly how damaging piracy is to a
publisher.
Think of some of the heftier Cisco Press books from the CCIE development
series. I'd gladly pay $60 for a complete PDF I can read anywhere and keep
as reference anywhere instead of paying $60 to have to lug a 20 lb book
around!
Call me crazy, but using a CD-R as opposed to renting a U-haul to transport
my library from home to the office is a bit more appealing.
Just some thoughts,
Brandon
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Priscilla Oppenheimer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 2:02 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: RE: CCNP Books
>
>
> Just want to put in a couple words on a topic I feel
> passionate about. If
> people are converting copyrighted books to PDF and giving
> them away or
> selling them, that's illegal, unethical, and stupid.
>
> Obviously the publishing industry needs to come up with ways
> to get books
> to people in formats other than paper, at prices that are
> affordable around
> the world, not just in wealthy Silicon Valley. However, the
> publishing
> industry will not be able to innovate if people don't pay for
> what they
> use. Also, as Howard says, authors will stop creating works
> if they can't
> make money on them. So, you're just screwing yourselves when
> you obtain
> illegal copies of books, movies, and yes, even music.
>
> I think the mentality that it's OK to steal comes from young
> people who
> haven't yet created anything. I help out in our local high school in
> computer classes. I see the light bulbs go on when I tell my
> kids, "Ten
> years from now, it may be you creating that cool, new game or
> video or
> software application. And you may have spent years and tons
> of money to
> produce it. How will you feel if people steal it instead of
> paying for it?"
>
> Usually the kids think about that for a while and see my
> point. One kid
> told me, "I'm not going to create anything. I just want to be
> a computer
> technician." That was the saddest thing I've heard.
>
> I think it's good that we use this list every so often to
> remind people
> that some resources are not free.
>
> OK, let's get back to technical stuff now! &;-)
>
> Priscilla
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