[LRUG] Old Programming Books

dblack at wobblini.net dblack at wobblini.net
Wed Dec 27 05:08:21 PST 2006


Hi --

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006, Alex Pounds wrote:

> On Wed, December 27, 2006 1:32 am, Harjeet Taggar wrote:
>> I just had a v quick question - what do you all do with old
>> programming books that you don't need anymore?  Do you sell them on
>> ebay/other sites or just keep hold of them?
>
> When I was at University I used to sell them cheaply via the internal
> newsgroups. These days I offer them via the internal company list, and if
> that doesn't work I give them away to people who want them or give them to
> charity. I figure the hassle of postage (and the cost!) just isn't worth it
> for something that's hideously out of date. Who really wants a guide to Java
> 1.1, really? I found a stack of Windows 3 manuals the other day. They're
> probably going straight into the recycling bag.

I have to say, computer books are one of the few types of book that I
actually throw away or recycle for materials.  I'm totally into the
idea of getting as much life as possible out of things, but by the
time I threw away "Memory Management in DOS 5" (circa 1999), there was
literally no chance that anyone would ever have any use for it.

Nonetheless, I certainly support the idea of reusing them where
possible.  There's just a pretty small window of time between the time
I'm done with them and the time they're completely out of date.


David

-- 
Q. What is THE Ruby book for Rails developers?
A. RUBY FOR RAILS by David A. Black (http://www.manning.com/black)
    (See what readers are saying!  http://www.rubypal.com/r4rrevs.pdf)
Q. Where can I get Ruby/Rails on-site training, consulting, coaching?
A. Ruby Power and Light, LLC (http://www.rubypal.com)



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