Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 08:32:19 -0700 From: <marc@freeamp.org> To: titus@pleach.de Cc: van.woerkom@netcologne.de, freebsd-doc@freebsd.org, de-bsd-translators@de.freebsd.org Subject: Re: Hardcopy versions of Handbook and FAQ as BoD Message-ID: <199907291532.IAA00569@freeamp.org> In-Reply-To: <37A03798.AE81961D@pleach-hamburg.de> (message from Titus von Boxberg on Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:14:32 %2B0200) References: <37A03798.AE81961D@pleach-hamburg.de>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> I think that FreeBSD hasn't experienced > a public interest large enough to expect > that people would also spend money for a printed > book (speaking only for germany). I would wish the answer was so easy. The problem has a bit of the egg/hen dilemma. Why is suddenly everyone talking about Linux, and not about FreeBSD? I believe their visibility has reached a certain critical size. They had some companies that produced easy to use distributions, plus lots of books, magazines, mascots.. Every new FreeBSD item is good and will assure people that they are betting on a healthy, growing OS. I myself would not hesitate to buy the books if they are resonably priced and respect their origin. In fact printing 600p on my laser is not for free after all, and the result is an ugly pile of pages that is not easy to use. So for practical reasons it would make sense to drag this stuff to a printer, for a nice A5 sized paperback edition. Doing this is only justified, if a certain number of copies can be produced. I used to publish a school paper that was quite professional for that time, we printed about 2000 of them per issue, 80 pages, chromolux cover (3 colors printing). It was lots of work, but really nice. Also we had to recoup the 1000-2000$ of printing costs per issue. This was covered by printing ads of local stores, from bigger ads companies etc. But I guess such a business model won work with technical documentation - 600 pages handbook + 50 pages of ads? :-) > Otherwise, I think, there would be a serious > second source for FreeBSD CD-ROMs; it's really > annoying that it always takes several weeks until the > new walnut creek distribution is sold e.g. at Lehmann' I am buggered about this as you are. However for another reason too - I want to see money flowing to the FreeBSD project, but subscribing is a PITA for various reasons. > So: Before you do this, maybe you should ask a major distributor > (either an experienced Linux distributor or e.g. Lehmanns) > if they are interested in that project. End of this month I hope to have all major options covered, contacting Lehmanns -my source for CDs too- is one the options. > And there are *lots* of Print On Demand Services If you have recommendations for - BoD Services - Print Services - CD Manufacturers please mail them to me. Another item is advice on the legal form to choose. I wish I could do without such hassle, but in a regulated western country like Germany, economic activity above a certain scale -and selling books and CDs qualify as such- is not tolerated without creating a foundation/Verein or a company. Regards, Marc To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199907291532.IAA00569>