Puppy mention in book?

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Ed Howdershelt
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Puppy mention in book?

#1 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

Hi, there.
Some years ago I mentioned Xandros very favorably in a couple of my books because it set up quickly and easily with only 5 mouse clicks and let me retrieve lost files.
I'd had the demo copy for a few months and hadn't used it for lack ot time, but when a virus got through and shut down my Win box, I made time to try it.

But they stopped updating the Xandros desktop edition a few years ago, so now it's unsuitable.

All that happened before live CDs became popular. Now everybody seems to have one.
I tried several distros with varying degrees of success, then I found Puppy.

First I tried it on my antique Gateway box. No problem. Fast, easy, and it found and presented hardware Windows couldn't find without downloading specialty drivers and offering burnt sacrifices to various deities.

Then I tried it on my IBM T30 laptop. (yeah, another antique, but no big loss if I wreck the bike a thousand miles from home) Again, no problems. Fast and easy, all hardware found and presented.
It worked the same way on my new HP laptop, too.

I recently picked up a persnickety Dell Dimension box and I only put WinXP on it so I could run two Win-only ebook conversion progs that don't work right under Wine.
Win couldn't find stuff during setup. Win couldn't find stuff after setup, either.
In fact, even with the right drivers, certain things just didn't work well together under Win.

So I downloaded the latest Puppy (5.25) and fired it up in live mode.
It found everything, as usual. Presented the box ready to fly, also as usual.
This time I didn't have to move or rename a few files to make Puppy install, my thanks to whomever fixed that little problem.
Puppy shoveled everything from the CD to the HD and I set the boot in the MBR and took the disk out.
Just for grins, I tried using those two balky programs under the Wine that comes with Puppy. For some reason, they now seem to work fine.
I'll leave Win on the box for now, but I think it will be a long time before I have any reason to use it again.

I really can't envision going back to Windows. I'm sure there are reasons other people might need Win for something (heavy gaming, etc?), but I just write books, mess around on the net, and run a business, and Puppy is handling all that just fine.

So... my reason for this message -- other than offering huge kudos -- is to ask whether I can very favorably mention and strongly recommend Puppy Linux in my books without risking a lawsuit.

No guesses from the audience please.
I want someone with the legal ability to say yes or no to do just that.
Thanks,
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction

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#2 Post by BarryK »

So... my reason for this message -- other than offering huge kudos -- is to ask whether I can very favorably mention and strongly recommend Puppy Linux in my books without risking a lawsuit.


You don't need permission to do that.

However, it is required that you refer to the official sites, puppylinux.com and puppylinux.org.

There are some legal notes on use of the logos:
http://puppylinux.com/faq.htm
[url]https://bkhome.org/news/[/url]

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reply

#3 Post by raffy »

Hey, Ed, congrats, you got a direct reply from the Chief as you wished (although that's not an exception, as he posts here whenever he can).

Thanks for the huge kudos. Please visit again when you have the book ready so we can mention about it, too.
Puppy user since Oct 2004. Want FreeOffice? [url=http://puppylinux.info/topic/freeoffice-2012-sfs]Get the sfs (English only)[/url].

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#4 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="BarryK"][quote]So... my reason for this message -- other than offering huge kudos -- is to ask whether I can very favorably mention and strongly recommend Puppy Linux in my books without risking a lawsuit.[/quote]

You don't need permission to do that.
However, it is required that you refer to the official sites, puppylinux.com and puppylinux.org.
There are some legal notes on use of the logos:
http://puppylinux.com/faq.htm[/quote]

Here in the litigious USofA,it's best to have permissions for any product mentions.

No problem at all to use official site URLs in my books.
I'll pick a logo for one of my website's links pages.

Congrats for producing a truly fine OS.
Thanks,
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction

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Re: reply

#5 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="raffy"]Hey, Ed, congrats, you got a direct reply from the Chief as you wished (although that's not an exception, as he posts here whenever he can).

Thanks for the huge kudos. Please visit again when you have the book ready so we can mention about it, too.[/quote]

Will do.
Fact is, I plan to make those mentions early in the books so they'll show up in samplings offered by Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and others.
A character could tell another character how to salvage crucial files using Puppy before she tries to fix her computer.
Ed
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Re: reply

#6 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="raffy"]Hey, Ed, congrats, you got a direct reply from the Chief as you wished (although that's not an exception, as he posts here whenever he can).
Thanks for the huge kudos. Please visit again when you have the book ready so we can mention about it, too.[/quote]

It's that time, one of the books is out there.
Title: "When Your Computer has a FLAT"
http://www.amazon.com/When-Your-Compute ... B006THKZZS
and
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b1317 ... helt/?si=0

It's a short booklet intended for Windows users who encounter any of the typical Win problems. (no boot, virus, trojan, etc...)
The booklet offers an immediate, uncomplicated means of harmlessly working around such problems until they've been cured.
Puppy Linux and Rescue CDs form the core of the info.

I believe people who give Puppy an honest try will be very tempted to make it their default Internet tool and relegate Windows to offline use only.
(Well, the smartest ones will, anyway. :)

Puppy is also featured very favorably and prominently in Ch.2 of my next title, "3rd World Products, Book 16", which should be released about mid-March unless my edits crew finds any last-minute nits to pick.

This is not the zealousness of a new convert. I've been messing with various Linux offerings since around 2003.
When I say in my books that Linux WILL do something, I'm not guessing about it.
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction
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#7 Post by amigo »

"Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction" Interesting. So which category does Puppy come under?

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#8 Post by 8-bit »

When I visited the link provided, I clicked on your name and it brought me a list of the books you have done.
From reading the descriptions, it made me want to get your entire collection.
I am an avid SCIFI fan and so I will have to check some of them out.
I have a Barns and Noble store in a neighboring town about 25 miles away and will have to see if they carry them.
I normally like to get the on paper editions of books for safe keeping.
Downloading a book in whatever format to a hard drive is not as secure in the event of a computer hard drive crash.

Also, a big thank you for the mention of Puppy Linux!

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#9 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="8-bit"]When I visited the link provided, I clicked on your name and it brought me a list of the books you have done.
From reading the descriptions, it made me want to get your entire collection.
I am an avid SCIFI fan and so I will have to check some of them out.
I have a Barns and Noble store in a neighboring town about 25 miles away and will have to see if they carry them.
I normally like to get the on paper editions of books for safe keeping.
Downloading a book in whatever format to a hard drive is not as secure in the event of a computer hard drive crash.
Also, a big thank you for the mention of Puppy Linux![/quote]

Barnes & Noble only carries the Nook versions. No paper.

I never bothered with Print on Demand 'cuz printing costs would have made some of my books cost over $20 each.
'Dragonfly Run' and 'Kim' would have cost close to $30 each.
If I wouldn't pay that much for a book, why would anyone else?

re: hard drive crashes... just buy the non-DRM versions and save them to a CD. They aren't shareware and I hope you wouldn't pirate them, but I personally don't like existing DRM schemes and I offer my stuff without DRM through Fictionwise and on my website.

Amazon, BN, and other big companies are all about making you totally dependent on them.
I've watched too many ereader makers and ebook sellers (Nuvomedia, Gemstar, eBookad, others) go out of business, leaving their customers stuck with expensive, highly proprietary doorstops and useless ebooks.

If you buy my stuff from Fictionwise or me, you'll be able to read it a century from now on whatever kind of gadget you might own then.
If you get a different reader device, just get Calibre or whatever's current and change the ebook's format.

re: Puppy Linux... Thanks accepted, but not really necessary.
I used to be in computer repair and I've had to fight with every version of Windows since Win3.0 came out.
Viruses, crashes, lockups, the BSoD, all of it. I looked for alternatives, but until a few years ago, Linux was still like DOS; typing command line crap for every little thing or having to fuss with seemingly endless details.

In my world, time spent trying to force a balky tool to work properly is time spent NOT getting the actual job done.

Puppy seemed a little too good to be true at first, but it PROVED itself over a few months of use.
A perfect score, NO drawbacks here.
When I made a Paypal donation for Puppy, I also asked about mentioning Puppy in my books.
That's probably the best possible way I can spread the word.
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction
http://www.AbintraPress.com

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#10 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="amigo"]"Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction" Interesting. So which category does Puppy come under?[/quote]

I'm branching out a bit with non-fiction.

The following ought to help introduce some people to Puppy, I think:

I'm on the FW bestseller page again.
http://www.fictionwise.com/topstories.htm
Lower third of the page, #3 in the business section:
(copy/paste from page:)

Best Selling in Business
1. Mid-Length [31969 words]Freedom To Freelance by Rusty Fischer [Business/Reference]
2. Finding Your Perfect Work by Paul Edwards & Sarah Edwards [Business]
3. Very Short [2354 words]When Your Computer has a FLAT by Ed Howdershelt [Business/Technology/Science]

The book focuses on using Puppy Linux as a work-around system when Windows gets badly infected or too thoroughly confuses itself.
It also mentions Rescue CDs, but it mostly as a 'when you have the time to spare' option.

I figure if people can continue using their computers with Puppy, they might come to realize Windows is mostly unnecessary.
Ed
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Computer Flat On the FW bestseller page AT NUMBER 1

#11 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

Re: On the FW bestseller page AT NUMBER 1

Most of my stuff has appeared on that page and climbed as high as #3, but I think this is the very first time one of my titles has reached #1 in any category.

http://www.fictionwise.com/topstories.htm
1. Very Short [2354 words] When Your Computer has a FLAT by Ed Howdershelt [Business/Technology/Science]

While I did my best to present a good case for keeping Puppy Linux and Trinity Rescue CDs on hand, I truly didn't expect the book to do quite this well.
I think this #1 ranking might reflect peoples' insecurities about Windows more than anything else.
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction
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#12 Post by linuxbear »

Ed Howdershelt wrote: I'm on the FW bestseller page again.
Here's another way to get great exposure: Create an audiobook version of one of your works and post it to podiobooks.com It sounds conunterintuitive but folks have landed publishing contracts by using this method. One audio book which has done very well using this kind of model is the 7th. Son series on podiobooks. It's a great yarn!

...Glen

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#13 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="linuxbear"][quote="Ed Howdershelt"]
I'm on the FW bestseller page again.

[/quote]
Here's another way to get great exposure: Create an audiobook version of one of your works and post it to podiobooks.com It sounds conunterintuitive but folks have landed publishing contracts by using this method. One audio book which has done very well using this kind of model is the 7th. Son series on podiobooks. It's a great yarn!
...Glen[/quote]

I'll look into it (just visited the site), but reading one of my usual titles aloud (about 500 pages) is definitely an obstacle.
Not my idea of fun at all. Probably won't happen.
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction
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#14 Post by 8-bit »

Ed,
You have my curiosity aroused!
Do you use Puppy to write your works?
If so, what word processor have you had the most luck with?

Or is it a matter of the publisher only accepting work that is in MS word processor format?

You have to understand I am curious.

With choices of Open Office, Libre Office, AbiWord, and some others the insight into what a writer is using helps to know.

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#15 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="8-bit"]Ed,
You have my curiosity aroused!
Do you use Puppy to write your works?
If so, what word processor have you had the most luck with?[/quote]

Abiword. There was some re-learning to do regarding the arrow keys on the 10-key pad (same in all Linux versions I've tried), but otherwise it's a perfectly usable WP.

[quote]Or is it a matter of the publisher only accepting work that is in MS word processor format?[/quote]

Fictionwise wants only RTF format.
Amazon gets HTML.
Barnes&Noble gets my stuff from Fictionwise.
Lightning Source gets PDFs.
None of the major resellers asks for MS's DOC files.

[quote]You have to understand I am curious.
With choices of Open Office, Libre Office, AbiWord, and some others the insight into what a writer is using helps to know.[/quote]

I used to use Windows' little WordPad WP and still do when I'm drafting stuff or sketching out a few chapters to fill in later.
WordPad presents an endless blank page without forcing big-WP 'features' on you and gives you the basic set of RTF capabilities. Bold, italic, etc...
I don't need the ruler. Don't need margins, headers, or footers. Don't need all the other fancy trappings.

With Abiword, I can ignore all the unnecessary junk by resetting the first page to suit the text width I want and turning other stuff off.
Still have the obnoxious page divisions, but I can ignore those too.

I tried Wine's WordPad and didn't like a few things, so I either use the real WordPad or Abiword.
Ed
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#16 Post by linuxbear »

8-bit wrote:Ed,
You have my curiosity aroused!
Do you use Puppy to write your works?
I.
There are applications available for authors which combine the abilities such as writing, researching and journaling or a notepad. When a book is finished it can be saved into formats like kindle, html and epub. Some are even open source.

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#17 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="linuxbear"][quote="8-bit"]Ed,
You have my curiosity aroused!
Do you use Puppy to write your works?
I.[/quote]

There are applications available for authors which combine the abilities such as writing, researching and journaling or a notepad. When a book is finished it can be saved into formats like kindle, html and epub. Some are even open source.[/quote]

Is it a single app that can do all that AND save in those formats without loading up other programs to convert files?
If not, I already have all those facilities.
Ed

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#18 Post by linuxbear »

[/quote]

Is it a single app that can do all that AND save in those formats without loading up other programs to convert files?
If not, I already have all those facilities.
Ed[/quote]

There are a lot of applications available for writers. I would suggest a web search for writers programs or writers applications

... There are varying opinions on just how good these apps are. I found myself wondering about how Cory Doctorow writes and discovered that he is using Ubuntu and a source-code editor because he does not want an application to be making any assumptions about his grammar and sentence structure. He's probably an EMACS or VI guy too :-)

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#19 Post by linuxbear »

"is it a single app that can do all that AND save in those formats without loading up other programs to convert files?
If not, I already have all those facilities."

Ed


There are a lot of applications available for writers. I would suggest a web search for writers programs or writers applications

... There are varying opinions on just how good these apps are. I found myself wondering about how Cory Doctorow writes and discovered that he is using Ubuntu and a source-code editor because he does not want an application to be making any assumptions about his grammar and sentence structure. Cory on writing: "I use a plain-jane text editor that comes with Ubuntu called Gedit. It doesn’t do anything except accept text and save it and let me search and replace it. There were a few text-wrangling features in BBEdit on the Mac that I miss, but not very much. I like writing in simple environments that don’t do anything except remember what words I’ve thought up. It helps me resist the temptation to tinker with formatting. I also use Gedit to compose blog-posts for Boing Boing, typing the HTML by hand, which is an old habit from the early 1990s. I do use syntax coloring to help me spot unclosed tags, but apart from that, I don’t use any automated tools."[/i]

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#20 Post by Ed Howdershelt »

[quote="linuxbear"]
There are a lot of applications available for writers. I would suggest a web search for writers programs or writers applications[/quote]

Probably won't do that. I like my setup as it is.

[quote]...varying opinions on just how good these apps are. ...Doctorow is using Ubuntu and a source-code editor because he does not want an application to be making any assumptions about his grammar and sentence structure.[/quote]

Same here. I don't mind spell-checking, though it's usually underlining names and such. It catches my 3:AM typos, too. NO automated format or grammar-check tools. My characters speak as real people do, not as some 1960 English-class style guide would have it.

[quote]Cory "I use a plain-jane text editor that comes with Ubuntu called Gedit....[/quote]

That or Abiword here. Sometimes I start with Geany and then copy/paste to Abiword for spell-checks.

[quote]typing the HTML by hand...[/quote]

Prob'ly chops his own firewood, too. :)

I use Arachnophilia (not the java version) to zap the RTF files to simplest-possible HTML without all the extra unnecessary garbage current WPs add in conversions.

HTML2PDF makes the PDFs.

ECUB makes the ePubs.

Mobigen makes Kindle-compatibles.
Ed
Ed Howdershelt - Abintra Press
Science Fiction & Semi-Fiction
http://www.AbintraPress.com

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