The No Starch Press Blog

File this in the “who knew” section.

I’ve used Thunderbird for years and Google Calendar for at least the last year or so. Who knew you could integrate the two so easily?

I found the Lightning Thunderbird extension in the Ubuntu packages when I did a reinstall, so I installed it. It integrates a nice calendar into Thunderbird.

And, thank you open source community (and Phillipp Kewisch in particular), there’s a plug in that offers bidirectional integration between Google Calendar and Lightning! (Or at least I think it’s bidirectional.) It doesn’t have the most exciting name (Provider for Google Calendar), but it works. At least in one direction.

Anyway, I’ll settle for one direction.

Why do I find this so exciting? Because I’m a dork?

Update: Bidirectionality works!

Just got the message below from the har-announce list. This is going to be a great event which I’ll have to miss, unfortunately. I’m knee-deep in the remodel of our new building. Bleh.

Learn more about Hacking at Random here: https://har2009.org/. You should go.

   Wikileaks will speak about their position in a society where
   governments are increasingly secretive
   about their own policies, and discuss the hazards and complications of
   publishing leaked documents. We'll talk about the policies of search
   engines, the dangers of data breaches, and EFF will explain their
   strategy for civilians to defend themselves against the ubiquitous
   surveillance society. Anonymous will talk about social media as a
   political tool, and they'll explain why fun is important when you start
   an argument with Scientology. We'll talk about copyright and
   distribution rights.

   There's plenty of hardcore tech as well. How Mifare was broken and what
   to do next; reverse engineering chips; side channel analysis (reading
   votes cast on a voting machines from a distance), and how to use the
   debug port of your devices to do hardware hacking.

   We'll have scientific talks on crypto - can we use quantum mechanics to
   provide secure identification in an insecure environment? - and we'll
   talk about the relation between the need for open source and the
   progress of science. Or to put it the other way around: how science
   suffers through proprietary formats, patens and non-disclosure.

Those of you reading our RSS feed may have caught a post by me (since deleted) about typos and such in resumes. I couldn’t have posted this at a worse time because we’re actually in the process of hiring and it was an obnoxious post. Factual but snarky.

Anyway, I wrote this for internal distribution probably about one year ago and saved it as a draft. I was showing a couple of kids the Wordpress backend this past weekend and I must have pressed Publish instead of save as draft.

Apologies to anyone who was offended by the post. It’s been vaporized.

Using an existing VPN should be relatively trivial but setting up a VPN server is another thing entirely. This tutorial http://snipurl.com/ju6nh [www_geek-pages_com] about using OpenVPN with DD-WRT looks promising though I can’t flash our office router with DD-WRT. (I’d need to ditch the router or bridge it.)

Of course, my first thought as a book publisher is: “is there a book in this?” Here’s a brief analysis.

There have been several VPN books over the years but nothing recent seems to have sold very well through the trade. The best-selling title on the topic was published in 2000, from Pearson. It probably sold around 10,000 copies. It’s a stand-out though. More recent titles are selling in the hundreds of copies.

My brief analysis tells me that there may have been a good opportunity in this market years ago, but when I can find a clear, step-by-step tutorial like the one that I link to above in about five minutes on Google, who needs a book?

Granted, some people might buy a book regardless and there’s no doubt that this is a topic that will mystify many, but in this case, Google wins.

Unless, of course, we were to publish a Manga Guide to VPN. We won’t.

Today we realized that our Wordpress install had somehow been compromised. Somehow (and we still don’t know how), recent posts were tagged with ads for one of those stupid spammer drugs.

Let’s see if we’re still under attack when I post this.

Next: We work to identify the source of the problem.

Defcon is just around the corner and it’s time to reconsider how we process credit cards. The “grave rubbing” technique should probably be abandoned, especially because the last time I tried it (after a red eye flight) I mangled two credit cards. Really destroyed them.

So I’m shopping for the most cost-effective wireless broadband.

First call was to Verizon Wireless. The rep on the line was in total sales mode and was eager to sell me something without knowing anything about my needs. Don’t you just love salespeople like that? She recommended their $59.99 month-to-month plan, although I see that they also offer a $39.99 plan (with lower bandwidth limits of course). She was ready to take my order for whatever it was that she thought I needed but I told her that I’d rather not order from someone who hadn’t told me about their cheaper plan and who was going to try to sell me some high-priced card from Verizon. Not that I have an opinion on that, of course.

Next call was to T-Mobile. I figured I might be able to get a BlackBerry with data only plan at $19.95 per month, but it seems that’s only available if you get the phone service as well. T-Mobile doesn’t have a month-to-month plan for their wireless broadband and I’m not signing a two year contract for a service that we need only a few times a year, so they’re off the list.

I see that eBay has quite a few EVDO modems that are claimed to work with Verizon mobile broadband. Now I have to verify that. A live chat with a Verizon representative proves pretty useless. When I ask her what the requirements are for the card she tells me that I have to have a compatible OS. That’s fine, but does that mean that any card will work?

Anyway, my head hurts so I close the chat box.

Now to AT&T. Their plans look expensive compared to Verizon’s no contract plan.

I’m going to see if I can get an EVDO modem on eBay that sounds like a good one and that will work with the Verizon no contract plan.

First, let me say this: I think the jury is still out on this issue. No one really knows. But here are my thoughts.

I have seen nothing definitive that suggests, one way or another, that putting a book online for free increases or decreases sales. I’m sure that there are statistics out there and everyone has their opinion, but I think different books are affected differently for reasons that I attempt to address below.

In my opinion, the strongest argument that can be made for offering books for free online is that of increasing word-of-mouth. There is strong evidence that word-of-mouth, whether generated by reviews or simply communities that surround particular books, can significantly affect sales. A study by Judith Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin of the Yale School of Management, “The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews” attempts to quantify the effects. They conclude that online reviews can directly affect sales though they don’t really tackle the why.

Let’s consider why this might be and how word-of-mouth might affect sales of different titles differently. (I just have to say that choosing between the use of affect and effect is driving me craaaazy!)

Visibility. One of the greatest challenges that we have as publishers is that of making our products visible. According to a 2008 Publishers Weekly article, nearly 300,000 books are published each year in the U.S. alone. Figure close to that number in the UK. That’s a lot of books in the English language.

Certainly, only a small portion of these books are computer/technical books, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the print book market isn’t competition.

Distribution. The number of retailers selling books is shrinking dramatically, although it’s easier than ever today to find a book that you want using one of the online book retailers. How does this affect a book publisher’s business?

For better or worse, before the dominance of online retailing, publishers used to control distribution to a significant extent by buying what is known as coop advertising. Yes, those featured books in the bookstore chains are usually there because some publisher paid for the placement. Sometimes they’re there because the store manager really likes a book, but most of the time someone’s paying.

That made a huge difference when there were only just so many stores and when we wanted books we went to a brick and mortar store. Those stores can hold only a portion of the 300,000 new books published every year so their inventory is already selective. But stick Amazon or similar in the mix and the inventory is massive. So much noise. So much to choose from.

Subject.

Competition.

Noise.

Convenience. The book as medium is convenient. It’s portable, has an instant refresh rate, high contrast, low glare, and reading a book is easy on the eyes. But that’s not an argument for why printed books will stick around. Technology will continue to improve and e-ink is already looking pretty good.

No. Not a bad idea but I don’t really trust questionnaires. Too, I don’t think this would actually measure the effect that offering a book online for free would have on both visibility and market penetration.

I’ve met many people who tell me that when a book is online for free they won’t buy the print version. That’s no surprise. I’ve even had people tell me that they turn to bittorrent first and don’t buy books anymore. That’s not surprise either.

But I think the issue is one of visibility.

There are so many books published and that means there is so much noise.  I think one of our primary challenges is to rise above the din. My theory is that putting something out there, getting it in front of more people, increases the potential number of buyers for any particular book. Effectively, it increases the portion of the market that we are able to reach by rising above the noise. And the more people who see a book, who know it exists and have perhaps paged through it, the greater the number of people who will buy it. Not a greater percentage of potential buyers necessarily, but a greater number of total buyers who will actually make the leap and pay for that book.

I’m a big fan of Trader Joe’s. I admit to not loving the store when I first moved to the Bay Area in 1991 (I was and still am a New York snob), but Trader Joe’s just seems to have gotten better and better over the years. (While Noah’s Rolls has gone wayyyyy downhill.).

While on a recent shopping expedition to Trader Joe’s I started thinking about what it is that makes TJ’s so successful, and what we can learn from Trader Joe’s. I was thinking in particular of what tech book publishers can learn.

Geeks are a pretty amazing audience–both unforgiving and incredibly loyal at the same time, when they’re treated right. When we publish a book that nails the topic squarely on its head, we get tremendous response. When we miss (it’s happened a few times), the response is blah, or why did you publish this, or that’s not a No Starch Press book. That’s important — that’s our readers telling us something.

So back to Trader Joe’s. What are some of the characteristics of Trader Joe’s that make it so successful, and what can we learn from their success? Here’s my take.

Be Picky. Trader Joe’s has a limited selection of products and generally does not have huge piles of products like the ones you’d find in larger chain grocery stores. I find the quality of selections to be quite high although not perfect. They’re picky. They won’t just stick any product on the shelf and nor should we as publishers.

Charge Fair Prices. Fair doesn’t always mean cheap but it does mean don’t price gouge. If a product is rare (like a book without a large audience), a higher price is fair. But if a product is selling in quantity (like the infamous Charles Shaw wine), the price can come way down. I don’t expect too much from a bottle of Charles Shaw (2 buck Chuck), and I don’t really love it, but I know what I’m getting and I’m not going to complain too much at that price.

Keep Things Fresh. When I visit a Trader Joe’s I know to expect some new products (some work and some don’t), but also generally fresh inventory of familiar products. The products aren’t all perfect by any means, but the inventory is kept low so that it doesn’t hang around too long, and the product selection is kept fresh.

Quality, Quality, Quality. One thing I do expect from everything that Trader Joe’s carries is quality. Whether that’s repackaged Straus milk products, Belgian chocolate, or canned salmon. I know that someone at Trader Joe’s is tasting their stuff and choosing the quality products, which is exactly what we need to continue to do when we publish. Keep tasting; keep the tasty stuff.

Always Raise the Bar. As I mentioned in my preamble, I have the distinct impression that Trader Joe’s has been improving over the years. Compare that to Noah’s Supposed Bagels which used to be good but now taste just like rolls with holes. Our goal at No Starch Press is to always make our next book better than our last. I’m not saying that we’ll succeed but if we reach for the moon we’ll get closer than if we just reach for the closest thing on the shelf.

Value Your Customers. Without customers, Trader Joe’s would be nothing. I feel like (true or not) Trader Joe’s staff actually likes the fact that I’m shopping in their store. Unlike, say, the staff at United Airlines, or American Airlines, or PG&E, which just don’t really seem to care whether they get my dollars or not. OK, if you don’t care, I’ll give them to the next competitor who can give me decent service, good products, and who will value my business. We need to always be sure that our customers know that we value them, and we need to be sure that we’re giving back to our customers, always.

Accessorize. Think about those Trader Joe’s shopping bags. I’ve got at least half a dozen of them and counting. Why I even bought their latest one a couple of days ago. Those are pretty nice profit centers for them but they also work for me. I use them when I shop there but I also use them to haul stuff. Think vi mug. Must publish more mugs.

Make it Fun. I look forward to shopping at Trader Joe’s. They’ve got that cute “Fearless Flyer,” and I know that I can get my little cup of coffee and some free sample. The people that work there can be characters, too. Make it fun and I’ll come back. Make our books fun and compelling and our readers will come back, again and again.

Be Human. This is an important one. Trader Joe’s is a big business but you’d never know it from a walk through their stores. They seem like neighborhood grocers. Their staff speaks to me like a human, without the “Hello Mr. Pollock thanks for shopping at Safeway bleep” that I get at, you guessed it Safeway. Why I even have political discussions with their cashiers. That comes from the top down — Trader Joe’s seems to value their employees and they don’t put arbitrary restrictions on their behavior. There must be a corporate culture too that encourages a sort of accepted behavior, just like we find at funkier coffee places. (Probably not Starbucks.)  Be human and you’ll be surrounded by humans.

Give Back. Now here’s something that I actually don’t know too much about with regard to Trader Joe’s. One has the sense from the store that they care about the environment (sensitive packaging, reusable bags), but I don’t know what they do to give back to the community, or if they do. That could all be design and spin. Regardless, giving back to one’s community is very important especially when asking for the support of that community. One way to give back is to actually publish books that people want to read — stuff that’s cool. We aim to do that everyday. We also support various conferences and geek efforts when we can.

Maybe I’ll come up with some additional insights. Maybe you, dear reader, have some insights of your own that you’d like to share.

Anyway, the bottom line is, when the world is crashing around us, we need to keep our eyes focused on what really matters. Everything that we publish has a price tag which means that we’re expecting our readers to part with their hard-earned cash for one of our books. We need to always make sure that whatever they’re buying is actually worth having, and that whatever we’re publishing is something that people really want or need.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on an interesting experiment. We’re calling the series the Manga Guides–educational comic books translated from the Japanese, all about technical or scientific concepts. (The publisher of the originals is Ohmsha of Japan, and they are co-publishing these translations with us.)

The original artwork in them is simply beautiful. Here are a few of my favorite panels from the Manga Guide to Electricity, Physics, Statistics, and Databases.

Rereko begs Hikaru to teach her about electricity!

Sayaka taunts Megumi about her ignorance of physics

Yamamoto introduces a theoretical mall of Ramen shops

Who knew tabulating data could be so fun?

Keep on the lookout for The Manga Guide to Calculus, the Universe, Molecular Biology, Regression Analysis, and Fourier Analysis, all coming soon. I’ll post some samples as I have them.

Apostrophes, left quotes, and double quotes, oh my! As long as there have been word processors, there has been confusion about these characters. No more, I say, no more!

The difference is obvious when you look at the characters side by side, and they conveniently have different Unicode/Hex numbers, too.  These are good to keep handy:

Double straight quote: U+0022 (0×0022)
Single straight quote: U+0027 (0×0027)

Single left curly quote: U+2018 (0×2018)
Single right curly quote: U+2019 (0×2019)
Double left curly quote: U+201C (0×201C)
Double right curly quote: U+201D (0×201D)

At No Starch, we prefer all quotes in running text (whether they’re single, double, or apostrophes) to be smart or curly quotes, while we want all quotes in code to be straight ones. Chances are, if you’re writing a book for us and using these characters incorrectly, we’re going to ask you to fix them. Here’s how.

The easiest way is to set up your word processor to make your quotes curly by default.

In Word, do the following:

1. Go to Format -> AutoFormat -> Options -> AutoFormat tab and check the box next to “Straight quotes” with “smart quotes”
2. Go to Format -> AutoFormat -> Options -> AutoFormat As You Type tab and check the box next to “Straight quotes” with “smart quotes”

In OpenOffice.org Writer, do the following:

1. Go to Tools -> AutoCorrect -> Custom Quotes tab
2. Check the Replace checkbox under Single Quotes, click the image of the Start Quote and choose U+2018, and click the image of the End Quote and choose U+2019
3. Check the Replace checkbox under Double Quotes, click the image of the Start Quote and choose U+201C, and click the image of the End Quote and choose U+201D

To insert just one instance of a curled quote, do the following:

• In Word, go to Insert -> Symbol, and then choose the character you want (using the Unicode or Hex numbers to confirm you’re picking the right character).

• In OOo, go to Insert -> Special Character, and choose the character (using the Unicode or Hex numbers to confirm you’re picking the right character).

If you’ve already started working on a document that has straight quotes instead of curly ones, changing them is going to be a bit more difficult. You’ll have to do a search for each instance of a straight quote, and then replace it with the correct curled version. Fortunately, when you type a single or double quote into the Find field in Word or OOo, it will use a straight one by default — so do that. Then, insert an instance of a curly quote somewhere in the text, copy or cut it from there, and paste it into the Replace field. Proceed with the search and replace. (If you’re really daring, you could probably write a nice little Macro to do this job. . .but that’s for another day.)