For the first time in a while, I want to buy a book. Specifically, I'm looking for an operating systems book to brush up on the underlying concepts. And I'd like to see what has changed in the last 12 years since I took my OS class in college.
One book I found is only available in hardcover, so there's no dilemma there, but some of the others are also available in electronic format. I found one book to use as an example that's available in Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader, and hardcover formats.
I found another book available in Kindle, eReader, and paperback on a similar topic. It had a similar price disparity: the eReader version was more expensive than the physical book! Sony did announce it was standardizing on ePub, which may mean their version is more accessible than the Kindle version, and may explain the price hike. (Or, they may just want more profit.)
But here's my real dilemma: should I buy the paper or the electronic version? Electronic formats have the ability to be searched, something I have sorely missed in paper texts, especially those where the index is lacking. But, paper has the advantage of being DRM-free; I don't have to worry about some software snafu suddenly making my paper version unreadable.
I'm now comfortable buying music solely in digital format, but it took a while. And, for a book this expensive, I want to be able to access it for the next 12+ years until I need a more up-to-date edition. I also fear that I'll be locking myself in to one platform, and I don't want to choose the losing platform.