SmartGo Books 1.1 (http://smartgo.com/books.htm) for the iPad and iPhone is now available with two additional books:

- "How Not to Play Go" by Yuan Zhou (Slate & Shell) - $3.99
- "Patterns of the Sanrensei" by Michael Redmond 9 dan - $14.99

The book by Michael Redmond was written specifically for SmartGo Books. It features six basic plans for the Sanrensei opening, and illustrates the strategy and tactics of these patterns in twenty of Michael Redmond's games. Whether you play the Sanrensei or need to defend against it, this is the book to read before your next tournament.

For now, this book is only available in the SmartGo Books app for the iPad and iPhone. You can check out a PDF sample of the book: http://smartgo.com/pdf/sanrensei.pdf.

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Anders Kierulf
@smartgo

I have really got to say, that sample of Michael Redmond's book is awesome!

The ABC's of Attack and Defense by Redmond is one of my favorite go books. He writes in a very clear and understandable manner.

There is a huge chance that I will be reading this new book on my couch tonight.

Any chance of Patterns of the Sanrensei being available in any format other than SmartGo? An english book specifically on Sanrensei is of huge interest to me, but investing in both SmartGo and the book for windows since I don't have an iPad or iPhone seems a bit excessive to me.

EDIT: Apparently SmartGo books are only readable on iPad/iPhone? That seems rather unfair

Not yet. For now, regard this as your excuse to get an iPad. There is a chance that it will become available in other formats, but that's not for me to announce.

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Anders Kierulf
@smartgo

Wow, that must be a good book if it's worth $600.00 and my freedom of choice.

I'm more worried down the road that there will be no support, and it will be a 'book' I can't read any more. I liked purchasing the Kiseido Digital stuff, but I can't really see getting into this stuff unless the format was known, and I have the files.

That could be said about all digital formats, from CDs to MP3s and PDFs.

To be fair, Anders is trying to open the SGFKifu spec to developers. I'm sure that he is being frustrated by the copyright holders of the original works and the license limitations of his iPlatform of choice. I do applaud the effort of expanding SGF to ebook publishing, I just wish that the implementation could be open and available for all platforms from the outset. There is no good reason to limit ebook publishing to a single, closed platform whether that is a iDevice, a Kindle, or a specific proprietary application.

Come on. I'm very much an advocate of personal liberties (probably to such a degree that many individuals on this forum would consider it a fault). I also happen to strongly prefer printed books for many of the reasons identified here. But how is anyone's "freedom of choice" being limited in this instance? By offering something that was previously unavailable to anyone on any platform, a developer is not, ipso facto, violating anyone's freedom of choice.

Importantly, let's consider the developers' "freedom of choice." No one is obligated to develop anything in the first place, much less develop it to our liking. We are perfectly free to criticize the developers' choices (and I do it all the time) and, if something isn't reaosnably accessible to you, it will affect the developer's compensation. For the record, I am wary about electronic book formats and disdain technology and laws that limit the ability of users to use what they buy. But characterizing the current situation as some sort rights infringement is a bit extreme.

Also, as others have pointed out, this is at an early stage of development. Expecting spontaneous multi-platform availability from a small developer to a niche market is a bit unreasonable (and, of course, they may choose never to support a particular platform). I for one, would really like for this to be available on Linux, but I doubt a native app is forthcoming.

To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't criticize software/applications, but rather that it is more productive to do so without a sense of entitlement.


EDIT: As soon as I submitted this, I felt it came off a bit too harsh and critical--specifically of Redbeard. Sorry about that; while I certainly intended my post to be argumentative, I intended to convey a more academic/detached tone.

All of those are pretty easy to use on any device out there as long as the PDF is not encrypted. Even that has been fairly trivial to break.

If I could buy an SGF Kifu and move it from device to device, and the spec is open, I'm all for it. I'll pay $15 now for the Redmond book and write an Android version.

There is a reason, and I think it's been mentioned (but if not, it's just my take): iOS is the platform where users are the most likely to pay for apps. It also has by far the lowest risk of piracy (jailbroken devices can't get IAPs, and that's what the books are). Don't get me wrong, I'm all for open, platform independent formats (and the format itself isn't closed), and availability on many systems, but I understand the concerns that publishers (software and books) may have and why they want to test waters with the platform that offers the most potential for realistic (not just theoretical) commercial success.

There are other benefits (from a commercial perspective) like standardized hardware, closed OS, etc. There is a reason why Linux isn't today's standard OS and why the vast majority of commercial software developers doesn't port to or develop for it. Android has the same advantages and disadvantages like Linux.

Sorry I don't accept that. A whore is a whore no matter how much they make or how popular they are. If you look at the history of publishing from scribes in monasteries to Guttenburg through to PDFs and Kindles, open platforms succeed and closed platforms, although more profitable, fail and cause more harm than good. If the world is forced to buy an iPad or Kindle to access proprietary content we are heading for a corporate dark age of digital feudalism.

Copyright, licensing, proofreading, translations, updates... These are all applicable of any publishing adventure. Electronic publishing only streamlines certain things at the expense of complicating other aspects of publishing. The only truly universal medium is print but the list of complications remains constant.

Personally, I've got an iPad and I have no desire to see Anders extend—and possibly exhaust—his limited intellectual and capital resources attempting to accommodate more formats or OSes.

david boise ID

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

I think you have me misquoted above...

Also, I don't want Anders to extend himself either. I just want to buy the file.

1. You don't have to accept that people & businesses need to make a profit, but it's a fact. Insinuating that every for-profit venture is equivalent to prostitution is ridiculous.

2. No one is being forced to buy an iPad or a Kindle. Paper books will exist for the foreseeable future. You can still listen to some new music on vinyl too, if that's your bag.

Let's just take it as a given that my response violates the terms of service about as hard as they can be violated, so that I can make this post a bit shorter.

P.S. Does anyone else have the suspicion that Redbeard's post was really just an excuse to use the dirty word he learned yesterday?

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Occupy Babel!

... from Horton Hears a Whore, no doubt.

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That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.
--
My (sadly neglected, but not forgotten) project: http://dailyjoseki.com

Idealism doesn't feed people. Within a few seconds, I can find most DRM protected ebooks (format doesn't matter) on torrent sites. Likewise, you can easily find pirated versions of paid apps (iOS and Android alike) on similar web sites. What you can't easily, or at all, find are pirated versions of iOS apps that include IAP (in-app purchases). SmartGo Books are IAPs. If I were to publish a Go book (which is already a niche market) and was willing to take the risk of making an ebook version, I would use the most secure method of doing so. For now, the iOS platform is the safest way of doing this.

References to monasteries and such don't apply, because before the digital age it didn't take a fraction of a second to get a 100% identical copy of a book. I'm not fond of DRM, but what's the alternative? It's been shown over and over that a large number of people will not pay for a product if they can easily get it for free. If you want to blame someone, blame those who pirate software and digital media, not the authors and publishers who want to protect their property and continue making money from it.

As I said, there is much to idealism and "perfect world" scenarios. But rent has to be paid, food needs to be put on the table, and that's the reality most content providers (and everyone else) has to deal with. Do you work for free? I unfortunately can't afford this form of idealism because my landlady doesn't share it. My supermarket doesn't either. Shame.

Except the Redmond book, all other SmartGo Books are available in other formats too (paper), so the exclusivity is limited to the electronic editions. And while I believe they will be made available in other formats as well, if it didn't happen, then you'd just have to accept that some things have requirements that you may not meet. A book on Sanrensei isn't "essential" and not having access to it (you do, you just chose not to buy a device you can read it on) doesn't impact your "freedom". Reality check, please.

You don't want digital feudalism. Publishers don't want digital anarchy.

Very well then,

This thread has gone way OT (of which I am mostly to blame). Most of the people who responded to my inflammatory comments did not read what I wrote, interpreted it through their own prejudices, or do not understand the definition of the terms I have used. I do not see any point in continuing to discuss this matter.

You have all made good points and you are welcome to your opinions whether I agree with them or not. I will not post in this thread further.

Good Day.