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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Consider Total Costs (was: Re: good book on XML)
 Box, Don wrote: > > I think you are misunderstanding me. I am NOT dismissing the value of > electronic publication of all sorts of content, including book-length works. > However, the fast-turnaround model implied by web-based publishing (and > wrox) is really magazine-like, not book-like. I look at publishing via the > web as a bigger threat to Miller-Freeman, Sys-Con, or Fawcette than to AW, > PH, or O'Reilly. I agree in that it is similar to magazine scheduling and production, but if you stop there, you've done nothing more than what can be found now if one looks hard even if you are very smart and talented (o)(o) () and you miss the opportunity. \--/ Charles is right, but this is like going from stage to screen: it evolves when the medium is exploited. It may use a book metaphor, but it is a computer application. Such a *book* can be both teacher and toolset. What you would have if the MSDN were tied to the builder tools logically? An IETM. If the app fails, the system looks at its own error codes and produces a topical index for diagnosing it. It dynamically assembles a maintenance manual. In short: put some tools in with the instructions and you have a winner. Well why not just do it for free? The costs: an online book, in fact most web businesses, are like a band. To cohere(persist, evolve): o It must pay for itself. o It must pay it's creators. o It must pay for its persistence. o It must pay for its distribution. o It must pay for its marketing. Otherwise, it is a hobby. Volunteers. Community work. The true cost of the web has been hidden by volunteers. The design issues and ideas submitted to open lists constitute the largest working source for free engineering. Open lists are vital to o community building o product penetration o product evolution What would be the effect of closing the open technical lists? Choose your own means for that, but consider simply that change. OASIS, W3C, W3DC, are consortia seeking to control markets by negotiating standrds among themselves and in some cases, international standards groups both copyright and patent-driven authorities. The holders of these have authoritative rights to the disposition of these properties. Open list membership is by fiat of the property owner. Ok. It works so far. What happens if the design costs among consortia begin to vary? A lot. In other words, membership value goes up similarly to successful stock because the technology controlled has a market value. If the volunteers leave, the cost of the standards to members increases. Why would they do that? Unless open lists (eg, SAX development) choose to be legal entities, any product of the list members is ambiguous with respect to ownership. By that, who has the right to modify the record of authority (per namespace identifier or Formal Public Identifier (where name is authoritative by locus of publication - name As Owner)? Because of the list ownership, the authority that governs the namespace. Consider: the consortia control the standards by agreement among corporations and individuals to join such. The rules within the consortia vary as regards to the rights of individual members vs invited experts and open list members. The ownership does as well because disposition of the property is controlled unequally. Consider: the consortia are controlling the standards by agreeing to the rules of the implementation. Consider: Do consortia own the ideas of the lists they maintain if they own the namespace? They do own the copyrights to the documents they publish. Do they own the ideas expressed? Volunteerism works. No doubt about it, but where memberships, voting rights and access to the process of standardship are sold, are means for consortia to enhance membership value, free engineering ensures the wealth of others. If you want to do a living book, I suggest a com by that books name. Otherwise, sustenance comes dear. To the FinancialWonks: denial of service takes many forms. Consider the total costs over time. len *************************************************************************** This is xml-dev, the mailing list for XML developers. To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@x...&BODY=unsubscribe%20xml-dev List archives are available at http://xml.org/archives/xml-dev/threads.html *************************************************************************** 
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