MetaFilter posts tagged with Book and free

A Long, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Free Software

Monday, stony Monday — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:00:07 -0800

In Two Bits (full-book in html) , Christopher M. Kelty investigates the history and cultural significance of Free Software, revealing the people and practices that have transformed not only software, but also music, film, science, and education. The author encourage his readers to modulate the book. Sadly, Two Bits has not been endorsed by Richard Stallman. There have been reviews, notably in MIT's Technology Review and Inside Higher Ed. It also has provoked interesting reactions from readers, including this story about the early Korean Internet, and this (title-inspiring) comment from Thomas Lord. [via LtU]

The New Liberal Arts

srboisvert — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:27:37 -0800

The New Liberal Arts book is out. 47 pages of free pdf about things the various authors think will help prepare you for modern life. Earlier discussion about the planning phase of the book.

Almost Perfect

Monday, stony Monday — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:38:44 -0800

Almost Perfect (1994) is an account of "the rise and fall of WordPerfect Corporation" from the point of view of former executive vice-president W. E. (Pete) Peterson. [via reddit].

Feel your inadequacy

Monday, stony Monday — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:32:54 -0800

If you're like me, you are not a top computer science researcher, and you haven't written a classic book about programming and made it available online for free. Let's review who we're not. We're neither Abelson nor Sussman, and we haven't written Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (previous proof). We're not part of TeachScheme and we had no hand in the writing of How to Design Programs (not even the second edition, natch). Shriram Krishnamurthi didn't need our help to write Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation. We wish we were Simon Peyton-Jones and had a hand in The Implementation of Functional Programming Languages. And since we're in a depressing mood, let's say Van Roy and Haridi are not us, and we have nothing to do with Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming. (not really online...)

Is Haskell Failing?

Monday, stony Monday — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:38:42 -0800

Haskell has a sort of unofficial slogan: avoid success at all costs says one of its inventors, Simon Peyton-Jones. But will the advanced purely functional programming language[, a]n open source product of more than twenty years of cutting edge research remain true to its roots? Things look rather bleak for the obscurity of Haskell. In the wake of Peyton-Jones's own A taste of Haskell, and with the imminent publication of Real World Haskell by O'Reilly and the emergence of the Haskell Platform, comes BONUS's fun, colorfully illustrated Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!. (Somewhat reminiscent of why's (poignant) guide to Ruby [previously], but a little less, er, exhuberant.) If you read Proggit and LtU, you've already seen all this. Also, sorry inverted-pyramid lovers.

Science, Evolution, and Creationism

grouse — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:24:54 -0800

The National Academies release their new book Science, Evolution, and Creationism, targeted at the public, which summarizes the "scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom." Download the 89-page book free in PDF format (you will be asked for your e-mail address, location, and employment sector first). Other resources on evolution from the National Academies, including other free online books (previously on MetaFilter). There's a brief NYT story about it as well.

They send you a book, you review it.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:58:13 -0800

Blog a Penguin Classic.

The revolution will be hard-bound and highlighted

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:00:48 -0800

"The [textbook] industry charges outrageous prices for new textbooks while simultaneously doing everything it can to make older versions unusable or obsolete. There is simply no reason that a new calulus textbook should cost $157. The study of calculus, at least the type of calculus that most of us need to study in high school or undergraduate programs, has not changed significantly in decades." - Textbook Revolution.

By the book

meech — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:51:09 -0800

HarperCollins is the first major publisher to give away an entire version of a new book online, revenue being raised through Yahoo! ads. But they don't seem to be 100% committed - if you go to their website you can pay $18.26 for the e-book and no mention is made of it being available free at the author's own website. [Appropriately the book, "Go it Alone" by Bruce Judson is about entrepreneurial ideas]

God's Debris by Scott Adams for free

Plutor — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 06:57:59 -0800

God's Debris by Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) is now available for free in PDF form. It's a controversial book that presents a philosophically strange view of the universe. According to Adams, it splits readers between "the best book they've ever read" and "an insult to literature and a disservice to humanity".

Wall Street

andrew cooke — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 17:10:16 -0800

Wall Street - How it Works, and for Whom, by Doug Henwood. Sold over 20,000 copies as paperback. Acclaimed by Crooked Timber. Available for free under a Creative Commons license (Amazon).