Open source changes fast. Very fast. We should know this. We at CIGNEX
have been implementing open source solutions for customers across the
world since last four years. It was a lot of hard work initially as
there was limited documentation on most open source software. Now a
days, we have a ton of books that are being published on open source as
a movement as well as several open source tools and technologies.

Here is an interesting problem with books related to open source tools
and technologies: They get outdated fast! Publishing is a long process
and many times the book is outdated even before it hits the market. So,
there is a publishing challenge when it comes to books related to open
source tools and technologies.

A problem for one is an opportunity for another. I am so proud of my friend Matt Filios who took this up as an opportunity to build an innovative publishing company Sourcebeat.
Sourcebeat publishes books related to open source that are available in
traditional book format but they are more famous for their subscription
model. When you buy a sourcebeat published book, you are guaranteed
freshness for the next twelve months as the authors update the book
every month and the updates are available for free for the next twelve
months.

There is a lot of momentum for sourcebeat titles as the value is clear.
Books denoted some sort of finality earlier but not anymore – with the
companion websites, live updates etc.. books have become just a
starting point of a relationship with the author and the reader.

It seems like an obvious thing now. Most innovations are like that. Hats off to Matt for thinking about this first!!

Disclaimer: Two of our team members Munwar Shariff and Michel Pelletier have written a book called Plone Live that is being published by Sourcebeat. The book is in the Early Release Program now and should be out soon.