Post #31,561
3/10/02 9:44:27 PM
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Why buy a book when the web has it for free?
[link|http://www.perlmonks.org|Perl Monks] is one such web site to learn Perl from.
Or take a college's [link|http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Training/PerlIntro|Perl Tutorial] or [link|http://www.bilalphilips.com/services/webmaster/perl2.htm|Download another one]
"Will work for fair salary and benefits, seeking company with integrity."
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Post #31,567
3/10/02 11:10:55 PM
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Much easier to sit on a toilet with a paper book
One reason I've always liked dead tree books rather than HTML or other video blah-blah, I can go sit and learn.
(Besides, video displays still don't have the quality of a printed page.)
Where each demon is slain, more hate is raised, yet hate unchecked also multiplies. - L. E. Modesitt
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Post #31,578
3/10/02 11:27:59 PM
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But can't your just print out a web page
or Acrobat file or Postscript file or whatever and then staples the pages into a notebook or something and then read it in the toliet?
Get a [link|http://www.gnutella.org|GNUTella] client, point it at a server, and enter "Perl EBook" and see what pops up. :)
"Will work for fair salary and benefits, seeking company with integrity."
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Post #31,605
3/11/02 10:11:25 AM
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Not quality or cost-effective in many/most cases
Considering the cost of toner, paper, and the poor quality of a 3-ring bound printed file, I still prefer a decent quality published book. But I do have colleagues who print hundreds of pages of online or Acrobat files.
Where each demon is slain, more hate is raised, yet hate unchecked also multiplies. - L. E. Modesitt
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Post #31,617
3/11/02 11:15:39 AM
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But improved interactivity
Hyperlinking gives a lot more flexibility in how you navigate material than printed matter. Also with some of those resources (perlmonks in particular) there is an opportunity to interact either through chat or posting. The ability to put out your understanding and receive targetted corrections where needed does wonders for accuracy.
That said, I prefer to learn significant topics from a book, then refine through online interaction.
Cheers,
Ben
"... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything."
--Richard Feynman
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Post #31,622
3/11/02 11:26:33 AM
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Hyperlinks hyped
Hyperlinking gives a lot more flexibility in how you navigate material than printed matter. Sure, but examples of well-linked documents are vanishingly rare. And you still (usually) get more legible information on a printed page than you can put on a computer screen. Where each demon is slain, more hate is raised, yet hate unchecked also multiplies. - L. E. Modesitt
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Post #31,629
3/11/02 11:43:59 AM
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Not that vanishing...
Most decent wikis will wind up well-linked. And for aimless wandering through the trackless wildernesss, well try [link|http://www.everything2.org|E2].
Cheers,
Ben
"... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything."
--Richard Feynman
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Post #31,587
3/11/02 4:15:32 AM
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At least one practical reason comes to mind.
What are your eyes 'worth'? A white brightly-illuminated background is Not what eyes were apparently designed to 'read' from - and even though I substitue pastel to break the especially awful white glare, adjust room lights yada yada - there's no question that it is taxing to pre-transistor eye organs.
A book is portable; a bookmark can be anything you like. It's ready - exactly where you left off. Aside from compensating the author for her work - it is also a tactile experience, if you've ever owned a superbly bound example. Then too - the typeface is crisp and above all, not glaring.
Fie on your CRT (or even TFT - though I grant that seems.. a bit better). We have only a few years' experience of these monitors - I wonder at what the after-effects might turn out to be in 20+ years. Seems analogous to the hearing losses experienced now by even the very young - after acid rock and idiotically loud amplifiers, sometimes a few feet from the victims.
Save your sensory apparatus from techno-excess. That's my aim, anyway.
(Same for gun owners too macho to use ear protectors)
Happy reading.
Ashton
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Post #31,620
3/11/02 11:25:01 AM
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OT Re: ruined hearing
There's a show on MTV called The Osbournes. They had a camera crew live with/follow Ozzy and his family for a couple of months. (Don't ask how I found out about this.) The whole family has this hysterically caustic wit.
One night at a restaurant, the daughter muttered something derogatory about Ozzy. The whole table (~20 people) laughed but Ozzy, sitting right next to her, asked her what she said. She complained that he's always the only one who didn't hear something.
He responded (and you have to imagine this in the British accent to appreciate it), "Well you didn't stand in front of 30 billion decibels for 35 years. Write me a fucking note."
I can't be a Democrat because I like to spend the money I make.
I can't be a Republican because I like to spend the money I make on drugs and whores.
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