Supporting Innovators: Why I’m Reviewing a Book from Packt
A few days ago, Amit Sharma from Packt Publishing contacted me to see if I’d be interested in doing a free review of PHP Team Development by Samisa Abeysinghe.
With most publishers, I’d have demurred – my work on LexPublica leaves me with little enough time for family, friends and clients – however, I have a soft spot for innovators like Packt, O’Reilly and No Starch.
As most readers of this blog know, the publishing industry is undergoing massive (and painful) change. Over the last decade, I’ve watched good presses get eaten up, squeezed hard or simply closed down. The market around information has changed and it’s been tough for the publishing industry to adapt.
Packt uses e-book and print-on-demand technology to reduce waste ((though, frankly, I haven’t compared the environment cost of print-on-demand to the environmental cost the classic printing model)) and to help cover niche topics that might not otherwise receive complete coverage. They also partner with open source projects, allowing smaller projects to still have the legitimacy and convenience of professionally printed manuals and have their $24,000 USD Open Source CMS Award.
As for the book itself, embarrassingly I’ve requested a print copy. My only reading time is on the commute to the LexPublica offices and I’m not going to pull out my laptop on the crowded Vancouver buses.
Posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 01:05
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