Black Lab wrote:What's wrong with an electronic download?
Files can get corrupted sometimes in a download. However the main reason I still prefer the boxed version is the manual. I realise that there is a downloadable version, in fact I already downloaded it to get a better idea of VS11+'s new features etc, but sometimes it is easier if you don't know exactly what you are looking for, to be able to flick through an actual book.
Different manufacturers use different terminology and names for things. If you can flick through a book, you can get a better idea of the context these are used in. For some reason I can't do this as well with a .pdf. Maybe I have some form of "screen dyslexia". When I type stuff like this words never look right and I always have to check the spelling a lot. If I write or see things written or typed on a proper page I don't have the same problem.
The other advantage with a physical book, is that you can get away from the computer screen for a while, get a coffee, and sit back and read it through properly. I usually make notes on post-its then bookmark the pages that have the parts that interest me.
I'm 32 now, I didn't get a mobile phone or even an email account until I was 22, let alone know how to use the internet. When I was a kid if you wanted to find things out you read books. I still do.
"You can read or write a book in a power-cut.... unless of course it's dark... then you're ..."