The date was July 29, 2003…
I was president and web master of the Western Illinois University Mac Users Group (WIU MUG) and that summer I tested a trial version of the Safari Books Online, now the Safari Bookshelf and it was geek love at first sight!
Today I am a premium subscriber through my job and I can read books online and offline on my iPad.
This is what I wrote back then, and I stand by it today (click on the picture for full size view):
I went on Safari this summer!
This summer, I had the great opportunity to test a trial version of the “Safari Tech Books Online” atwww.safaribooksonline.com an idea from two of the most popular publishers of IT books: O’Reilly and the Pearson Technology Group.
O’Reilly is a leader in technical resources, and I am sure we all have more than one of their books in our bookshelves… (we all have adopted the little creatures on their covers).
The Pearson Group is dedicated to consumers and professional related technologies, providing also excellente references for the community.
I don’t know how much you use your books and references at work and shool, but this tool definitely made a difference for me this summer.
I am a Quality Assurance engineer for web applications and whenever I am not working I am a student of the ITT master’s degree at WIU.
In my work I use lots of different books that my company owns, and I have purchased my own as well. Sometimes I bring and borrow books so my backpack is usually loaded with literature. But you know the pros and cons of a shared library… whenever you most need a book, it is always taken.
I also rely on my colleagues to have some technical questions answered, and when things get too specific I use the distribution lists from the technologies that I work with, which can take some times days to get some of my problems resolved.
In school you can think of having a similar story with the books at the library being taken and not always returned when you need them.
Well, if after all this introduction you are still reading, that’s because you must feel identified with this situation!!! Good! because what’s next will be very interesting for you!
What’s Safari Tech Books Online?
Safari is an online bookshelf with more than 1000 titles from O’Reilly and the Pearson Technology Group, available 24×7.
How does it work?
The coolest feature is that you can search the entire library and get results within seconds from all the titles available, with links to specific chapters and content on all of the matches.
To be able to access this books you must add it to your “bookshelf”, and depending on your suscription type, you get slots to add books and then be able to:
- Read books cover to cover
- Post notes on the books in your bookshelf.
- Add bookmarks to the books in your bookshelf.
Additionally, your recent searches are stored and are accessible at any time.
Think about it! All the coolest book titles that you see in the bookstores available at your fingertips 24×7!
Cross-book searches in seconds!
Another advantage is the speed to access it, even when using dial-up connections with a 56K modem.
Final word
I definitely recommend it to all those who use this type of books in a regular basis. The Safari Tech Books Online helped me a lot in my work this summer, and also was extremely useful in my Independent Research Study.
They are always adding new books with the coolest, and latest technologies!
I am still laughing at my comment on dial-up connection above while I am posting this on my 15Mbps DSL connection… technology is amazing, isn’t it?
App store. Hands down the iTunes store is king.