Every tail needs a snout
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Tim O'Reilly has announced a new initiative called Rough Cuts. The idea is that, for a price, you can get access to early drafts of a new O'Reilly book. You will also be able to influence the content, should you so desire.
On the face of it, this appears a worthy addition to the O'Reilly stable and will sit well with the existing range of books and Safari. Some, including Tim himself, obviously see in this the start of a new chapter (ho hum) in the hsitory of publishing. They may well be right: it would certainly be interesting to see this work for collaborative fiction.
The problem, of course, is the price model. One of the books on offer is Ajax Hacks. That's something that would interest me. But if I want access to the online book as it is produced and then want a copy of the finished product I need to pay $32.99. Online access for the work in production is a mere $14.99.
I have shelves full of O'Reilly books that are out of date almost as soon as the postie drops the Amazon package through the door. I can see that this is one way to keep up to speed with the rapidity of technological change but I can't help feeling that O'Reilly is the real winner. The term 'snout' may be more than coincidental (think trough). As soon as Ajax Hacks is printed, the 2nd edition will no doubt be started. Will it take another $14.99 to see that created as well?
There's something missing in this model. It could be that I'm ignoring the economic necessities but I suspect that a free collaboration may be the best way to achieve the best final product, which then could be purchased normally. It will be intriguing to see the feedback from the technology community and how the programme develops.
On the face of it, this appears a worthy addition to the O'Reilly stable and will sit well with the existing range of books and Safari. Some, including Tim himself, obviously see in this the start of a new chapter (ho hum) in the hsitory of publishing. They may well be right: it would certainly be interesting to see this work for collaborative fiction.
The problem, of course, is the price model. One of the books on offer is Ajax Hacks. That's something that would interest me. But if I want access to the online book as it is produced and then want a copy of the finished product I need to pay $32.99. Online access for the work in production is a mere $14.99.
I have shelves full of O'Reilly books that are out of date almost as soon as the postie drops the Amazon package through the door. I can see that this is one way to keep up to speed with the rapidity of technological change but I can't help feeling that O'Reilly is the real winner. The term 'snout' may be more than coincidental (think trough). As soon as Ajax Hacks is printed, the 2nd edition will no doubt be started. Will it take another $14.99 to see that created as well?
There's something missing in this model. It could be that I'm ignoring the economic necessities but I suspect that a free collaboration may be the best way to achieve the best final product, which then could be purchased normally. It will be intriguing to see the feedback from the technology community and how the programme develops.
