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Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

ericsink.com

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Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#21

Post by bhamnav »

dspillett wrote: post #18
bhamnav wrote: post #14

Doesn't seem to work, no matter which browser I use. Maybe it doesn't like UK addresses?

It didn't seem to complain with my (UK) address, and I got the "confirm your email address" mail through and that link worked fine. This was one or two hours ago though, so there may be a new bug or the page (or the DB behind it) may be under sudden load if the link has hit high volume sites like slashdot. I'd report it to them if I were you, though please make the bug report much more detailed than "it didn't work".…

Don't worry, I filed an extensive bug report, like a true-hacker-style.

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#22

Post by ericsink »

prestia wrote: post #17

I'd love to request a copy, but the District of Columbia is not an option in the state field. I know we're not technically a state, but we're still people! I actually have this problem more often than I should. It is especially painful when I'm trying to pay for a product. Tip to all web developers: Make sure DC is an option in your signup/order forms.

I just wanted to make sure none of those crooks in Congress got a free copy of my book, but I keep forgetting that other people live there too.

:-)

Seriously, sorry for the oversight. We'll fix this.

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#23

Post by ericsink »

cfn wrote: post #10

I submitted twice using different browsers and both times the form came back empty except for the address. No sign of any error or missing fields. The PDF will be then.

Apologies to folks having difficulty. Book requests are still coming in, so the system is definitely operational. We'll be investigating the problems this morning. For now, my only guess is that it is related to the load, so I suggest you keep trying.

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#24

Post by corin_ »

kailashbadu wrote: post #11
corin_ wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got taken to a page saying: "Thank you for requesting a copy of "Version Control by Example". "Before your request can be processed, you will need to verify your email address. You will be receiving an email from us shortly with instructions to verify your request."

Was that surprising ?

Well the person who I replied to said he got no confirmation and the form just reloaded, so I told him that he should see a confirmation page and showed him what to expect. Did you not bother reading the comment I was replying to?

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#26

Post by dspillett »

bhamnav wrote: post #21
dspillett wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It didn't seem to complain with my (UK) address, and I got the "confirm your email address" mail through and that link worked fine. This was one or two hours ago though, so there may be a new bug or the page (or the DB behind it) may be under sudden load if the link has hit high volume sites like slashdot. I'd report it to them if I were you, though please make the bug report much more detailed than "it didn't work".…

Don't worry, I filed an extensive bug report, like a true-hacker-style.

There is no "hacker style" to filing a good bug report. But I have a bee in my bonnet about bad ones - I often get the equivalent of dropping a car off at the garage for repair with just a note that "it makes a noise".

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#27

Post by wmat »

What a great idea. Will future updates be available as well? Perhaps in a DVCS for easy access?

I'd be a happy man if ALL tech books lived in a DVCS. Users could fork it, push updates, fixes, etc. and the author could integrate changes as they see fit. No more searching for errata URLs, simply update your repository.

I'd even pay for this.

A great example of where this idea could be really useful is with Linux books like 'Linux Device Drivers', or 'Understanding the Linux Kernel'. These books are often out of date at the time they're published. I'd happily pay for access to them in a repository somewhere.

This is not unlike how the Pragmatic Bookshelf (http://pragprog.com/)works today with the exception that you have to wait for new book versions to become available, then regenerate them in your e-version format of choice. It'd be much more useful if the community of users could contribute back to the book source repository at their leisure.

Re: Free Printed Copies of "Version Control by Example"

#29

Post by pasbesoin »

ericsink wrote: post #23
cfn wrote: post #10

I submitted twice using different browsers and both times the form came back empty except for the address. No sign of any error or missing fields. The PDF will be then.

Apologies to folks having difficulty. Book requests are still coming in, so the system is definitely operational. We'll be investigating the problems this morning. For now, my only guess is that it is related to the load, so I suggest you keep trying.

Also, under question 2), one has to double-click the textbox following the "Other" choice, in order to give the textbox focus and gain a working insertion point.

You should give the form a good going over. It starts to, erm, not be confidence inspiring.

Nonetheless, looking forward to having a look. I decided to request a dead-tree version as sometimes having one at hand allows me to pay attention at times I otherwise wouldn't.

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