Re: Art of Electronics Rave - NON Politix! :-)

From: john jardine (john_at_jjdesigns.fsnet.co.uk)
Date: 01/14/05 

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 22:41:34 -0000

"Rick" <rik_nntp@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:zMLFd.34869$g4.646464@news2.nokia.com...
> john jardine <john@jjdesigns.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> >>
> > Don't know about your neck of the woods but the one I saw this afternoon
> > browsing the shelves of a new bookshop, was on sale at ?50.00. Unless an
> > individual is very well financed then it is simply not affordable. What
> > price knowledge?.
>
> Hmmph - I was recently quoted 170 UKP (about $300) for a copy of
> an out-of-print technical book.
>
> --
> Rick

The dealers have got us by the balls!.
In UK it's ludicrous. Copyright on written material lasts something like 75
years after an authors death. The author may have written their classic when
20, so the only books guaranteed to be out of copyright and freely copyable
are those that were written before about 1840.
Meanwhile, all the interesting technical books have come and gone. Maybe
available for 3 years, never reprinted, subsequently lost from view.
The system is geared such that there's no copies in the shops and it's
illegal to make a copy. The bookdealers though are allowed to rip us off,
yet the author never sees a penny.
Only way out is to borrow the book via the library system and piously sign
the form saying it won't be copied.
Hence, all the out of print technical books ordered from a UK library have
broken spines and insist on offering their pages up in a pre-flattened form,
almost quivering to make the copier glass journey.
regards
john