After much thought and whatnot, textbook publishers are finally making some books available electronically to students — at a 33% discount. Whoo hoo! Yes, you save a few bucks, but then get to deal with use restrictions and expiring content. Also, since Dante’s Inferno is probably available at Project Gutenberg for free, it’s not such a good deal. Gutenberg books don’t expire.
This move protects publishers while offering some relief to students. It puts a $50 textbook in the thirty dollar range. Of course, since the book cannot be used after the class, it’s unclear whether the savings are worthwhile.
Still, we do give extra credit points for trying and, like all experiments, we expect there will be tweaking over time.
