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I've enjoyed having an O'Reilly Safari subscription for random access to books. In particular, the Pragmatic Programmer and Designing Data-Intensive Application

by paulgb 6y ago

I've enjoyed having an O'Reilly Safari subscription for random access to books. In particular, the Pragmatic Programmer and Designing Data-Intensive Applications. I've also had good experiences with SCPD courses from Stanford, if your budget would cover those (they are at the other end of the price spectrum).

kranner 6y ago
For anyone in India, the cheapest way to get a Safari Books subscription is via an ACM Professional or Student membership. It’s only INR 1500 per year.
- animesh 6y ago
  Going through the student membership options, this seems to be only for current students. Was I missing something here?
  - kranner 6y ago
    I think that is as intended. People who are no longer students should select the Professional membership option, which is what I did.
phonebanshee 6y ago
And check your local library. Here in Seattle you get to use Safari if you have a library card.
- digianarchist 6y ago
  Toronto too albeit the old version.
orzig 6y ago
I frequently muse about whether Safari, which is valuable, is worth the $399/y Pro: I like being able to sample the same topic from many prospectives (one chapter from each of 3-5 books) Cons: I wouldn't spend /that/ much on books in a year, the quality of the videos is widely variable, the search (including quality filtering) is _terrible_, and the inability to bookmark specific talks within a conference is infuriating. Part of the pain is how close it is to being really good! What's your pro/con list?
- rdtwo 6y ago
  I have a work subscription and never use it. The interface is so terrible I’d rather pay for the book
- paulgb 6y ago
  To be honest, I didn't realize it was that expensive for an individual (we might have some sort of team pricing -- I'm not sure what my seat cost but I assumed it was cheaper than that). At that rate, you're probably better off with a $400/y budget for paper O'Reilly books. That said, it is fun to be able to randomly access books on a topic without having to decide whether or not to buy them.
- busrf 6y ago
  If you get an ACM membership, which costs $99/yr, you get access to Safari as a membership benefit.

by paulgb 6y ago

kranner 6y ago

For anyone in India, the cheapest way to get a Safari Books subscription is via an ACM Professional or Student membership. It’s only INR 1500 per year.

animesh 6y ago
Going through the student membership options, this seems to be only for current students. Was I missing something here?
- kranner 6y ago
  I think that is as intended. People who are no longer students should select the Professional membership option, which is what I did.

phonebanshee 6y ago

And check your local library. Here in Seattle you get to use Safari if you have a library card.

digianarchist 6y ago
Toronto too albeit the old version.

orzig 6y ago

I frequently muse about whether Safari, which is valuable, is worth the $399/y Pro: I like being able to sample the same topic from many prospectives (one chapter from each of 3-5 books) Cons: I wouldn't spend /that/ much on books in a year, the quality of the videos is widely variable, the search (including quality filtering) is _terrible_, and the inability to bookmark specific talks within a conference is infuriating. Part of the pain is how close it is to being really good! What's your pro/con list?

rdtwo 6y ago
I have a work subscription and never use it. The interface is so terrible I’d rather pay for the book
paulgb 6y ago
To be honest, I didn't realize it was that expensive for an individual (we might have some sort of team pricing -- I'm not sure what my seat cost but I assumed it was cheaper than that). At that rate, you're probably better off with a $400/y budget for paper O'Reilly books. That said, it is fun to be able to randomly access books on a topic without having to decide whether or not to buy them.
busrf 6y ago
If you get an ACM membership, which costs $99/yr, you get access to Safari as a membership benefit.