Look, we don't normally talk about that wacky old medium -- the printed word -- but this is a special case. Our very own
Chris Ziegler, whom many of us refer to around here as "the modern-day Hemingway," has just recently put pen to paper (er, finger to keyboard) and written the definitive tome on all things G1. Namely,
T-Mobile G1 For Dummies. If you at all care about the state of our nation, world peace, finding the Ark of the Covenant, creating the perfect salsa, or just figuring out how to set the alarm clock on your phone: this is the book for you. In all seriousness, we're super proud of Chris' efforts here, and we hope -- if you're totally into the G1, like we know you are -- you'll take a peek at these totally boss pages.
posted Jan 30th 2009 7:34PM
Chris Who?
I mean, did you read the post?
My bad, forgot the ":P" at the end.
will add
ok...Relax...
Joshua who?
:P
Congrats Engadget, you have a real star blogger. (Of course, Ryan Block was quite a celebrity around the web)
Engadget what?
Congratulations Chris! By the way, you're my favorite Engadget writer (but don't tell Joshtops).
@eggothewaffle: Thanks, it's our little secret.
Chris, if you are lucky, he'll give you a reach-around.
Wow, holy crap, that's awesome!
Joshua, even though we've had our disagreements and moments, you're a serious serious win reporter, and I'm sure this is a serious serious win book! Congrats!
@nerdtalker
I think you should be congratulating chris not joshua unless i missed something and josh helped on the book too.
But anyways i might have to pick one of these up in hopes of getting it signed if engadget ever comes to the most wired city in america...hint hint...you did a story on it...ok its seattle...i know you want to come check it out...maybe visit redmond while youre here...get a chance to meet mr. gates himself...shake his hand...spit on him...whatever gets you here...ok you can crash at my place...but thats my final offer...please.
They're only dummies for not buying an iPhone instead of an Android-powered monstrosity.
while a great kudos for creating the book i dont think many engadget readers need to buy it...
im pretty sure we all mess around with the device till we figure it out and if we cant we goto the webz and bitch about a bug that may or may not exist to justify not being able to change something....God forbid we read the instructions
agreed
don't worry about whos gonna read it.
this means that Android has officially 'arrived.'
kudos to it!
true, something doesn't exist until a 'for dummies' book has been written about it.
Maybe this reading list suggestion is Engadget's subtle commentary on its readership. Ha!
Disclaimer: I'm aiming at Google and HTC here, so no offense to Ziegler intended, but . . .
Things that need a "For Dummies" book:
- Catholicism
- Wine
- C++
- AutoCAD
- Cricket
Things that shouldn't need a "For Dummies" book:
- cell phones
Any cell phone that needs a "For Dummies" book written about it is a poorly-designed phone.
Given the "Learn to:" list, well written as I am sure it is, this is probably the wrong place to be plugging that book.
Isn't that bordering on conflict of interest? I mean, because you haven't exactly posted about any other "for Dummies" books, or any of their products, really.
Well, no one on our staff wrote any of the other ones! We're proud of Chris, he worked really hard on this.
Conflict of interests?? Seems like it's pretty natural for them to be interested in promoting a book written by their own :)
Yeah, you guys are right. Excuse my being an ass... rough day at work :S
Not really. I get your point, but it's not like that. I was contracted to write a book on the Windows Sidebar a few years ago, even though I thought it was complete rubbish and didn't even use Windows as my primary OS.
The book later got cancelled when the publishers learnt that they'd covered pretty much all of it in an HTML programming book. Still, by that time I was already under contract and got paid a couple grand for basically doing nothing.
No, you were right the first time. It is a conflict of interest. Engadget packs a lot of clout and its writers shouldn't be using their position for their own personal gain.
Its a blog...
they can have conflicts of interest as much as they want
I see no difference between this and what some of the Boing Boing bloggers do. As long as they establish their bias early in the post (e.g. fellow Engadget blogger), I don't see how there can be conflict of interest. Obviously I'd be a little skeptical of any review posted, but there is no reason they shouldn't be able to promote an item of interest.
Will we have to buy another book if cupcake comes out?
Yes! :)
Reminds me, they made a Zune one when v1 came out, those people must have been in for a surprise later...
I don't get the point why they call their buyers "dummies."
Probably because the people who buy this don't read the manual that comes with it. *sigh*
It's a shtick - people at this point are already familiar enough with these books and don't really feel offended.
Have you ever opened a 'for dummies" book?
It makes people feel smart, especially if they know what a phone is, and this book explains it to them.
just as any 'dummy' book, if it starts explaining what something is, and you turn the page; skipping the text b/c you already know it, u feel like ur one step ahead of everyone else.
@ImaYam
Very true. But I won't lie, I had to learn C# once for a special, time limited, project and I borrowed a C for Dummies book. In short, I got the job done, but to be honest, I don't think I would ever buy a "For Dummies" book.
I've already got the book! It's called the manual.
see? that's the magic of this series... people will burn the manual before reading it, but they'll buy one of these "dummies" books and use it religiously only to have learned what the manual already had in it.
but hey, congrats to chris on getting published!
... and it looks like the handmodel is a cokehead.
Does it have a release date for Cupcake on the introduction page?
We're all just Ziegler fanpeople at heart.
If you need this stupid book in order to figure out a phone you are a dummy.
Here's one that's completely free.... READ THE MANUAL that comes with the device!
Is there an engadget blogger / read discount Chris? Perhaps an Engadget member id will suffice as a proof of membership
I wish there was, but I'm afraid not... I promise to make it up to you in witty posts, though.
man, i look at the title of that book, and all i can think of is, "it totally is."
Well I'm truly in shock. I'd have thought anything produced by/affiliated with an Engadget staff member would have some kind of iphone theme to it. Wow...just...wow.
I don't know what these "books" are that you speak of, but congratulations Chris, I'm sure it took a lot of work.
This looks like a shameless plug...
Indeed.
meh
i'll just torrent it......
Saying that around here?
Chris might bring his Banhammer!
:P
you should know
Congratulations on the book.
Engadget writers never cease to crack me up...brilliant!
For those touting manuals...c'mon...most manuals read like instructions to tax forms. Information might all be there but I'd rather gouge my eyes out than sit down and read them.
T-Mobile G1 For Dummies by Me
Go buy an iPhone and never go near an awesome open-source OS in your life again. Ever.
:)
The "for dummies" part has never been so appropriate.
Good thing this book teaches me how to make calls! I've had my G1 for months and I can't get in contact with anyone.
Why would you write a book about the G1? Write a book about android and it will be relevant into the future. Not to mention you'd be able to market it to those who purchase any of the other android based phones that come out. Please don't re-release this book as "(random android phone) for dummies" every time a new android phone comes out.
You know, we actually struggled at length about whether this would become Android For Dummies or G1 For Dummies... we ultimately decided that the G1 was the way to go, considering the mass-market name recognition (relatively speaking) and the fact that it'd still be the only Android device on the market by the time the book was released.
It's actually pragmatic on another level too, in addition to what Chris stated. When future mass-marketed Android devices come out (G2?) it will be fairly easy to re-use large portions of the text. Chris will be either be able to quickly write another book or collect royalties from someone who does. Maybe?
Way to go Chris, btw. That's a pretty big deal to author a book. And you get to enter the canon of "for Dummies" books! :D
Keep up the good podcasts too, the Engadget Mobile podcast is quite good.
I've always wondered, can I still read the book if I'm just stupid but not a dummy?
Seriously, congrats on the book Chris. I'm sure it isn't easy to get ANY book published, let alone in a series like this.
Isn't everyone with a G1 a dummy? They are on the T-mobile network...
I keed, I keed. :-)
I'd like point out that a Dummy probably wouldn't know what a G1 is..
..
But would probably buy the book to find out..
hehe he sure know how to make money! Great idea. Keep the good work.
Quit whining folks.
Some people WILL buy the book and actually benefit from it. Are you forgetting the word "Dummy" on the cover?
The book is not meant for all the geeks on this board so easy on the self-consciousness :).
Congrats to the author.
Thanks so much for the kind words, everyone! It was pretty amazing to me how much work goes into one of these -- not just by me, but by a whole team of editors, graphics folks, technical advisors... the list goes on. For anyone expecting this to be an Engadget-esque book, fair warning, it's not -- but if you (or someone you know) is looking for a plain-language guide to getting around Android, I hope this little tome does the job.
Thanks again!
This is very cool - my brother in law just got a G1, I think I'll get it for him.
I think you should give iEye one...hes a little slow if you know what you mean...actually your title says it all hes a dummy.
"For anyone expecting this to be an Engadget-esque book, fair warning, it's not"
Thank goodness it isn't. I'm quite fed up with the Engadget attitude.
is it sad that Chris might have just given me my idea of a perfect valentines day gift?
so tired of being the girlfriend's tutor.
doing it at work is enough for me.
I don't want to undermine this effort or anything, but the G1 is extremely straightforward. You can figure out everything on it in an hour or two just by casually looking around.
High five! Way to go!
The movie was better.
It should of been entitled, 'Do Androids Dream of Sex with Electric Sheep'
Seriously, who buys these books? Do they have one in the series on home dentistry?
Show me how to code for the G1 and I'll bite.
That's the "G1 coding for dummies" book I'd buy.
Very nice :) I like how good the G1 actually looks on the cover.
BUT...... Why you hate iEye??????
I am working on a book, too.
It is called:
Writing For Dummies Books for dummies.
Ah, so you've read my book, "Writing Writing for Dummies Books for Dummies Books For Dummies", eh?
Ahh!! then u guys definitely must have read my book 'How to be an idiot on the internet'
@pol
Actually, no. You remain the sole keeper of the secret.
When asked where he gets the inspiration to write all of these useful books, the author bluntly replied:
""Duh, I don't know. Me gotta go to bank now."
No "Look Inside" to preview the book?
I'm gonna have to buy this and put it next to my 'Wii for Dummies' book.
Congratulations Chris.
Next up, How to post on Engadget.com for Dummies
If you are buying this book, you should've ditched your G1 and get an iPhone instead.
Congrats, Chris, I'm excited for you!
Chris,
I love my G1, and would say i'm pretty familiar with it. I'll make you a deal. if you can explain to me how to get the GPS to work much better here in Chicago, or anywhere for that matter, i will buy 1 copy, nay, 10 copies of your book. Thank you.