Comments on: O’Reilly embraces ebook technology and releases 30 digital titles

By: woodsiteboat

woodsiteboat — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:18:35 +0000

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By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:20:27 +0000

Noooo…Books aren’t clutter…they’re BOOKS!!! If you want to read a book you don’t want to keep, use a library. Ebooks aren’t books, they’re headaches.

By: Matt R. @ YFNCG.com

Matt R. @ YFNCG.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:07:40 +0000

When I saw the title of this headline I thought you were referring to the blowhard american talkshow host Bill O’Reilly! Thankfully, that’s not the case! Now…time to get me a Kindle!

By: infmom

infmom — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:32:49 +0000

Am I the only one who doesn’t happen to think that books, especially the kinds of books O’Reilly publishes, don’t necessarily constitute clutter? Give me a good, solid printed book (or user manual!) over the electronic version any day. When a printed book is no longer useful, it can be donated to the public library (something we do on a regular basis–cleaner shelves, a nice tax deduction, and other people get to read those books for free).

Maybe this is just my frustration at trying to learn a newer version of a very full-featured web page design program whose only available documentation is a 1200+ page PDF coming out.

That said, I do read books on my Tungsten using MobiPocket, but those aren’t reference books–just classics to keep my mind occupied in assorted waiting rooms. I’d find it difficult to use a Palm sized screen for serious reference.

By: Michael@ Awareness * Connection

Michael@ Awareness * Connection — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:25:43 +0000

I’m an early adopter on lots of technologies, but haven’t been on digital media. This certainly makes sense for O’Reilly given their subject matter. The little experience I’ve had with reading non-fiction in electronic formats looks promising. I’m sure I’ll jump on the wagon once it gets a bit more pervasive. Being able to search makes a huge difference.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:59:57 +0000

Whether it’s there first foray or not, it is still quite useful. I’ll tell you, this day and age, any and all info is available somewhere on the net. Some is free, and some is $$$$, but it is all there. What an amazing world, no?

http://yinvsyang.com/

By: Carl Cravens

Carl Cravens — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:54:07 +0000

I think it’s worth noting that O’Reilly has offered their entire catalog, and hundreds of books from other publishers, electronically for two or three years now through their Safari reference library service. I pay $15 a month and get access to every book (albeit only 10 at at time, but I can switch out a book after 30 days). As a programmer, I find this invaluable… I can access the manuals I need both at work and at home without taking up shelf space, owning two copies of each book, or hauling books back and forth. And when a new edition comes out, I don’t have an old book to get rid of… I just get the new book automatically.

So yeah, offering 30 of their books as downloadable e-books is cool, but it’s not O’Reilly’s first foray into making their content available digitally.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:39:11 +0000

I’m glad to see that, according the the O’Reilly link above, that “These files (like all our PDFs currently for sale) do not include any DRM….”