The only kind of piracy I cared enough about to write...

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

Well to turn your logic back on you, are you inferring that open source developers are dishonest in some fashion? Please please try not to trot out the tired argument about communism.

Not at all. I use tonnes of open source software. I just accept that whenever a good piece of software appears (say a good tax accounting program) then whatever competing software that was on the market at the time will stop selling and the company that produced the software will most likely go under. After all why would I spend big bucks on something I can get for free?

For many people who've bought 100's of DVD's over the years they might be following a similar thought process. Films (and books to a lesser extent) are advertised strongly towards us - we're told that this DVD is the best thing since sliced bread but then find that it only makes an acceptable coaster. There's no refund available just because a film turns out to be twaddle. Many people don't buy DVD's any more and prefer to rent from Love Film etc or just turn to the darknet. Who can blame them?

[jeffcobb]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

Not at all. I use tonnes of open source software. I just accept that whenever a good piece of software appears (say a good tax accounting program) then whatever competing software that was on the market at the time will stop selling and the company that produced the software will most likely go under. After all why would I spend big bucks on something I can get for free?

For many people who've bought 100's of DVD's over the years they might be following a similar thought process. Films (and books to a lesser extent) are advertised strongly towards us - we're told that this DVD is the best thing since sliced bread but then find that it only makes an acceptable coaster. There's no refund available just because a film turns out to be twaddle. Many people don't buy DVD's any more and prefer to rent from Love Film etc or just turn to the darknet. Who can blame them?

In that case I stand on my previous post about open source having way less traction in the Windows/Mac world than in Linux-land. Piracy (the darknet as everyone here seems to refer to it like its some strange place) is probably your biggest competitor for consumer dollars (or lack of spending). To rephrase your statement, why pay for Excellent Product X when I can just download it? Way less effort that reverse-engineering what that product does as an open source project. True there are a lot of work-alikes that cost tons of cash on Windows that you can get in source form for free on Linux and yes businesses are waking up to that fact and yes the quality of product is (sometimes, not always) similar. However in most cases ease of use of the open source stuff takes a back-seat to performance and or application ability and people (and businesses) don't want to have to know that much about administering a product just to get it for free. In terms of man-hours the cost-benefit ratio isn't always there. I know I should put a pretty interface on my open-source project and I could easily if I cared to but other things interesting me more and the simple fact that what I wrote works and works reasonably well is good enough for me. If my users ask for a GUI I might do one but for now there is no need. However without the GUI and even though it is written in Python (and therefore in theory could run on other platforms) no Windows user would ever put up with the text-based interface. Consequently some enterprising person could implement something similar on Windows and try to sell it. If it is too similar we might have issues from a licensing standpoint due to my project being GPL 3.0 but frankly that is no worse (and I would argue better than) someone locking up good ideas that will never see the light of day behind patents and copyright rules.

I addressed the "drivel on DVD purchase scenario above, probably some section that you skipped because of my vowel movement

[Gwen Morse]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

Not that I read any of that; the last good vampire story was penned by Bram Stoker and the last decent one by Anne Rice. As for religious fiction, I had 8 years of that in parochial school

Nonsense .

Check out Barbara Hambly's vampire books. She was writing *good* vampire books after Anne's had devolved to litter-box-filling trash.

Look for "Those Who Hunt The Night". There's a sequel but I can't remember the title of it.

Sadly, not available in ebook

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

In that case I stand on ... my vowel movement

Jeff, it honestly takes me ages to work through your posts and having done so it's actually very difficult condensing a meaning from all the side tracks and sub clauses. If you want to get your points across to a wider audience then you need to perform some serious editing before hitting submit.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

Jeff, it honestly takes me ages to work through your posts and having done so it's actually very difficult condensing a meaning from all the side tracks and sub clauses. If you want to get your points across to a wider audience then you need to perform some serious editing before hitting submit.

QFT. I've actually tried reading some of the posts, but I'm still not sure what I read.

I think the main points are something about ebooks being smaller than movies, and thus easier to download in batches, and that nobody is doing enough to stop that, and there should be some authority to try to squash file swapping. But I'm not confident in that.

[jeffcobb]

Originally Posted by Gwen Morse

Nonsense .

Check out Barbara Hambly's vampire books. She was writing *good* vampire books after Anne's had devolved to litter-box-filling trash.

Look for "Those Who Hunt The Night". There's a sequel but I can't remember the title of it.

Sadly, not available in ebook

Is it for "young adults"? That's what many seem fit for. I just remember Bram Stokers book scaring the poo out of my in my youth...the way he described things you could almost feel the chill in the castle stone walls...

[jeffcobb]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

QFT. I've actually tried reading some of the posts, but I'm still not sure what I read.

I think the main points are something about ebooks being smaller than movies, and thus easier to download in batches, and that nobody is doing enough to stop that, and there should be some authority to try to squash file swapping. But I'm not confident in that.

OK you guys win...from now on I will use small words and maybe some bits of Happy Meal toys to make a point. I am indeed sorry for sowing such confusion amongst...both of you.

[clockworkzombie]

@jeffcobb
Have a look at Death Sentence by Don Watson. ISBN: 9781843543565
It may be hard to find but worth a read, he was a speechwriter for Paul Keating an Australian Prime Minister.

Here is the blurb.

When was the last time you heard a politician use words that rang with truth and meaning? Do your eyes glaze over when you read a letter from your bank or insurance company? Don Watson takes a blowtorch to the words, and their users, that sterilise the language and kill imagination and clarity.

Reading this has helped me communicate better than I used to. If writing the way you do makes people skim or ignore what you say then you are not communicating. Less can sometimes be more. Shorter sentences with simpler words will help you clarify your position and help us understand.

Edited or spelling mistake.

[MrPLD]

Clockworkzombie,

I thought it was just me who reacted like that to bank/legal/etc letters... now I'm going to have to dig up that book just to get to the bottom of that skill

Paul.

[clockworkzombie]

A mini skirt is the perfect illustration of my point.

Long enough to cover the subject. Short enough to keep it interesting.

[Gwen Morse]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

Is it for "young adults"? That's what many seem fit for. I just remember Bram Stokers book scaring the poo out of my in my youth...the way he described things you could almost feel the chill in the castle stone walls...

I don't think I'm understanding what you're asking re: Barbara Hambly's "Those Who Hunt the Night" vampire book?

Do you mean is it written for a YA audience (like Twilight, etc)? No, I don't believe so.
Do you mean does it have adult/sexual content? Not really, her books are fairly tame.

So, a teen reader _could_ read her books, but they're not written specifically for teens.

I'd say pretty much any of her books are written for intelligent women to enjoy, but men are certainly free to come along for the ride. She has written for at least one predominantly "male" market (Star Wars books).

Her other (non-vampire) books tend to be varying blends of sci-fi and fantasy. Mostly fantasy but with occasional bits of tech sneaking in here and there.

[jeffcobb]

Originally Posted by Gwen Morse

I don't think I'm understanding what you're asking re: Barbara Hambly's "Those Who Hunt the Night" vampire book?

Do you mean is it written for a YA audience (like Twilight, etc)? No, I don't believe so.
Do you mean does it have adult/sexual content? Not really, her books are fairly tame.

So, a teen reader _could_ read her books, but they're not written specifically for teens.

I'd say pretty much any of her books are written for intelligent women to enjoy, but men are certainly free to come along for the ride. She has written for at least one predominantly "male" market (Star Wars books).

Her other (non-vampire) books tend to be varying blends of sci-fi and fantasy. Mostly fantasy but with occasional bits of tech sneaking in here and there.

You were right the first time; I was asking if it was targeted at YA. Like Roswell books were and some others I need not mention. I am not looking for adult/sexual content but rather something that doesn't talk down to me. I have been disappointed with many in the past and it would take a strong recommendation to get me to get into something new of a speculative nature...

[Gwen Morse]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

You were right the first time; I was asking if it was targeted at YA. Like Roswell books were and some others I need not mention. I am not looking for adult/sexual content but rather something that doesn't talk down to me. I have been disappointed with many in the past and it would take a strong recommendation to get me to get into something new of a speculative nature...

Here's what I can say about her writing. My understanding is that Barbara Hambly has a black belt in some martial art and an academic Masters degree, which explains the interest in characters who are both smart and able to defend themselves. Her writing style is reasonably spare - not very "flowery". Her stories are character-driven and often have some sort of low-grade mystery (not like a traditional "mystery" book, more in the sense of unexplained happenings that have to be explained).

Those Who Hunt the Night is a bit more of a traditional mystery. It's set in Victorian (or possibly Edwardian) England. "Someone" is killing vampires during the daytime. One vampire (Simon Ysidro) blackmails a human (James Asher) to investigate. James is asked to investigate since he can move around in daylight (like the killer). However, none of the vampires (including Simon) like the idea of a human learning *anything* about vampires. James has to balance progress in his investigation with becoming too much of a threat. The strength of the book is in the slow unfolding of the relationship between James and Simon...they both slowly grow to like and respect each other, while both continuing to find each other more and more of a threat.

This tension is what makes the book. It's not "cliffhanger" tension, but, I find it very effective.

[jeffcobb]

Now see that sounds a lot better than some things I have read and I am one of those goofs that, once a book it started it is completed, no matter how bad it is. I love scifi too and heard great things about Piers Anthony so randomly bought one of his books and it read like it was written for a four-year-old. OK maybe 10-year old but you get the idea. I was later assured that his other books were better and I may try another someday but trust me, it is way at the bottom of my wish-list, out there with getting a root-canal.

OTR: That plot reminds me alot of a movie we bought some time back called Perfect Creature. The movie itself was iffy but the plot was sound and original which can make up for a lot of dodgy acting.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by jeffcobb

Now see that sounds a lot better than some things I have read and I am one of those goofs that, once a book it started it is completed, no matter how bad it is. I love scifi too and heard great things about Piers Anthony so randomly bought one of his books and it read like it was written for a four-year-old. OK maybe 10-year old but you get the idea. I was later assured that his other books were better and I may try another someday but trust me, it is way at the bottom of my wish-list, out there with getting a root-canal...

I got the same impression when I read Centaur Aisle. I never touched one of his books after that turkey.