Publications - pdf or paperback

Toonlad · Apr 12, 2013

We all have to have our publications, for reference and guidance. I personally have a sports bag full of them in my van. Just trying to move forward with technology that is available.

So i guess my questions are how much of a cost would it be to have all this electronically. so i could search via I phone (if so which apps you find best) or ipads or any othe notepad for that matter.

Also would you use cloud to to access it or just in the memory.

I have seen you can buy them electronically from the iet,, is this a good service ?

Thankyou in advance for your veiws/reviews and comments.

Toony

Spark_shark · Apr 12, 2013

There was a guy selling them on eBay, but I guess he's been stopped now. You could get bgb, OSG and gn3 in PDF format, all for about a tenner

Toonlad · Apr 12, 2013

Spark_shark said:
There was a guy selling them on eBay, but I guess he's been stopped now. You could get bgb, OSG and gn3 in PDF format, all for about a tenner

Cheers for that,,not quite what i had in mind, i am reaching out to those who have these on the phones/pads. How they rate the value of having it electronically. I see on the IET there is a free trial i think i will give it a go.

evo457 · Apr 12, 2013

I prefer to read all such books in paper format. when it's on a screen I can never find what I'm looking for!

pmanku · Apr 13, 2013

PDF is definitely the way forward, I used to carry about 4 or 5 reference books which now on my S3 and backed up on the cloud..mega.nz..I have 2 TB of space ! Accidentally pouring coffee on books or forgetting expensive books on site are a thing of the past. I also have started using my ipad to view the books but that has its disadvantage...it could be stolen.

ciderdaz · Apr 13, 2013

pmanku said:
Accidentally pouring coffee on books or forgetting expensive books on site are a thing of the past. I also have started using my ipad to view the books but that has its disadvantage...it could be stolen.

What happens when you spill coffee on your iPad. Or drop it?
You can write notes in books and put markers in pages etc. if you drop them, they just get dirty. And the battery's never run out

pmanku · Apr 13, 2013

I quite agree notes can be made on paper etc and yes iPads can damaged or stolen...depends on your preference. I am experimenting with the ipad because I have Easycert on it and productivity is vastly improved. But as I said my S3 is used for mainly viewing PDFs...and my lead never runs out !

Marvo · Apr 13, 2013

Most of the regs we refer to regularly we have in both hard copy and in electronic pdf. The beauty of pdf's is that you can search multiple file in a single directory for the same thing. For example if you're looking for regs on a particular subject such as earth bonding an aluminium window frame you can search the electrical regs, the building regs and any other relevant regs at the same time to make sure you have fulfilled the requirements from all angles.

Toonlad · Apr 14, 2013

Thanks guys, for you valuble inputs. It seems very apparent this will be a personal preference to most people. Yes I see points for and against, or even doing both. I think i will try the trial with the IET.

As Marvo has suggested multple search feature is a nice option to have. I confess to not being a book worm, And i dont like to Geek up on the regs either.

Ive thanked you all for putting your spin in it, whether we embrace the technology to veiw it, or we use the physical item... the long and the short of it, we still need to have it for reference.