How do you manage your programming books between home and work? Do you carry all your books between the two or do you exclusively make use of e-books at one of the locations?
+3
A:
for the books i need constantly, i have a copy at home and a copy at work - carrying books between the two just plain sucks
for books i use less often, having a copy at home works fine. a subscription to safari (or whatever) seemed like a great idea, but i find i rarely use it; i always prefer to use a physical book. but that's just personal preference
Cal
2009-01-27 20:51:22
+9
A:
I find Safari Books a big help. I usually buy a 'real' book if I'm going to read it cover from cover, but I can access it from anywhere if it's on Safari too.
it depends
2009-01-27 20:52:05
One thing to check on too is if your local library system subscribes to Safari. It is a nice system but even better if it is free.
Flory
2009-01-27 21:32:13
The Quebec National Library, the public library serving residents of Quebec, Canada, offers its members free group subscriptions to Safari Books and Books 24x7.
Derek Mahar
2010-08-27 21:20:31
+1
A:
I leave all my books at home. If I have any pdf-books, I put those on the company file server, which I can access at home.
Grant
2009-01-27 20:52:41
A:
i READ them and then stack them anywhere(where i can find them) if i have a question ill check it next time im there, i dont use them for my everyday work!
DFectuoso
2009-01-27 20:54:06
+1
A:
Work is related to workplace. Don't work at home. So work related books are not allowed at home.
Zsolt Botykai
2009-01-27 21:04:15
Because spending time with your loved ones (I mean e.g. family) is way more fun.
Zsolt Botykai
2009-01-27 21:52:47
On the other hand, fail to keep up with the industry at home, and you'll soon be out of work. Yes, you need a balance. No, the balance is NOT "treat software development like a 9-5 job".
mbarnett
2010-01-18 03:15:06
My C++ books tend to be at work, along with all of my Windows-specific books. The other programming books generally live at home. I see no reason not to program at home (and I've spent a good deal of money making sure I can), but I'd rather do things at home I don't do at work.
David Thornley
2010-01-18 03:18:47
A:
Its been a while since I read a book from cover to cover. I generally have my must haves at work and when at home anything from MSDN to Blogs works for me. Safari is just too expensive for me or I am too cheap for it.
Perpetualcoder
2009-01-27 21:21:44
A:
I always carry current reading material (maybe 1 or 2 300-page books) with me wherever I go - I never know when there might be some time to gain some additional insight into the current topic of interest.
For reference books, they generally stay at home unless the project I am working on requires having a reference close by to troubleshoot any problems. I think it's also worth pointing out that I do only live 15 minutes walk from my work.
For e-books, I have both at home and work, although I never find them as aesthetically pleasing or easy-on-the-eyes to view as a "real" book
Russ Cam
2009-01-27 21:22:20
I have a Sony eReader is it works great too. I love the contrast of the eInk. It's just like reading paper. They are just as easy to read in direct sunlight as they are at your desk.
Matthew Whited
2010-05-11 16:30:44
A:
maybe lynda.com can save you money and provide the materials you are looking for..
Jas Panesar
2009-01-27 21:44:37
+1
A:
Did you try purchasing external HDD ? This is easiest solution, and external HDDs are not expensive to much.
svlada
2009-10-15 11:44:17
+1
A:
i use dropbox.com with a 'ebook' directory in it with all of my work and non work related ebook in it, it works great
andycjw
2010-01-18 02:50:06
+2
A:
I have a USB hard drive with all my ebooks on it. To organize them I have a TiddlyWiki, organized by subject, that links to the ebooks. I also use it to add links to code samples, blogs, APIs and so on.
I have multiple monitors at both work and home and I now prefer to have my books on the second monitor as I work.
I just transfer the usb hard drive to whichever system I need. I like this system and even bought a netbook tablet for use away from the desk but honestly don't use it that much and for the price I wish I had bought one of the big screen linux e-readers that can read books from USB.
I like the USB drive because I can annotate and organize in one place without having to synch things up between work and home.
I generally dispose of the physical books on SwapTree or by donating them in the library donation bins we have at work because they take up too much room or weigh too much. I kept physical copies of most of the classic books of the genre like Code Complete, Edward Tufte's books and so on, but for something like a C# Reference I just keep the e-book.
Junx
2010-02-01 04:07:42
+1
A:
I read programming books at home and work using Books 24x7 and Safari Books Online, two excellent sources of business and technical books. My employer provides me with a group subscription to Books 24x7 and the Quebec National Library, the public library serving residents of Quebec, Canada, offers its members free group subscriptions to both online book services.
As an Internet connection is not always available, I use Scrapbook Plus, an add-on for Firefox, to capture and store some book content locally on my computer or in my Dropbox account for reading on multiple computers, or printing to PDF or paper. Session Manager, another Firefox add-on, comes in handy for saving my reading locations on my PC or in my Dropbox account.
Derek Mahar
2010-05-11 00:25:04