How to study shape?

[Boidhre]

If it was clearly stated that Shape Up was on the disc on the website it'd be pretty obvious that it hadn't been released into the community for free...

Not necessarily. GoGod advertises that it includes Kombilo, and Kombilo is open source and free to download.

Good point.

[Mike Novack]

Remember --- "free software" does not have to be available free for download.

What the typical licenses specify are conditions that allow it to be free for download if somebody out of the goodness of their heart wants to provide that to you. All that has to be available is ..........

The source code at a charge no more than what is customary for data on medium (these days that would be on CD or DVD for $5-$10). Again, the license would allow anybody who cared to
1) make that available for free download
2) compile run execs for use under various operating systems and do likewise
But nobody has any obligation to do so.

Similarly anybody who cared to could write users guides, etc. to be used in conjunction with some free software application. BUT (big but) this would be different in that normal copyright would apply even if these works created by the team that developed the free software. Please note that the original "free software" folks were expecting to make their livings from software. Just campaigning against exploitation. Things were different in those days. Hadn't settled down to just a few operating systems so they expected things like "compile it for your machine" to be a service paid for (if you think charging you too much, well you can get the source code and have somebody else compile it for you). They were expecting MARKET COMPETITION to keep prices for distribution and services reasonable, "software for the price of a book".

[hyperpape]

Mike, these are all excellent points about free software, but I'm not sure what point you're making about Shape Up.

Although I'd say that today, the customary medium is Github.

[Charles Matthews]

On reading "Shape Up!", there are only three authorised sources in English: Gobase, a Korean site, and the GoGod CD-ROM. I have authorised some translations. All other web copies are piracy. I should say that I think piracy is killing the fragile ecological niche, of go publishing that is designed for the actual needs of Western players.

Could you please let us know which Korean site is the authorised source of your book?

http://www.badukworld.co.kr/biz/lesson2 ... shape.html is, I guess, an online version posted with my co-author's consent.

As for generalised rants about free software etc.: since I have spent now nearly nine years writing Wikipedia material, I feel adequately informed about all that.

[tchan001]

Thank you Charles. I had found that earlier but didn't want to post any links until it was confirmed that it was an authorised source.

[tchan001]

Another treasure trove on shapes is this Korean book: http://tchan001.wordpress.com/2010/05/1 ... ictionary/
RJ has a review of the book here: http://www.gobooks.info/jasiek/isbn-89-7067-162-5.html

[boshy]

I'm glad some people find "Shape Up!" useful.

I'm sure people remember minue622 korean kgs [7d] who used to actively teach go few years back. He liked "Shape Up!" so much, he was thinking of translating it to korean.

[Bonobo]

I guess it’s only appropriate that I, too, thank you. I’m just a weak kyu making very slow progress, but your »Shape Up!« is incredibly valuable for me, I wish there was a German version of this so I could give this to the kids whom I teach Go at the local school (voluntary work, not official school lessons) and to the people at the local Go club (who all, sadly, won’t read English).

[burrkitty]

I also love these kinds of books and find them crazy useful. Is there anywhere to buy printed books? Online is fine for a bit, but I really (REALLY) prefer printed books for intensive study. I get fewer headaches and can study for longer. Plus the battery life on print books is SO much better!

[EdLee]

Is there anywhere to buy printed books?

Yes, there are a few places. One is Kiseido -- they're having a sale until the 28th this month.

[Toge]

Anyone who is a serious go player should buy the GoGod CD-ROM which has "Shape Up!" and other writings of mine included.

- CD-ROM technology is horribly outdated. If you have the kind of attitude that downloads over the Internet are not acceptable means to distribute content at this day and age I can tell you it's not piracy that's making biggest cut to your sales. It's the world moving on. You might want to check out the smartphone app market. I can imagine some go players wanting to read your book on their tablet computer.

[lemmata]

CD-ROM technology is horribly outdated.

There may be more cost uncertainty with online distribution. With CD-ROM technology, you pay only when someone buys. Maintaining an online distribution network requires payment even on months when no one buys. If their sales volume is low and/or irregular, then I can see that CD-ROM distribution might make sense from a risk-reducing perspective.

I seriously doubt that they're using CD-ROMs because of piracy concerns. CD-ROMs are very easy to copy and put online for downloading.

Of course, I presume that downloads are more environmentally friendly... If you care about that sort of thing.

[palapiku]

First it's John Fairbairn releasing books only in a proprietary locked-in format that works only on a specific e-Ink device among dozens on the market;

then it's Charles Matthews releasing a book only as part of a huge database of game records;

and people wonder why bittorrent is so popular?

I have bought printed books by both Fairbairn and Matthews. I'm not some kind of evil pirate. I just don't need GoGoD and I can't buy Shape Up from Gobase because Gobase is dead and I can't get it from a Korean website because I don't read Korean. I see only one solution for this...

Edit: I actually see two solutions. I could pirate Shape Up, or I could just live without it. Note that as far as Charles Matthews is concerned, the outcome is exactly the same - he doesn't get anything.

[oren]

First it's John Fairbairn releasing books only in a proprietary locked-in format that works only on a specific e-Ink device among dozens on the market;

A proprietary locked in format that works on all of the dozens of devices on the market...

Amazon has been very good about porting their software everywhere they can.

[palapiku]

First it's John Fairbairn releasing books only in a proprietary locked-in format that works only on a specific e-Ink device among dozens on the market;

A proprietary locked in format that works on all of the dozens of devices on the market...

Amazon has been very good about porting their software everywhere they can.

I'm not even sure how to respond to this. Would you care to give a source showing that Kindle software works on all of the dozens of e-Ink devices on the market?

(you can't, because it doesn't)

Edit: Maybe you skipped over the word "e-Ink" in my post?