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Why aren't more books available as PDF downloads?
Hi: I like to download entire books as PDF files. I can routinely do this with books from Manning, Apress, Pragmatic Programmers etc., but only some O'Reilly books are available in this format. I know about Safari, but I'm not always online. I've download some O'Reilly books, but there are others only available in print or Safari, per by some chapters via PDF. I would like the book entirely in PDF. The new Java Power Tools is out, and I would like that book in PDF.
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Inappropriate?Hello Jeff,
We're working to get all of our books available in PDF format as soon as possible. As for new titles, those usually have a six week waiting period before they are available as a PDF. I would check back in June for a PDF version of Java Power Tools.2 Comments
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Thanks, Jason. I'm glad to hear O'Reilly is moving that direction. I don't see a visible watermark on the O'Reilly titles I've downloaded, but other publishers either password protect the PDF file or put my name and/or email address on every page etc. I don't know if something similar will allay fears of misuse.
Why the six week delay for new titles? I'd think that the reasonably priced PDF download with no cost for printing and shipping would be more profitable than the print version. Well, I guess six weeks will allow for more reviews to accumulate on Amazon... :)
Jeff -
That is correct Jeff, it can be more profitable due to no production costs. However, we do not want to compete with our own print book sales.
We chose not to watermark or password protect our PDFs. Just as we chose to put no form of DRM on our PDFs. Many forms of DRM can detract from the usability of a product, making it less desirable as a purchase. -
