My muscle memory when I'm searching now includes -site: medium.com and I've found that helps bubble up more well thought out and detailed solutions to technical issues I'm investigating.
I really enjoy PragProg books, they switched their eBook catalog backend in recent memory (last year?). I don't remember exactly what my issue was but I recall having an experience that ultimately had me abandon my shopping cart. I find the Manning catalog and eBook ownership experience to be top-notch, I'm not sure why PragProg has struggled with this. It's as if they don't read their own books.
There's an AMP extension for Chrome that does the same thing https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/amp-browser-extens...
I think the searchability of the textbooks via Google is a big pro in favor of them going to Medium. And personally I like the interface, but to each their own I guess.
What you’re reading now is not a collection of mazes for you to solve. No, this is something much more exciting. This is a collection of ideas to inspire you.
You’re about to learn how to generate your own mazes. Random mazes, unique, each one different than the one before. It’s a voyage of discovery where you never know quite what you’ll find when you crest the next hill." Mazes for Programmers by Jamis Buck — Pragmatic Programmers (3 / 121)
Read more: https://medium.com/pragmatic-programmers/introduction-f7e108...
[1] https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/the-pragmatic-prog...
However, there's some things being on the web does that ebooks don't do. The top is that being on Medium makes them Google searchable and that unlocks the reference value of each of these books. You can come in, find your answer, and leave. Most people won't ever buy an ebook just to read one section.
The -ish is that Medium uses a Metered paywall where three subscriber articles per month are free if you are logged in. So if you end up on one of these books because of a Google search, you'll probably end up getting your answer for free.
But if you want to read more you have to be a subscriber. Launching the Prags is part of upgrading the subscription to make it stronger for programmers. There were already a lot of programmers subscribed, but I think the Prags makes the value of a Medium subscription a lot more clear cut.
Previously you'd have to know that the topic was covered in _ textbook, then you'd have to buy and read said textbook.
Now you can find it just from a Google search. And then you can read the whole textbook if you want. Seems worth it for $5.
