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“Absolute OpenBSD” physically exists

I hold in my hands the first copy of Absolute OpenBSD off the press.

IMG00371The fine folks at No Starch Press did a beautiful job designing and creating the print book. I know ebooks are the coming thing, but a well-designed physical book is a delight.

This specific copy is for Bill Allaire. I’ll have my own copy. But I’m sure Bill won’t mind if I spend a few minutes fondling his book.

The loop is closed, the project is over. Now to lie back and let the fame and wealth just roll into — Sorry, I can’t even type that with a straight face.

And if you ask me when the third edition is coming out, I’ll be sure to thank you. With an axe.

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“DNSSEC Mastery” now complete, ebook version available!

You can now get the complete DNSSEC Mastery: Securing the Domain Name System with BIND at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and my personal ebookstore. It should (hopefully) trickle through to iTunes & such before long.

This book was a real education to write. Hopefully it will help improve the state of DNS security across the industry. Various DNS experts have expressed approval of the book, and here’s hoping that the wider world will as well.

The book has now gone on to physical production. Hopefully I will have a proof by BSDCan. We might even auction it off at the end of the con, as the OpenBSD auction did so well.

Review copies are available for folks who regularly review books.

If you should find an error in the ebook, please let me know. Converting an OpenOffice document to umpteen different formats for an incredibly wide variety of devices has its risks. I no longer have a PalmPilot to test that format, for example, and I have a specific model of Kindle that’s probably not the same as yours.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

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“Absolute OpenBSD” auction winner

The final total on the Absolute OpenBSD first copy auction was: $1145. The lucky (for various interpretations of lucky) winner is Bill Allaire, long-time OpenBSD supporter.

Bill has already sent Austin the money, which is winging its way to the OpenBSD Foundation as I write this. So he’s lived up to his end of the bargain.

I’m not going to ship him the book when it’s printed, however. Us writers are flaky and untrustworthy, and it’s time people realize and accept this. For another reason, though, there’s a small OpenBSD hackathon in Toronto at the end of May. I’ve been invited to come hang out on beer night.

I’m taking Bill’s book with me, so various OpenBSD developers can sign it and point out any errors. I’m sure they’ll also offer corrections and commentary because, well, you give a BSD developer a beer and he’ll tell you what he really thinks.

So, Bill not only gets the first copy off the press. He gets the most correct version. A book more awesome than anything anyone else will have. Don’t you wish you had outbid him?

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“Absolute OpenBSD” auction clears $1000

Apparently double-dog daring you people works.

The Absolute OpenBSD Foundation auction is currently at $1035.

You have another day and a half to bid. Do so.

I’m delighted. And, as promised, I’ll have an ebook sale as a result. Probably during BSDCan.

This week has been maniacal for reasons completely outside of the new Absolute OpenBSD, but I should start to catch up on all the queued email, tweets, and whatnot next week.

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“Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd edition” ebook download available

I’m told that No Starch Press now has the ebook for the new Absolute OpenBSD available for download. If you preordered the book, go get the electronic version while you’re waiting for the print to arrive.

If you haven’t preordered, go get it now. If you use coupon code ILUVMICHAEL, you save 30% and I make a couple extra bucks on it.

The auction for the first print copy off the press is up to $910. If it breaks $1000, I’ll post a coupon code for discounts on the electronic versions of my Mastery books from my Web site.

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First barrier breached

The Absolute OpenBSD auction has been going about 10 hours now. In less than those 10 hours, the price exceeded the amount raised for the FreeBSD Foundation.

Well done.

But I bet you slackers can’t possibly double it. No, I DOUBLE DOG-DARE YOU to double it.

How I love picking a fight in a good cause.

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First copy of “Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd ed” now on auction

You’ve asked me how to get Absolute OpenBSD early.

The answer is simple. You buy it. At auction. All proceeds to the OpenBSD Foundation.

The printer will take the first copy of Absolute OpenBSD off the press and overnight it to me. I will sign it, and label it on the title page as the first copy. I will include a Certificate of Authenticity stating that this is the one true first copy off the press. I will ship this book anywhere in the world, as fast as reasonable, at a cost of up to $100. (If you win the bid and want it shipped to Antarctica, it will take a little longer.)

To reassure the security-minded among: I also promise that this is the only copy that I will sign and label as the first copy.

Being able to do this gives me warm fuzzies. It makes me look like a nice person without me doing any real work. After all, No Starch Press provided the physical book and Austin Hook is running the auction. I just have to scribble my name and stuff an envelope.

We did this for the first copy of Absolute FreeBSD, and raised $600 for the FreeBSD Foundation. Frankly, I expect you OpenBSD folks to beat that handily.

If you do not beat that amount, I will be disappointed in the community.

Do not disappoint me.

You wouldn’t like me when I’m disappointed.

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DNSSEC Mastery release

I had hoped to get DNSSEC Mastery out before my trip next week. That’s not going to happen, thanks to the copyeditor. (And I do mean “thanks” in a completely non-sarcastic way.)

Most of her comments are easily fixable. But she goes into detail on one point that is utterly, completely, compellingly damning. “The thing I worry about is that while this book may be perfectly acceptable, if people open it up really eager to get some more good clean Lucas (strange people), then there’s not a lot of that there.”

All the knowledge is in there. But the writing needs more life.

I really wanted to have this book in print before BSDCan 2013. I tried to keep that deadline, despite my surprise appendectomy in January. I’ve felt kind of uneasy about this book, but it was technically finished, so I sent it on.

As I’m self-publishing, I both have the freedom to make the book correct and no excuse for not doing so. There’s no offset press scheduled for a feeding.

So, the book will be delayed a couple weeks. And it will be better for it.

And if you need a copyeditor who isn’t afraid to tell you in detail exactly why you suck, I have one.

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Misc: Books, and April Fool’s

Absolute OpenBSD is at the printer. I can do nothing more on this book. For better or worse, the book is complete. I’m resisting the urge to scream “I can do it better! Give me the book back, I will rewrite it until it doesn’t suck!”

I got copyedits back on DNSSEC Mastery. Hopefully, the ebook will be available on the weekend, with print next month.

On an unrelated note

April 1st is a tedious day, with all the efforts to be funny drifting around the Internet. Unless, of course, you’re the one pulling the gag, in which case it’s freaking hilarious. I don’t pull pranks, of course.

Unless they’re really, REALLY good. So I’d like to present a flash from the past here, and point you at FretBSD.

And, of course, there’s always the Great Committer. You know, I haven’t spoken with John Baldwin much since that post. Odd, really…

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Upcoming Appearances

For those who want the dubious pleasure of encountering me in meatspace:

I am a guest at Penguicon April 26-28, 2013, in Pontiac, MI, USA.

I am teaching at BSDCan, May 15-18, 2013, in Ottawa, Ontario, CA.

I expect to have copies of Absolute OpenBSD at both events. (Penguicon might be pushing it, but I’m hopeful.) I’ll sell them in person for $50USD. This is a little more expensive than buying them online, but you get hand delivery and possibly even a handshake depending on how many people have been poking at me in the recent past. Also, I hate carrying change.

Why do I sell books, instead of giving them away to all the fans who take the trouble to come see me? One, because I have to pay for them. Two, because mortgage.