I'm sure this dead horse has been hit a few times too many, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
I've made the personal choice to reduce on the amount of books that I own and believe that the PDF is the way to go.
Is there any way that we can get a PDF Only subscription for existing subscriptions? It's not a matter of the shipping and handling, it's a matter of the shelf space I have available.
I'm sure this dead horse has been hit a few times too many, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
I've made the personal choice to reduce on the amount of books that I own and believe that the PDF is the way to go.
Is there any way that we can get a PDF Only subscription for existing subscriptions? It's not a matter of the shipping and handling, it's a matter of the shelf space I have available.
Not yet. But, I suppose you could keep your subscription and re-sell the book on amazon or something of the like.
Build more shelves.
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Back in the early 70s and into the 80s, the US Government spent millions of dollars on early digital storage and retrieval systems along side analogue devices, all of which have not stood the test of time. Literally, millions of dollars were wasted and none of the data is retrievable.
Hopefully, the internet and proceeding programming and software will update data as well as retrieval and storage, so nothing stored digitally today will be lost in the distant tomorrow--my family photos are still viewable on me.com and look better than they did on mac.com, so there's a positive and hopeful example.
What about all the data I have on CD and DVD? Will I have a machine 50 years from now that can read the CDs full of thousands of photos, ebooks, data files, etc. I've amassed?
I've got a small stack of HD-DVDs, which I can't give away much less sell, and since I sold my Xbox HD player, I can't watch them, either. As the next year progresses, you'll be hard pressed to find a retailer selling old HD players, as everyone has all but unanimously agreed on the unilateral move to Blu-Ray.
In ten years, will there be any way to practically even retrieve the data on an HD-DVD, much less actually watch it?
Unless I store it all on a network somewhere, separate from my computer and any physical device; a network that will rewrite or upgrade the data as the software is upgraded...
I have hundreds of pages of a fantasy novel I began writing 20 years ago. It was written on an old Brother electronic typewriter/word processor whose language is understood by no computer or software currently in use. The only way to read the floppy discs and all those hundreds of pages, is to find another processor, which Brother hasn't made since 1989.
I've got very fond memories of that novel. I think it was pretty good, but I'd have to start from scratch now.
Meanwhile, my books should at least last for the span of my own life, and I only need a little moonlight by which to read.
Like Leeroy said--build more shelves.
[Valid points of dead data/file types]
True, but the issue is also that I live in an apartment. So, shelving isn't an entirely good option.
Regarding data storage, so long as you have a device that's capable of accessing the information, I should be fine (until it dies). However, I hold out hope that there is a conversion from the old format to the new.
But, in the mean time, I have more space for living : )
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[Valid points of dead data/file types]True, but the issue is also that I live in an apartment. So, shelving isn't an entirely good option.
Regarding data storage, so long as you have a device that's capable of accessing the information, I should be fine (until it dies). However, I hold out hope that there is a conversion from the old format to the new.
But, in the mean time, I have more space for living : )
Conceded. I'm out of bookcase room myself; and shelves are not an option (gov't quarters). I've resorted to actually stacking books and stuffing storage bins under the bed; plus I have to be careful of a weight allowance when I return to the US--it can be very expensive to go over the dreaded Weight Allowance.
I'm hopeful as are you that our automations gurus have learned from the last quarter century; and PDF technology is pretty standard, so it shouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.
Any official word on this? : )
Bumpity, bump, bump. Now that Gen Con's over : )
Chief Technical Officer
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Sorry—it's just not in the cards. We make the Pathfinder print subscription as attractive as possible because Paizo needs to have predictable sales of our print products in order to thrive.
If we offered an attractive PDF-only subscription, it could measurably decrease sales of the print editions, and when you print fewer units, per copy costs go up, which results in either A) lower margins for us or B) higher retail pricing for print copies. (And higher pricing results in lower sales, which results in lower print runs, which results in... well, you can see it has the potential to be bad.)
If you are looking for cheap, permanent off-site storage, I keep hearing about a company called carbonite.com. It seems to be getting rave reviews. Cost is 50$ a year, I'm not sure if there is a storage limit, but if you have data you want saved securely this seems to be a good way to go.
Thanks, Vic. That helps.