Just to prove how Kindle-centric I am, I had one of the original Kindle preorders, placed the moment they went live on Amazon.com. Since then, I simply stopped buying physical books. They're big, they're bulky, and I have hundreds already collecting dust on bookshelves... so in the case of reference books like this one, picking up the Kindle edition over the physical one is a no-brainer.
Until you run into the download limits, that is.
Until yesterday, I wasn't aware that Amazon places any kind of restrictions on your ability to access your purchased ebooks... but it turns out that publishers can demand download limits be placed on their Kindle editions. "iPhone Programming: The Nerd Ranch Guide" (in addition to the publisher's other books, I'm sure) allows 5 downloads, then you lose access to it until you "remove" it from another device. Worse, nowhere is this advertised on any of Amazon's product pages - if it were, I would never have bought it. I don't touch activation-limited DRM with a ten-foot pole, and the fact that Amazon allows it to be secretly snuck-in is an outrage.
And here's the real shame - this is a FANTASTIC book. Exremely well written and entertaining while somehow also avoiding all the "useless fluff" that comes with most programming books. Every word is calculatedly useful and written in a way that manages to "get to the point" while helping you effortlessly retain it. I'm familiar with a lot of different programming languages, but until I picked up this book, Objective-C infuriated me. But iPhone Programming got me fully up to speed in no time, while avoiding all the frustrating tangents that other books seem to suffer from. If you're already familiar with other programming languages, and want to get brought up to speed on iOS programming and Objective-C quickly, you simply won't find a better book than this. Better yet, the programming examples are formatted as native text specifically for Kindle devices (as opposed to the unreadable, low-resolution images that other books use). The irony is that the DRM just lost at least one guaranteed sale, as I didn't run into the activation limit until trying to show a coworker the book on my PC. Needless to say, the Kindle app's unexpected, public DRM fail did not impress. I was even less impressed, as I otherwise boycott products with this type of DRM.
So not only did the download limit result in a nice big headache for me, at least one otherwise-guaranteed sale was lost. Furthermore, since this is apparently a publisher-enforced thing (so claims Amazon), it guarantees that I won't buy any more Pearson/Addison-Wesley Professional books - physical or otherwise - until this limitation is lifted.
Look, I'm not anti-DRM. But I am opposed to DRM that limits my ability to use the products I paid for... and placing a download limit on a Kindle book not only has zero effect on piracy (pirates only need ONE copy), it inconveniences ONLY paying customers. That just doesn't make sense. And that's the real shame, because this really is one of THE best programming books I have ever read.
Update:
I received an email from one of the authors, Aaron Hillegass, clarifying that he had no idea such DRM was being used on the book. Authors as talented as Hillegass and Conway are a rarity, particularly where books on programming are concerned... and I hope that this review won't dissuade them from writing more brilliant programming guides in the future. The fault with the DRM lies entirely on the shoulders of Amazon (lack of transparency in DRM restrictions) and the publisher, Pearson/Addison-Wesley Professional (for choosing consumer-antagonistic DRM). If the publisher's DRM policy dissuades you from purchasing the Kindle edition, please consider buying the physical book instead. It is definitely worth it.
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