* Not including s/h
** based on %50 of cover price which seems to be common for used bookstores.

I’m a big fan of ebooks.  I have been ever since I first found Project Gutenberg about a decade ago.  I quickly fell in love with Google Books when they started providing scanned copies of out of copyright books a few years ago.  I’ve owned a couple of ereaders.  I currently have a Nook and an no-name lcd Android tablet with all of the latest Nook, Kindle, etc apps on it.  My problem is that I want to buy more ebooks but they are cost prohibitive.

The above table gives a comparison of costs as of today on a book that was written over 20 years ago.  If you buy the ebook from Amazon or B&N, it’ll cost you the same as buying it in a retail store even though it contains no physical resources and doesn’t require any printing.  Furthermore, if you want to change devices, then you had better get an Android device or an iPad with the associated app because your books are not interchangeable the Kindle or the Nook.  If you are strictly limited on how you use a book that you buy, even an ebook, do you truly own it?  That’s a good debate in itself.

I’ve bought one ebook so far from Google Books new shop.  It’s one that I couldn’t find anywhere else, the price was great compared to the paper version, and it isn’t DRM’ed.  Basically that means that I can read it on Google’s book app and I can put it into my Nook.  I can even download a PDF copy of it that is readable on a Kindle without conversion.  That’s nice.  It’s also very rare.  Google’s bookstore is generally higher than they other two major ebook sellers and their selection is lacking to say the least.  However I think that they openness in the file format is the way to go.

If I go to a used bookstore and buy a book for $4.50, after I’m done I can turn it in for a small store credit which will also bring down the total cost of ownership for that book.  It’s my opinion that ebooks should be able to compete with the costs of going to a used bookstore.  Competition is good for everybody.  Used bookstore will also be an awesome place to browse and buy.  There is an experience factor to thumbing through books on a rainy Saturday afternoon that shopping online for ebooks can’t compete with.  There’s also the fact that authors don’t see one red cent of revenue when books are sold in them also.  Authors should want their older catalog of books sold at used bookstore prices because at least then they will see a little more revenue coming in.

Lastly, there is one company that I think is doing things right and that’s Baen book.  Baen is mostly known for pulp scifi and fantasy titles.  They are also one of the few really competitive publishers that are doing things right.  Many of their new ebooks are in the $15 range which I’m okay with because it’s new and in higher demand.  However, most of their older catalog is less than $6.00.  They also have a huge selection of older free ebooks so you can get a taste of what an other has to offer.  Their books also come multi-format and without restriction.  Use them on the device that you have.

Baen Free Library:  http://www.baen.com/library/

Resurrection in progress.

KI4GMX
Jason

http://shackbox.net/

What’s holding me back, besides the terrible economy, is the fact that I may have 8 years of experience working at a help desk, but I don’t have a single technical certification to “prove” what I know.  Sadly, too many hiring decisions are made by folks who can’t tell a cd-rom drive from a cup holder, and technical certifications are the only things they have to tell them if you know what you’re talking about.  Personally, I find the dependence on technical certifications to be silly at best, but those are the rules that we have to live by.

For those of you who are also jobless and looking to improve your resume, here are some links with important information for those who are also looking to get their technical certs.  This post is by no means complete or exhaustive.  I’ll past more on the certifications page as I have time.

Certification Companies

• Cisco
• CompTIA
• RedHat
• LPI (Linux Professional Institute)

Cisco Exams

Entry

• CCENT Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician
  • ICND1 Training
    

Associate

• CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate
• CCDA Cisco Certified Design Associate
• CCNA Security Involves Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security
• CCNA Voice Involves Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications
• CCNA Wireless Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials

Professional

• CCNP Cisco Certified Network Professional
• CCDP Cisco Certified Design Professional
• CCIP Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional
• CCSP Cisco Certified Security Professional
• CCVP Cisco Certified Voice Professional
  

Expert

• CCIE Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
  
• CCDE Cisco Certified Design Expert

Specialist

• Advanced Routing and Switching
• Data Center
• Foundation for Channel Partners
• IP Communications
• Security
• Wireless LAN

CompTIA Exams

• CompTIA A+ Certification
  • A+ Study Guide for A+ Essentials and 220-602
  • A+ Essentials 2006 Study Guide
  • A+ Certification Resources (Network+ also!  Lots of good links)
• CompTIA Network+ Certification
• CompTIA RFID+ Certification
• CompTIA Security+ Certification
• CompTIA Server+ Certification
• CompTIA CTT+ Certification
• CompTIA CDIA+ Certification
• CompTIA Linux+ Certification
• CompTIA Project+ Certification
• CompTIA Convergence+ Certification
• CEA-CompTIA DHTI+ Certification
• CompTIA PDI+ Certification

Redhat Exams

• Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
  • RHCE and RHCT Exam Preparation Guide
• Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist (RHCDS)
• Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS)
• Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)

LPI Exams

General Training Resources

• How to Study for a Certification Exam
• Free Quiz & Practice Questions – Quiz School
• Certification-crazy.net (somewhat out of date)
• CertCities
• Certification Magazine
• Computer Certification Information (About.com)
• CramSession (You might find their study free study guides useful, but I didn’t think they were all that good compared to the amount of spam they send.
• Richard M. Roberts
• Wikiversity Computer Science Courses

“Other” Training Resources

• torrentz.com
• chmpdf.com

Patrick White from the Globe and Mail has an interesting article on a section of the hacker community that even I wasn’t aware of.  Amatuer lockpicking, a sort of offline cousin to computer hacking, is gaining interest in the hacker community and is even showcased at the annual Defcon conference.  See the entire article here.  HT to lewrockwell.com

Other Links:

• Lockpicking101.com
• White House High-Security Locks Broken: Bumped and Picked at DefCon

Sadly, the pages have not been updated since February 2004.  The owner, AH6GI, has a lot of good information here, and I hope it helps you out.

What is it?
GnuPG or “GPG” is a free and open source cryptography software package based on the PGP “Pretty Good Privacy” software system. GPG 1.0 was released in 1999 and steady development has continued since then. Unlike many software packages that you have to wait for new versions to become available, GPG is an open source application. That means that developers are constantly working on this software and new updates are produced regularly and free of charge. This software will not simply become abandoned by a single developer after a few years because people are always welcome to download the source code, make improvements, and keep the project alive. GPG is also interoperable with dozens of operating systems from all versions of Windows 95 and up, Linux, Unix variants including Sun Microsystems Solaris operating system and Apple’s OSX operating system.

What can it do for me?
Imagine a lockbox with a small keyhole. You own the key and anything inside of the lockbox is reasonably safe as long as you don’t give away or lose the key. Computer data can be locked in the same way. The lock is called encryption. Unlike the flimsy lock or key that may come with a lockbox, GPG uses a highly advanced encryption system that is on par with those used by the US Government. You can use GPG to encrypt your personal files on your desktop, emails and or files that you send to a co-worker or family member.

How does it work?
Unlike the lockbox illustration, GPG gives you two keys. The first is the private key. This is similar to the key that you have with your lockbox. It can be used to unlock the encrypted data so you can use it. It’s best the keep this key secret as you don’t want just anyone having access to it. One of the best strategies is to keep it on a floppy or on a USB flash drive that is physically secured. The second key is the public key. This is the key that you use to encrypt data. The public key does not have the credentials nor does it contain the data needed to decrypt any lock software. Furthermore, it is impossible to derive the encryption from the public key. The public key is meant for you to keep on your computer and to share with others. Why would you want to give other people your encryption key? If your colleague wants to send an important and confidential document to you, they could lock it, and only your private key could unlock it. If someone were to intercept that document they could not read it without your private key.

Where can I find more information?
There is an abundant amount of information on the web concerning GPG, PGP, and other personal encryptions software packages. One good place to start is Gpg4Win for Novices. This is an online document that will guide you through setting up your GPG in windows on a basic level. It can be found at: http://www.gpg4win.org/handbuecher/novices.html. For those who are more technically oriented and have more time to read long technical manuals, check out the official documentation at: http://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/gnupg/. Gpg4Win can be downloaded at http://www.gpg4win.org/.