So anyway, it was like, 08:47 CEST Oct 04 2007, you know? Oh, and, yeah,
Tim Smith was all like, "Dude,

> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed
> to learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how
> to set up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like
> that, would you consider buying a book, or would you get all your
> information from the web?

Going by past experience, I would probably get a book for the office
bookshelf by habit and then look up the information I needed on the
web anyway.

Books are nice to hold in your hand and leaf through, but in the end I
usually find the interweb better indexed.

--
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. Perth ---> *
08:54:00 up 35 days, 22:55, 1 user, load average: 0.06, 0.06, 0.07
Linux 2.6.22.5 x86_64 GNU/Linux Registered Linux user #261729

Tim Smith wrote:

>
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>

A book is a lot better for many things

Yes, I buy (and have bought) many computer books
--
We are Linux. Resistance is measured in Ohms.

On Oct 4, 12:47 am, Tim Smith wrote:
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>
> --
> --Tim Smith

All the time.... Any time I'm starting a project using new or
unfamiliar technology, I'll buy a book or two. I don't usually read
all of them anymore. I pretty much just read enough to get started,
and then use them as references (along with the web) to get my stuff
done

In fact, I just picked up two really fantastic books on SharePoint
2007...

--
Tom Shelton

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On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700,
Tim Smith wrote:
>
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>


Depends on the subject. The faster moving, the less likely I am to buy a
book. But I do have a Safari subscription so that helps a lot.

I will sometimes buy stuff like the Perl Cookbook, because it's fairly long
lived, and I like having a physical book, but ebooks are so darn useful,
even if they aren't as satisfying somehow.

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--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
If space is warped, time is all that's weft.

Jim Richardson wrote:

> On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700,
> Tim Smith wrote:

>> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? ..

> I will sometimes buy stuff like the Perl Cookbook ..

Sign on for a course at your local tech college, that way you get access
to the library. Generally a college library has a much better selection
than a book shop, which usually consist of 'TCP/IP for dummies' type of
books ...

Verily I say unto thee, that Doug Mentohl spake thusly:

> Sign on for a course at your local tech college, that way you get
> access to the library. Generally a college library has a much better
> selection than a book shop, which usually consist of 'TCP/IP for
> dummies' type of books ...

The "For Dummies" books make excellent joke gifts.

I have bought, and will continue to buy, a lot of computing books over
the years, but the problem is they become obsolete so quickly, which is
why I end up turning to the Web eventually. Libraries are a good
solution, but (round my way, at least) their stock tends to be not very
current.

--
K.
http://slated.org

..----
| "OOXML is a superb standard"
| - GNU/Linux traitor, Miguel de Icaza.
`----

Fedora release 7 (Moonshine) on sky, running kernel 2.6.22.1-41.fc7
14:22:32 up 56 days, 13:17, 2 users, load average: 0.02, 0.02, 0.00

I believe books are the way to go until posters on the Web
clean up their act. And almost certainly, indefinitely longer
after that.

In my view, Web materials are weak in two ways; one of these
could (in an ideal world) be corrected.

Web materials are too often posted with an incredible amount of
rubbish thrown in. As I've been looking at sites lately, I commonly
see pages made three columns across, vertical complexity, and
the stuff I'm there for is thrown in almost as an afterthought in
tiny tiny print. A recent device seems to be little panels that flash
at you and then go away (these are almost never relevant and so
further disturb the work). I can see younger people who grew up
looking at this stuff, developing a tolerance for the rubbish; but in
any case, tolerance or no, it takes energy to deal with that stuff
and that energy can only become available by taking from the
work in hand. So I think current Web pages practice is a very
bad weakness to using these pages for any serious work. Such
as, learning a new language or technology.

The second weakness that I see to Web pages, is *they aren't
paper.* The special advantage to paper is that you can scan large
amounts of it quickly, looking for some small thing you need or
recall. Web pages are limited to one screen at a time. Further, if
you can write small sharp and concise, you can put very useful
notes in the margins, as you cannot do with Web pages on your
screen. And of course, you can carry a book with you that is
smaller than a computer; and it doesn't need electricity nor any
special workplace to use it. Isaac Asimov did a piece on this
topic maybe fifty years ago. He did this in his typical Asimovian
style, it's worthwhile to seek it out. So I believe books are here
to stay.

A third weakness comes to mind, especially with respect to
Microsoft. Look up Francis Bacon's essays some time: written
hundreds of years ago and highly readable today. How much of
anything done Microsoft way will be readable in just half of one
single century? And what technology did Bacon use to do his
work? Thus text on paper is durable in a way computer
technology cannot equal.

Cheers -- Martha Adams [cola 2007 Oct 4]

"Jim Richardson" wrote in message
news:24met4-11j.ln1@dragon.myth...
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700,
> Tim Smith wrote:
>>
>> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed
>> to
>> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to
>> set
>> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that,
>> would
>> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information
>> from
>> the web?
>>
>
>
> Depends on the subject. The faster moving, the less likely I am to buy
> a
> book. But I do have a Safari subscription so that helps a lot.
>
> I will sometimes buy stuff like the Perl Cookbook, because it's fairly
> long
> lived, and I like having a physical book, but ebooks are so darn
> useful,
> even if they aren't as satisfying somehow.
>
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>
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> BBFf2KTvHX5VqaYH7QFD/jM=
> =HRF0
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
> --
> Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
> If space is warped, time is all that's weft.

Tim Smith wrote:
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>

I am often required to demonstrate sources, or, present to my students
the basis of facts. Books are real, websites are transient.

The in-depth data or info, or sequence of steps that I require for
anything complex or technical, is more often in the book.

Unless the specific details are listed by someone in a forum or blog,
entries on the Internet are often too general. Authors on the Internet
tend to put out some of the facts that demonstrate their
accomplishments, but, often lack details so that it could be replicated
by others.

http://bookpool.com has the discounts on tech. books that I prefer.

Tim Smith :
>
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?

I have a few books kicking around. The Bat Book and DNS and Bind and the
Networking Bookshelf are ocassionally very useful. For PHP and MySQL I
find the documentation on the web much easier to use than a book.

--
There was an old Scot named McTavish
Who attempted an anthropoid ravish.
The object of rape
Was the wrong sex of ape,
And the anthropoid ravished McTavish.

http://www.websterscafe.com

In article , Tim Smith wrote:
>
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>
I used to buy loads of books. but,, Torrington Connecticut
doesn't have a book store! When I lived in Willimantic there was a
Waldenbooks and I bought books at least 3 times a year for Linux
related topics as well as the Star Trek series (all 3 sub series)

--

From the Desk of the Sysop of:
Planet Maca's Opus, a Free open BBS system. telnet://pinkrose.dhis.org
Web Site: http://pinkrose.dhis.org, Dialup 860-618-3091 300-33600 bps
The New Cnews maintainer
B'ichela

In article , Doug Mentohl wrote:
> Sign on for a course at your local tech college, that way you get access
> to the library. Generally a college library has a much better selection
> than a book shop, which usually consist of 'TCP/IP for dummies' type of
> books ...
Depends on the College. the Northwestern Connecticut Community
Technical College in Winsted doesn't require you to be a student to
use its library. Just present your regular library card and your state
issued ID and they will set you up to borrow books.
As for bookstores and their choice of books to sell, it
depends on the bookstore. Some really do cater to the more advanced
topics, whereas the others.... you are lucky if you find a linux book
worth buying.

--

From the Desk of the Sysop of:
Planet Maca's Opus, a Free open BBS system. telnet://pinkrose.dhis.org
Web Site: http://pinkrose.dhis.org, Dialup 860-618-3091 300-33600 bps
The New Cnews maintainer
B'ichela

On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:

>
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?

Books are a hell of a lot easier to take up and go on the bus.

On Oct 4, 1:47 am, Tim Smith wrote:
> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>
> --
> --Tim Smith

Depending on what I am wanting to learn about, the internet has most
of the information already available to me. The only thing I can
think where a book would come in handy, would be if you were learning
a programming language.

On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:

> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
> the web?
>

Nope, not in years. Why would I need to? Traveling? Use a small laptop.

--
// This is my opinion.

After takin' a swig o' grog, ray belched out this bit o' wisdom:

> On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:
>
>> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
>> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
>> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
>> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
>> the web?
>
> Books are a hell of a lot easier to take up and go on the bus.

And the crapper.

After takin' a swig o' grog, jebblue belched out this bit o' wisdom:

> On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:
>
>> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? If you needed to
>> learn a programming language, or how to administer Apache, or how to set
>> up a RADIUS server for your organization, or something like that, would
>> you consider buying a book, or would you get all your information from
>> the web?
>>
>
> Nope, not in years. Why would I need to? Traveling? Use a small laptop.

Sounds like a short trip to me.

(Although, the first time I ever installed Debian, on a no-name laptop,
I did it while we were driving to Nashville. Power adaptor.)

--
Tux rox!

Verily I say unto thee, that Linonut spake thusly:
> After takin' a swig o' grog, jebblue belched out this bit o' wisdom:

>> Nope, not in years. Why would I need to? Traveling? Use a small
>> laptop.
>
> Sounds like a short trip to me.
>
> (Although, the first time I ever installed Debian, on a no-name
> laptop, I did it while we were driving to Nashville. Power adaptor.)

Then again, who reads "The Perl Cookbook" or "Managing IMAP"; in the
back of a car, bus or train?

The thing about technical manuals is that they lose their usefulness
unless you have the actual equipment in front of you.

--
K.
http://slated.org

..----
| "OOXML is a superb standard"
| - GNU/Linux traitor, Miguel de Icaza.
`----

Fedora release 7 (Moonshine) on sky, running kernel 2.6.22.1-41.fc7
00:23:02 up 56 days, 23:17, 2 users, load average: 0.02, 0.07, 0.07

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On Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:27:42 +0100,
Doug Mentohl wrote:
> Jim Richardson wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:47:09 -0700,
>> Tim Smith wrote:
>
>>> I'm curious. Do people here still buy computer books? ..
>
>> I will sometimes buy stuff like the Perl Cookbook ..
>
> Sign on for a course at your local tech college, that way you get access
> to the library. Generally a college library has a much better selection
> than a book shop, which usually consist of 'TCP/IP for dummies' type of
> books ...

Not around here, between B&N, and the University book store, it's all
covered. Although the U bookstore is sort of cheating I suppose.

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--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until
they try to take it."
--Thomas Jefferson

After takin' a swig o' grog, [H]omer belched out this bit o' wisdom:

> Verily I say unto thee, that Linonut spake thusly:
>>
>> (Although, the first time I ever installed Debian, on a no-name
>> laptop, I did it while we were driving to Nashville. Power adaptor.)
>
> Then again, who reads "The Perl Cookbook" or "Managing IMAP"; in the
> back of a car, bus or train?
>
> The thing about technical manuals is that they lose their usefulness
> unless you have the actual equipment in front of you.

Not quite. I read them for fun. Then, later, when I actually need to
do something, I know right where to look.

I might stop using books if they ever perfect a "clipboard" computer.

--
Tux rox!