O’Reilly embraces ebook technology and releases 30 digital titles

Technology publishing giant O’Reilly recently announced that many of its popular titles will be released in ebook format. The press release “30 O’Reilly Titles Now Available as Ebook Bundles” explains how you can now buy these electronic titles through the O’Reilly store and download them in the ebook reader format of your choice.

The three ebook formats available are EPUB, PDF, and Mobipocket, and these formats are compatible with Adobe Digital Editions, Kindle, Blackberries, and Sony Reader.

The electronic titles aren’t just about writing programming code, like so many great O’Reilly books are. Subject to Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World covers strategic planning and Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management discusses project management strategies. Mind Performance Hacks includes strategies for improving your analytical reasoning and focus. There also are guides for using Wikipedia and Facebook, and a book on transforming your home into a smart house.

The fewer books taking up space on your bookshelves, the easier it is to keep your bookshelves in order. Thank you, O’Reilly, for embracing the ebook market!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Posted by Erin on Aug 12, 2008 | Comments |

8 comments posted

  1. Posted by Shawn - 08/12/2008

    I’m glad to see that, according the the O’Reilly link above, that “These files (like all our PDFs currently for sale) do not include any DRM….”

  2. Posted by Carl Cravens - 08/12/2008

    I think it’s worth noting that O’Reilly has offered their entire catalog, and hundreds of books from other publishers, electronically for two or three years now through their Safari reference library service. I pay $15 a month and get access to every book (albeit only 10 at at time, but I can switch out a book after 30 days). As a programmer, I find this invaluable… I can access the manuals I need both at work and at home without taking up shelf space, owning two copies of each book, or hauling books back and forth. And when a new edition comes out, I don’t have an old book to get rid of… I just get the new book automatically.

    So yeah, offering 30 of their books as downloadable e-books is cool, but it’s not O’Reilly’s first foray into making their content available digitally.

  3. Posted by Peter - 08/12/2008

    Whether it’s there first foray or not, it is still quite useful. I’ll tell you, this day and age, any and all info is available somewhere on the net. Some is free, and some is $$$$, but it is all there. What an amazing world, no?

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  4. Posted by Michael@ Awareness * Connection - 08/12/2008

    I’m an early adopter on lots of technologies, but haven’t been on digital media. This certainly makes sense for O’Reilly given their subject matter. The little experience I’ve had with reading non-fiction in electronic formats looks promising. I’m sure I’ll jump on the wagon once it gets a bit more pervasive. Being able to search makes a huge difference.

  5. Posted by infmom - 08/12/2008

    Am I the only one who doesn’t happen to think that books, especially the kinds of books O’Reilly publishes, don’t necessarily constitute clutter? Give me a good, solid printed book (or user manual!) over the electronic version any day. When a printed book is no longer useful, it can be donated to the public library (something we do on a regular basis–cleaner shelves, a nice tax deduction, and other people get to read those books for free).

    Maybe this is just my frustration at trying to learn a newer version of a very full-featured web page design program whose only available documentation is a 1200+ page PDF coming out.

    That said, I do read books on my Tungsten using MobiPocket, but those aren’t reference books–just classics to keep my mind occupied in assorted waiting rooms. I’d find it difficult to use a Palm sized screen for serious reference.

  6. Posted by Matt R. @ YFNCG.com - 08/12/2008

    When I saw the title of this headline I thought you were referring to the blowhard american talkshow host Bill O’Reilly! Thankfully, that’s not the case! Now…time to get me a Kindle!

  7. Posted by Elizabeth - 08/12/2008

    Noooo…Books aren’t clutter…they’re BOOKS!!! If you want to read a book you don’t want to keep, use a library. Ebooks aren’t books, they’re headaches.

  8. Posted by woodsiteboat - 08/20/2008

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