4 ms·

The page contains a link that says "If you want to get a copy, you can download a digital copy for free." Clicking this link either asks you to name a price (f

The page contains a link that says "If you want to get a copy, you can download a digital copy for free." Clicking this link either asks you to name a price (for something you haven't yet had a chance to evaluate) or takes you to a page that either has no actual .PDF download link, or has hidden it well enough to turn it into a puzzle. Either way, not an ideal first impression. Designing electronics that work is a lot like designing a web page that works: even if it doesn't end up simple, it should almost always start out that way.

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TheAceOfHearts 2y ago
You can type in a price of 0, then it asks for your email and it takes you to a PDF download page.
- beryilma 2y ago
  As much as I appreciate the author's effort, if I have to enter my email to get the "free" book, then the book is not free.
  - lelandfe 2y ago
    Lots of free things require identifying yourself, like healthcare. Those, just like this free book, are still free.
    - speed_spread 2y ago
      Healthcare has expectations of privacy, legally enforceable. Random insert-email-here has expectations of a scale of getting spammed to getting fucked out of your online identity.
      - lelandfe 2y ago
        "If I have to enter my email to get the 'free' book, then the book is not free" was the original assertion. I missed the implied footnote about privacy expectations.
        speed_spread 2y ago
        You pay, personal information and lost time is the currency.
  - antidumbass 2y ago
    "If I have to show my card to get into Costco, the free samples aren't free"
- yaheath 2y ago
  No it doesn't. Looks like it's been removed because of the pending second edition, which will no longer be free.
  - TheAceOfHearts 2y ago
    Maybe the author changed something. But when I saw the link, I put in $0 and my email and I received a PDF download link.
nartho 2y ago
Mmh all you hate to do is enter 0 for the price and click on the huge pink button to get the pdf
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  Mmh, OK, I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.
  - drivers99 2y ago
    Once you do that you still have to put in your email address. That's where I bounced off of it for now.
    - vvchvb 2y ago
      [dead]
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deskr 2y ago
Lord Jesus F Christ. The author writes a complete electronics book and gives it away for free, and your entitled rectum moans about having to type $0 to get it for free?
- sockaddr 2y ago
  Look, the flow is stupid and broken, he's not complaining about typing the $0. I had the same issue. It's a gumroad thing I think. Again. It's stupid and broken. Not entitlement
- II2II 2y ago
  While it does come off as self-entitled, it is worth considering that there are a lot of people in the world who are competing for our attention. Sometimes legitimately, sometimes not. Even in the legitimate cases, it is enough to overload most people. Perhaps it is better to make the point using more considerate words, something to the effect of: hey, we should be thankful that the author is providing the option to get the book for free.
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  It's not about the book's merit or its price, it's about good faith. Bushwhacking the reader with unexpected hassles won't make them feel good about clicking the link, "free" or not.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
wrycoder 2y ago
Yes. Think of it as a CAPTCHA. There’s a reason.
vkaku 2y ago
Okay, I'm one among the many users who experienced this exact same thing, and Gumroad seems to indicate this variant is 'Sold Out' and doesn't let me get anything by typing $0 (or any other number for that matter). The book is available on Z-Library by cursorily searching for the Title of the book. Sigh. Hope the author fixes this by putting it on GitHub (or) removing the link to the Gumroad site that doesn't work.

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TheAceOfHearts 2y ago

You can type in a price of 0, then it asks for your email and it takes you to a PDF download page.

beryilma 2y ago
As much as I appreciate the author's effort, if I have to enter my email to get the "free" book, then the book is not free.
- lelandfe 2y ago
  Lots of free things require identifying yourself, like healthcare. Those, just like this free book, are still free.
  - speed_spread 2y ago
    Healthcare has expectations of privacy, legally enforceable. Random insert-email-here has expectations of a scale of getting spammed to getting fucked out of your online identity.
    - lelandfe 2y ago
      "If I have to enter my email to get the 'free' book, then the book is not free" was the original assertion. I missed the implied footnote about privacy expectations.
      - speed_spread 2y ago
        You pay, personal information and lost time is the currency.
- antidumbass 2y ago
  "If I have to show my card to get into Costco, the free samples aren't free"
yaheath 2y ago
No it doesn't. Looks like it's been removed because of the pending second edition, which will no longer be free.
- TheAceOfHearts 2y ago
  Maybe the author changed something. But when I saw the link, I put in $0 and my email and I received a PDF download link.

nartho 2y ago

Mmh all you hate to do is enter 0 for the price and click on the huge pink button to get the pdf

CamperBob2 2y ago
Mmh, OK, I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.
- drivers99 2y ago
  Once you do that you still have to put in your email address. That's where I bounced off of it for now.
  - vvchvb 2y ago
    [dead]

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

deskr 2y ago

Lord Jesus F Christ. The author writes a complete electronics book and gives it away for free, and your entitled rectum moans about having to type $0 to get it for free?

sockaddr 2y ago
Look, the flow is stupid and broken, he's not complaining about typing the $0. I had the same issue. It's a gumroad thing I think. Again. It's stupid and broken. Not entitlement
II2II 2y ago
While it does come off as self-entitled, it is worth considering that there are a lot of people in the world who are competing for our attention. Sometimes legitimately, sometimes not. Even in the legitimate cases, it is enough to overload most people. Perhaps it is better to make the point using more considerate words, something to the effect of: hey, we should be thankful that the author is providing the option to get the book for free.
CamperBob2 2y ago
It's not about the book's merit or its price, it's about good faith. Bushwhacking the reader with unexpected hassles won't make them feel good about clicking the link, "free" or not.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

wrycoder 2y ago

Yes. Think of it as a CAPTCHA. There’s a reason.

vkaku 2y ago

Okay, I'm one among the many users who experienced this exact same thing, and Gumroad seems to indicate this variant is 'Sold Out' and doesn't let me get anything by typing $0 (or any other number for that matter). The book is available on Z-Library by cursorily searching for the Title of the book. Sigh. Hope the author fixes this by putting it on GitHub (or) removing the link to the Gumroad site that doesn't work.