? Thought it was already free for years.
It was free in its html version. The pdf costed about 20$.
Hmm, a PDF isn't much better than HTML, they should provide some ebook format—how should one read this thing conveniently on his smartphone?
Getting Real book is now free PDF
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Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#12Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#13This is wonderful. One of the best reality checks for a developer/entrepreneur. Not to be a dick, but I would appreciate a mobi version of it.
If you have a Kindle with WiFi, you can send the PDF to your personalized Kindle email address with word 'Convert' in the subject and it will convert the PDF to the appropriate format for your Kindle. It works beautifully.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#14The 'enter your e-mail address to get X' approach is spreading! Unsurprising.. because it works like gangbusters :-) In this case, you get an e-mail that says: "Periodically we'll drop you a line if we have something interesting to share." (There's also an unsubscribe link.) They'll get to build up an incredible list with this. I'm happy to see 37signals using this approach as it helps legitimize the technique of bui…
I have a list of email adresses I use just for these fake subscriptions..
But the majority of people don't.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#15For those who haven't read the book: it's a great experience and gives you confidence in bootstrapping: that you can get things done just by starting and doing it yourself and not waiting for some coding talent or VC money. So, it's definitely very motivating and I recommend to skim it instantly if you haven't done it before.
But at the same time it's pretty old now and if you read HN for more than 3 months then the book won't offer any surprise. And though it's not very much about Rails or programming it still transports a specific and opinionated mindset about how life and in particular entrepreneurship has to work. From 37signals' point of view it's the only way how entrepreneurship should be approached while heavily despising other ways, as recently seen in DHH last post about players like Pinterest, Instagram or Quora. So, it's pretty much like Rails—there is only one way and no other—and thus, you should take some messages of the book with a grain of salt and be aware that it's aged and to some extent just a leverage for email Marketing for 37signals (also aging) products.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#16The 'enter your e-mail address to get X' approach is spreading! Unsurprising.. because it works like gangbusters :-) In this case, you get an e-mail that says: "Periodically we'll drop you a line if we have something interesting to share." (There's also an unsubscribe link.) They'll get to build up an incredible list with this. I'm happy to see 37signals using this approach as it helps legitimize the technique of bui…
I have a list of email adresses I use just for these fake subscriptions..
But who really cares? It isn't like 37signals is spamming people. As far as less reputable people, I don't want what they're giving away anyway.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
It was free in its html version. The pdf costed about 20$.
Hmm, a PDF isn't much better than HTML, they should provide some ebook format—how should one read this thing conveniently on his smartphone?
Quit complaining. Convert the PDF yourself. The damned thing was free! Perhaps they should send us an iPad to read it on too?
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#18This is wonderful. One of the best reality checks for a developer/entrepreneur. Not to be a dick, but I would appreciate a mobi version of it.
If you have a Kindle with WiFi, you can send the PDF to your personalized Kindle email address with word 'Convert' in the subject and it will convert the PDF to the appropriate format for your Kindle. It works beautifully.
It work kind of okay, but formatting tends to get screwed up when doing this. Conversion with something like Calibre can give better results, but typically nothing's as good as a well-prepared epub or mobi.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#19For those who haven't read the book: it's a great experience and gives you confidence in bootstrapping: that you can get things done just by starting and doing it yourself and not waiting for some coding talent or VC money. So, it's definitely very motivating and I recommend to skim it instantly if you haven't done it before. But at the same time it's pretty old now and if you read HN for more than 3 months then the…
"From 37signals' point of view it's the only way how entrepreneurship should be approached while heavily despising other ways"
Nope. It's not the only way. It's one way. There are lots of ways to build a product and run a business. Getting Real is what we've learned. Same with REWORK - it's our experience and advice in book form. Neither book pretends to be the only way.
If you have your own unique approach, and you think your experience can be valuable to those who haven't had your experience, take the time to write it up and share it with the world.
Re: Getting Real book is now free PDF
#20This release gives 37Signals a number of advantages. 1) Free press towards the 37Signals brand and 2) a product that they're proud of and which indicates the future quality a customer can expect from them.
This will benefit them far more than any lingering sales revenue might have. 37Signals seem to consistently do this sort of thing right.