Baen Free CD's downloads

[Katsunami]

I've never looked into Baen before, but it seems that some fantasy writers of note release a lot, if not all of their work through Baen Publishing. I like free stuff, so I started looking for the Baen Free CD's.

I've seen the references to the Fifth Emperium website, which has hosted the CD's for a very long time. However, it looks like it is no longer complete (anymore), and the ordering seems to be messed up. There are problems with the website and the downloads. The linked Torrent-file provider has 22 torrent files, while other sites mention 24 CD's. If there are any more, I don't know of them (yet).

For people wishing to download the complete collection of Baen Free CD's, here is a working option:

http://www.dominikbodi.de/baen/

This site offers 24 torrents, including the CD Cryoburn, which seems to have been removed from most other websites (especially the ones that have the CD as a browsable folder). There are 2-4 seeds per torrent, and I've downloaded all of them within an hour or two, except 03 -The Far Side of the Stars. That torrent has 2 seeds, but for some reason it never starts.

It could of course be a problem in my Torrent client with that particular Torrent; no harm if you just try and see if it works.

If it doesn't work, then this CD can be downloaded here:

http://baencd.freedoors.org/

Direct link: 03 - Far Side of the Stars

Addition: The Cryoburn CD in the Torrent download can be unpacked, and all books are in there, but the "website" and HTML is messed up. It doesn't work as intended.

Hell.pl: At this site, you can find 23 Baen CD's.
Direct Link: Cryoburn CD, working

If you need to unpack the ISO files, every archiver worth having is able to do this, including 7-zip from http://www.7-zip.org/

Have fun

[crich70]

Interesting.

[theducks]

I believe the (24) Cryoburn CD was pulled at the authors request.

CD's had label number issues (dupes and skips). Not the sites fault


BTW I believe Dahak is a MR member

[Graham]

Yes, you might want to ignore the Bujold CD - it was released following a misunderstanding on her part and she asked for it to be pulled.

Graham

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by theducks

I believe the (24) Cryoburn CD was pulled at the authors request.

CD's had label number issues (dupes and skips). Not the sites fault

Oh, OK.... I've found another source, here:

http://hell.pl/szymon/Baen/

No 19, no 21. Two numbers 24.

There is a 6, and 6B. The Torrent Download names them as 6 and 7.

Originally Posted by Graham

Yes, fans of Lois Bujold's work might want to ignore the Bujold CD - it was released following a misunderstanding on her part and she asked for it to be pulled.

Graham

Why would one want to ignore it if you're a fan? Even if it was pulled after some time, I don't mind downloading it as long as it is available somewhere. If something is put onto the internet, it often stays there for a very long time, if not forever. It's very hard to get stuff off the internet.

===

By the way: some of those CD's contain quite a lot of books. I wonder if, between the CD's, there are series that are actually complete.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Why would one want to ignore it if you're a fan?

You ninja. You got in before my swift edit.

Graham

[fjtorres]

BAEN ebooks (and promo CDs) are released on the honor system, trusting readers not to abuse the licensing terms.
While there is no legal obligation to pass on the Cryoburn CD (which Bujold authorized thinking it would only be distributed with the hardcover) it would be respectful of the author to at least treat it as a shareware release; if you like what you find, buy a copy of the CRYOBURN hardcover. Bujold and BAEN have had a long and apparently amicable relationship and it would be sad if it soured.

(That said, this is further proof of the persistence of internet content; once something gets out into the wild, it stays there.)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

BAEN ebooks (and promo CDs) are released on the honor system, trusting readers not to abuse the licensing terms.
While there is no legal obligation to pass on the Cryoburn CD (which Bujold authorized thinking it would only be distributed with the hardcover) it would be respectful of the author to at least treat it as a shareware release; if you like what you find, buy a copy of the CRYOBURN hardcover. Bujold and BAEN have had a long and apparently amicable relationship and it would be sad if it soured.

I'll see what I'll do with it. I'm not into science fiction atm, apart from Star Trek (and only the series and movies with regard to that; not the novels). I'm sure the Cryoburn CD does not have every Bujold novel on it up to Cryoburn, so if I read something and like it, I'll most likely (have to) buy the rest to complete the series.

(That said, this is further proof of the persistence of internet content; once something gets out into the wild, it stays there.)

Now some people may understand why I never put very important information on the internet. The things you can find about me are things I'd also readily tell you if you'd ask me IRL. (And some, such as me having poor eyesight, you can observe for yourself within moments after meeting me.)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Now some people may understand why I never put very important information on the internet. The things you can find about me are things I'd also readily tell you if you'd ask me IRL. (And some, such as me having poor eyesight, you can observe for yourself within moments after meeting me.)

A policy everybody would be well-advised to follow.
Even in venues where I choose to participate under my given name I carefully hold back information that might indicate *which* of the dozen or so online denizens with the same name I might be. Or, for that matter, how closely my online personna matches my offline presence.

There is no privacy online and no recall feature.
"All sales are final."

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

A policy everybody would be well-advised to follow.
Even in venues where I choose to participate under my given name I carefully hold back information that might indicate *which* of the dozen or so online denizens with the same name I might be.

Oh, I'm not too concerned with that; if somebody who knows me IRL knows the forum name I mostly use, he could start to browse forums. What would he learn? That I'm a software engineer, play the Hammond organ, play chess and go, take pictures, read books and did some martial arts in the past?

He may find some opinions and statements such as "I won't ever buy an Apple device anymore because..." or "I hate DRM". One of the most "dangerous" statements would be "I don't like managers who never did the work they are now managing", but even that is something I would tell you straight to your face if you asked.

(But that's all a bit off topic; maybe you should start a thread about this )

[DrNefario]

You definitely don't need all of the CDs. You really only need the last one from each author, since they tend to contain everything from that author's earlier discs. There are only 6 or 7 you really need, to get everything.

[Katsunami]

With regard to series, I'm a completist

[theducks]

The Cryoburn CD has 9 current books, at least 3 of them are omnibus.

I don't feel bad. I feel no desire to shred my CD.
Between my 40 Year subscription of Analog, where I first ran into Miles and the 5 Dead tree Miles books on my shelf and a Paid EPUB version of Cryoburn. She has been compensated for all those stories .

BTW
Some of the Baen CD Torrent problems come from the use of Different Trackers. Zlynks(?) shut down over a year ago.

[jgaiser]

My complaint about Ms. Bujold was her attitude towards The Fifth Imperium, basically calling them pirates. Even when it was pointed out to her that Baen had approved of the site, she still managed to not understand. Left me with a bit of a bad taste.

[Little.Egret]

Eight CDs suffice

Annotated Baen Free eBooks Listing (now obsolete, the Free Library having been reconstructed, but correct for CDs)
http://www.allensmith.net/SciFi/Baen/Free.htm

The Bujold CD (which I got with the hc) contains all the series except Memory (I purchased the Fictionwise version long ago) and the later CVA