Getting acquainted with tech publishing 

So the ebook is out.

I hope it helps evangelize OPML. It's quite elementary, concentrating on the range of things users can do with the format, so it's the kind of thing a developer might want to force on a foot-dragging client, and give a little pep rap like, "Look, you have to get with this syndication thing, because the online world has accepted RSS and we're already building things from existing feeds. It's just like your trig teacher told you; 'You'd better grasp this week's concepts, or you'll fall behind, because next week's concepts will grow from what you're doing today.' " I think the big section on applications should give everybody lots of ideas, quite a few of them having nothing to do with RSS. Yeah, think about that if you're so sure it's all about feed lists!

Thanks to everybody who's linked to it so far. I especially got a kick out of Alex's little dig to IBM, and I was gratified by Ben Toth's testimonial. Thanks to Adam Green for making the introduction to O'Reilly.

But most of all (this sounds just like an acceptance speech, doesn't it) thanks to Dave for devising the format I've come to love. Also, nobody would have known of my interest in OPML if it weren't for Dave's links to my OPML blog over the past year and a quarter. He increased my "famous for 15 people" quotient by a factor of what -- 5, 10, anyway, enough to give me the credibility I needed to get the assignment. I'm grateful that he sniffed out my enthusiasm for the possibilities OPML offers and let others know about it. Boy am I going to miss reading his blog -- not just in the hope that he'll link to me. It's because he lets us know about other Amyloos who are excited about other things, but whose voices don't always carry very far. Thanks, buddy.

On the ebook, I understand a new copy of the PDF, with all the links working, will be up later tonight. So if you've already bought one, I think all you have to do is log back into your O'Reilly account you set up when you made this purchase or a previous one, and grab the new PDF.