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> who bothers to steal books these days when you can go to Stack Overflow or a web forum or, yes, even Google, type a question, and get an answer? He's definit

> who bothers to steal books these days when you can go to Stack Overflow or a web forum or, yes, even Google, type a question, and get an answer? He's definitely wrong about this point. A book proposes answers to questions you didn't even know you had. A book can save you the trouble and time of searching for a thousand different queries. There is definitely value in having the information logically organized, all in one place, with the same tone, and the same assumptions about the reader's level. Q&A sites are complimentary to books, not a replacement.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Agreed. Most web sites are summaries, indexes, databases. Blogs. Not in-depth treatments of a subject. In fact, the very idea that the watered-down free pablum provided on the web is a substitute for knowledge is frightening. Similar to the notion that sound bytes are a suitable replacement for indepth reporting, which we used to hear criticised but now seems to be accepted.
billybob 16y ago
Absolutely. Today, if I need to know about a specific CSS technique, I can Google it. A few years ago, when I was clueless about CSS, I didn't know where to start. So I read "CSS: The Definitive Guide." It walked me through why CSS exists, all the things it can do, and best practices. I would never have known the questions to ask without such a a well-organized guide. Any time I want to learn a new topic, I get a book. And, incidentally, I still like paper books, because when I'm reading on the couch with one, there are no distractions. A computer offers too many other things to do besides read. Books may change forms and distribution models, but there will always be a need for well-organized and thorough books.
- dhimes 16y ago
  I agree completely except: I now prefer my Kindle. Pictures and code suck, it's true, so sometimes I look at the book file on Calibre (and there's a Windows app as well for it), but I really, really like having everything I need in a small volume that I can take anywhere. I can annotate and search and.... Well, I'll stop gushing now.
- quanticle 16y ago
  I still like paper books, because when I'm reading on the couch with one, there are no distractions. A computer offers too many other things to do besides read. Another thing that you can't yet do on the computer is highlight. I highlight important sections as I read technical books and it improves my comprehension immensely. As an additional benefit, when I come back to the book, I have to spend much less time hunting around for the information I need - the things that I've found valuable in the past are already made prominent. Try doing that with a Kindle :)
  - capnrefsmmat 16y ago
    Kindles have built-in support for highlighting and annotations, although using the buttons to highlight is surely slower than using a physical highlighter. If you're just highlighting important passages and not every other sentence (as some people are wont to do), it shouldn't be a problem.
  - gamble 16y ago
    Highlighting is very easy, even superior on the iPad. I highlight extensively when I'm reading PDFs in the GoodReader app, but unlike a physical book I can export the marked-up PDF back to my PC and easily index, sort, or modify them en masse.
TillE 16y ago
Exactly; they serve two very different purposes. Reference books are dead, perhaps. But if I want a thorough introduction to a topic, I'd much rather sit down with a good book. My attention span increases significantly when I'm not sitting in front of a computer with a web browser open.
lsc 16y ago
depends on what kind of book you are talking about; Q&A sites have largely replaced the 'reference' book. Do you remember last time you looked something up in a paper dictionary? I mean, yeah, the 'general knowledge' or 'subject overview' book is still quite competitive, but for reference material? dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other look up tables used to be a fairly large and profitable class of books; even most 'subject overview' type technical books used to include appendixes with lookup table data in the back; I remember most of my old programming books would consist of 2/3rds to 1/2 "subject overview" stuff that would still be printed today, and the rest of the book was a listing of available library functions and their options. Anymore, the first bit, the subject overview, is still best done in book format, but the second part? the bit where I can look up library functions to see their options? that part is much better done online.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

Agreed. Most web sites are summaries, indexes, databases. Blogs. Not in-depth treatments of a subject. In fact, the very idea that the watered-down free pablum provided on the web is a substitute for knowledge is frightening. Similar to the notion that sound bytes are a suitable replacement for indepth reporting, which we used to hear criticised but now seems to be accepted.

billybob 16y ago

Absolutely. Today, if I need to know about a specific CSS technique, I can Google it. A few years ago, when I was clueless about CSS, I didn't know where to start. So I read "CSS: The Definitive Guide." It walked me through why CSS exists, all the things it can do, and best practices. I would never have known the questions to ask without such a a well-organized guide. Any time I want to learn a new topic, I get a book. And, incidentally, I still like paper books, because when I'm reading on the couch with one, there are no distractions. A computer offers too many other things to do besides read. Books may change forms and distribution models, but there will always be a need for well-organized and thorough books.

dhimes 16y ago
I agree completely except: I now prefer my Kindle. Pictures and code suck, it's true, so sometimes I look at the book file on Calibre (and there's a Windows app as well for it), but I really, really like having everything I need in a small volume that I can take anywhere. I can annotate and search and.... Well, I'll stop gushing now.
quanticle 16y ago
I still like paper books, because when I'm reading on the couch with one, there are no distractions. A computer offers too many other things to do besides read. Another thing that you can't yet do on the computer is highlight. I highlight important sections as I read technical books and it improves my comprehension immensely. As an additional benefit, when I come back to the book, I have to spend much less time hunting around for the information I need - the things that I've found valuable in the past are already made prominent. Try doing that with a Kindle :)
- capnrefsmmat 16y ago
  Kindles have built-in support for highlighting and annotations, although using the buttons to highlight is surely slower than using a physical highlighter. If you're just highlighting important passages and not every other sentence (as some people are wont to do), it shouldn't be a problem.
- gamble 16y ago
  Highlighting is very easy, even superior on the iPad. I highlight extensively when I'm reading PDFs in the GoodReader app, but unlike a physical book I can export the marked-up PDF back to my PC and easily index, sort, or modify them en masse.

TillE 16y ago

Exactly; they serve two very different purposes. Reference books are dead, perhaps. But if I want a thorough introduction to a topic, I'd much rather sit down with a good book. My attention span increases significantly when I'm not sitting in front of a computer with a web browser open.

lsc 16y ago

depends on what kind of book you are talking about; Q&A sites have largely replaced the 'reference' book. Do you remember last time you looked something up in a paper dictionary? I mean, yeah, the 'general knowledge' or 'subject overview' book is still quite competitive, but for reference material? dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other look up tables used to be a fairly large and profitable class of books; even most 'subject overview' type technical books used to include appendixes with lookup table data in the back; I remember most of my old programming books would consist of 2/3rds to 1/2 "subject overview" stuff that would still be printed today, and the rest of the book was a listing of available library functions and their options. Anymore, the first bit, the subject overview, is still best done in book format, but the second part? the bit where I can look up library functions to see their options? that part is much better done online.