Michael Jay Lissnerhttps://michaeljaylissner.com/2009-02-01T14:45:21-08:00The Latest Books and Classes2009-02-01T14:45:21-08:00Mike Lissnertag:michaeljaylissner.com,2009-02-01:posts/2009/02/01/the-latest-books-and-classes/<p>Well, another semester has begun at the School of Information, and so I figured I’d share my latest classes and books.</p>
<p>As of now, I’ve boiled my classes down to the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mixing and Remixing Information</li>
<li>Interface Aesthetics</li>
<li>Social and Organizational Issues of Information</li>
<li>Strategic Computing and Communications Technology</li>
<li>Information Law and Policy</li>
<li>Cyberlaw</li>
</ul>
<p>And somehow, I only had to buy three books and four readers this semester, for a total of $315. Somehow, this is more than last semester when I had five books and four readers. Oh well. The books from this semester are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy</li>
<li>Software and Internet Law</li>
<li>Pro Web 2.0 Mashups</li>
</ul>
<p>So far, classes are going well, but at least one of them will need to get cut. It’s going to be hard to decide, but luckily I don’t have to for another few months.</p>Why Online Booksellers do so Damned Well2008-09-13T09:31:19-07:00Mike Lissnertag:michaeljaylissner.com,2008-09-13:posts/2008/09/13/why-online-book-stores-do-so-damned-well/<p>Lately in Berkeley, a number of our independent bookstores have closed their doors for business. In every case, the rumor I’ve heard from the employees lays the blame squarely on online competition. I’m not entirely sure I buy the argument as the sole cause, but there probably is some truth to it. </p>
<p>This year, as I shopped for books and readers, I decided to keep my receipts and to total up the costs. In the end, my process for getting books was:</p>
<ul>
<li>Buy them at the campus store</li>
<li>Look them up online</li>
<li>Curse</li>
<li>Buy them online</li>
<li>Receive them on my doorstep</li>
<li>Return the originals to the campus store</li>
</ul>
<p>I feel a bad about this process, but on the other hand, before now I didn’t realize just <em>how</em> expensive the books are on campus. Take a look:
<table>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><strong>On Campus</strong></td>
<td><strong>Online</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intellectual Foundations of Information Organization</td>
<td>$46</td>
<td>$37</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Computer Science: An Overview</td>
<td>$96</td>
<td>$7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Introduction to Information Retrieval</td>
<td>$60</td>
<td>$43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity</td>
<td>N/A</td>
<td>$10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Wealth of Networks</td>
<td>N/A</td>
<td>$14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Readers</td>
<td>$137</td>
<td>N/A</td>
</tr> <br />
<tr>
<td>Shipping</td>
<td>N/A</td>
<td>$10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Totals</td>
<td>$339</td>
<td>$121</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Less N/A’s</td>
<td>$202</td>
<td>$87</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Grand Total Spent:</strong></td>
<td></td>
<td><strong>$258</strong></td>
</tr>
</table></p>
<p>Pretty amazing. It would have cost me $115 more to get books on campus. And we wonder why online book stores do so well. </p>