Last year, Kevin Kelly printed up 1000 or so copies of his terrific book, Cool Tools, which reviews tools, services, software, books, gadgets, and so on. If you remember the Whole Earth Catalog, then you have a pretty good idea of what Cool Tools is about. Now he is offering a PDF version of the book for only $3.50, which is a great bargain.
[W]ith a copyright date of 2003, some reviewed items are now stale, outdated or obsolete. However, many more — probably most — remain the best things to use and won't be easily superceded. I still use the book myself. If you want a black & white version you can order one from Amazon (below).
But I have a better offer: a digital download. Halfway between a book and a website, PDF digital books are pioneering a third way. With this Cool Tools PDF you get several things the printed version does not have (but the web does): an index, clickable active hyperlinks in the text, and glorious full-color. At the same time the PDF version retains the easy to browse design and rapid navigation of a book, which the web does not have. And it is a lot cheaper than a book, immediate in its delivery, and smaller to store. I find myself reading a lot of PDFs and growing comfortable in their habits.
