Georged Weblog

The reason is simple: economics. Unlike software, whose primary cost is in the man-hours required to code it, and which can be reproduced at a cost approaching zero, the primary cost of books is the cost of printing them, a cost that doesn't go down with a revision (in fact, it often goes up, as many revisions have a larger page count than the earlier edition(s) of the books).

If and when a means for securing eBooks such that their IP is adequately protected is created, and the majority of readers adopt the eBook format, you might see this change. Until then, you can expect to pay full price for revised editions of books, as it's the only way publishers (and authors) can make any money on them.

Book publishers have a tangible item that costs a lot to print and distribute relative to the price it is sold for. Software has a negligible cost of distribution relative to the price it can be sold for.

Second, have you seen the P&L for the software / computer book publishing industry? There is a ton of red in it.

Until these two issues are resolved such that book publishers don't get killed economically, there will be 40% off for the updated book.

Wally