[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       ruby-talk
Subject:    Re: ruby 1.8.1 windows installer
From:       Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair () soyabean ! com ! au>
Date:       2004-01-14 21:53:05
Message-ID: 36205349216.20040115085216 () soyabean ! com ! au
[Download RAW message or body]

On Thursday, January 15, 2004, 2:41:19 AM, Mauricio wrote:

> On Wed, Jan 14, 2004 at 09:41:38PM +0900, Alan Davies wrote:
>> >Since the first edition of the Pickaxe book didn't exactly fly off the
>> >shelves (that's my understanding anyway) you can imagine that AW would
>> 
>> Maybe if you don't make the new version available online, then more
>> people will buy it?  I for one can hold my hand up in shame and say that
>> I haven't bought the existing one, because the ruby installer comes with
>> an electronic version of it.

> OTOH...
> I bought it *thanks* to the web version; had it not existed I'd probably
> have ended up using Python :P I don't know if the the decision to
> distribute the Pickaxe for free made sense economically (probably not),
> but it certainly has done a lot for the expansion of Ruby, so we cannot
> but thank the authors.

On the economic question, I'd say it can be argued pretty well either
way.  You wouldn't have bought the book without seeing it online, and
I'm sure that goes for many others.

Bruck Eckel thinks giving his book(s) away online helps generate more
sales.  There will always be little factors that can swing it each
way.

Cheers,
Gavin


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]