The Dec 20, 02 version is online. Getting bound copies.

[edwin connell]

The Dec 20, 2002 version is finally online. This is the 15th version since it was first typed in 1986, and the 12th version since we went online in early 1999. As always, the changes are minor refinements, and the text remains 134 pages -- I do not add any more pages. Hopefully this is the last version.

On standard 8 1/2" x 11" paper, the text should print out with a width of 6" and height of 8 3/8", because I consider generous spacing as part of the character of this composition. If you use Acrobat Reader to read the pdf files, you may want to deselect "Shrink oversize pages to paper size" to avoid getting a smaller print out.

The pages are supposed to print in the center. When reproducing single to double sided, some reproduction machines may be set to move the odd pages slightly to the right and the even pages slightly to the left (to allow for the binding). All chapters start on an odd page, and the odd pages are supposed to be on the right and the even pages on the left. You can punch holes in it and put it in a notebook, but it is best to get it spiral bound (coil or comb). Kinkos and others usually give academic discounts.

Although the book is "free", there is an expense of time and money getting it bound. I am trying to get someone to sell a bound version, but its not so easy, because they must state upfront that it's "free" on the internet. I offer the book to "on demand" publishers without royalties, and I would like to have it available for $10. One firm offered to sell it for $15 plus postage, which is really pretty reasonable, but I am still undecided. Having bound copies available is necessary if the book is ever to be used as a course textbook.

While the book is having little success as a textbook, in some ways it is a hit in cyberspace -- we are averaging over 100 downloads a day in pdf alone. That's about 40,000 a year, which is rather incredible for a math book. Of course I don't know how many actually print it out and study it.
Judging from this forum, many students don't get past the first chapter, which is disappointing. Of course the book was never written to be studied in isolation -- it was written to be taught by a professor. But one nice thing about the internet is that things find uses outside the standard inconvenient, rigid and expensive academic structure.

Anyway I am trying to get bound copies available, and I am open to suggestions and comments.

Prof Edwin Connell
U of Miami

[WouterVH]

Hello,
Thank you professor, for providing this textbook online.

But it is not entirely clear what copyright license this textbook has. [Informal yes, but formally no] Althought there a "Open Content"-logo at the bottom of the site, it is not made explicit in the textbook itself.

There are several Open Content Licenses:
I suggest to use the GNU Free Documentation License (without covertexts,...)
and the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike in a dual-licensing.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Since it is encouraged to use this material to build upon it, it would be nice to have access to the latex-files. That would also make it easier to dissect the book into encyclopedia-items that can be included into the Free Mathematics Encyclopedia of Planetmath.org

I assume you already know about Planetmath's existence?
http://www.planetmath.org


Greetings,
Wouter Vanden Hove
http://www.open-education.org [Open Content in Education Advocacy Initiative]
http://www.opencursus.be [Flemish Open Course Portal]