Asus RT-AC56U

As I was getting tired of crowded 2.4 GHz band in my neighborhood, I started looking into newest 802.11ac routers. I was after something small, dual band, and with support for Tomato (or DD-WRT) firmware (history taught me that manufacturer’s firmware sucks).

One device that fitted description was Asus RT-AC56U. Having owned Asus’s WL-500g, WL-300g, and still owning WL-330gE I was quite confident that hardware will be good, LEDs will be blue, and original firmware will be rubish. I also expected to get unbrickable device with a lot of community support. [2014-04-19: Of course I have managed to brick this one. I should learn to keep my mouth shut.]

Hardware-wise this is AC1200 category, dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), dual-stream router with 4 gigabit ethernet ports and two USB ports (one is 3.0). All is driven by BCM4708, dual core 1 GHz CPU (down-clocked to 800 MHz), 256 MB of RAM, and 128 MB of flash. As home routers go, this is a beast. Not the fastest beast, but beast nevertheless.

As I plugged it in, I was enchanted. This is my first home router where I didn’t need to open a case and modify LED brightness myself. It is nice subdued blue light that won’t light-up your house like a Christmas tree. It is just perfect intensity. And yes, I am easily amused. :)

I haven’t been checking Asus firmwares for a while so it came as a surprise how open it has become. Yes, it has always been an open source but best thing you could count on was to get raw sources every few months. Asus now bases firmware on AsusWRT source code that is obtainable few days after firmware gets published. It even contains (accurate) setup instructions for compiling that code yourself.

I am pleasantly surprised with this development and it shows results. While usually only firmwares worth having on router were DD-WRT and Tomato, now we must take Merlin into consideration too. Probably due to all that liveliness, Asus own firmware actually doesn’t suck. Mind you it is not as good as any of these alternatives but it is actually possible to use it without swearing.

Setup of a device is quite simple and practically leads you by hand toward getting your Internet connection. Beginners will probably leave it there and be happy. Advanced users have many more things to configure, whether it is IPv6, disk sharing, or VPN. Most settings can even be applied without losing connection. Really nice.

Not all things are perfect unfortunately. For one, 2.4 GHz stability and range is between bearable and just awful. Irony would have it that, in my household, Asus’ own N56VJ laptop (Atheros AR9485WB) is almost unusable even just two meters away. For a minute it would have low speed connection (i.e. 2-3 Mbps), then it would just stall for a few seconds, recovering to 2-3 Mbps in ten seconds or so. Then it would stall again, repeating the cycle. And it is not because of location; kiddie WL-330gE router handles the very same location without any issue…

Asus team is looking at it and there are promises of a new firmware that might make things better but I wouldn’t hold my breath here. I have tried their newest beta firmware and results are just marginally better. I have tried completely alternative firmwares and everything is as bad as with original one. 2.4 GHz devices I have with Intel and Broadcom chipset are behaving much better but nowhere near how they should. I would say that this is more probably a design issue that might or might not be dealt with in a newer hardware revisions. Those who already bought one are probably out of luck.

All taken in consideration, I am very satisfied with purchase. Most devices I have are 5 GHz capable and they work wonderfully through my whole apartment. In furthest location I still have download speed exceeding 50 Mbps. Maybe it would go faster but my Internet pipe cannot handle it. Whether it will be as good when 5 GHz band gets congested as 2.4 GHz one well see in future, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Would I recommend it to someone else strictly depends on how bad do they need 2.4 GHz. If you are shooting toward 5 GHz this device is probably best bang-for-buck. For $120 you get a really capable CPU, lots of memory, and a variety of firmwares that can give you whatever functionality you desire. For somebody who likes tinkering with network this is god-given.

Chromecast

Chromecast arrives in a very stylish box with a device on very top and all other stuff under. It comes with a short HDMI extension cable, USB-A to micro-USB cable, and a nice 850 mA power adapter.

First thing to note is that this device CANNOT work once you plug it into a HDMI port. You must use micro-USB on the other end to bring it power. While you do get everything you need in the box, it makes for not-so-clean look if it is visible (e.g. you have only free HDMI on side of your TV). It is not too bad if you have USB on your TV, but it gets annoying if you need to add, yet another, power brick to the back.

Yes, need for additional power is not a big surprise since HDMI allows for only 50 mA. What I am surprised about is Google forgetting to mention that. All Google’s pictures with Chromecast plugged in (including Chromecast introduction event) show device plugged in HDMI-only. Somehow every picture has one essential (and messy) cable missing. Sneaky…

Without any video running current consumption is around hefty 300 mA and definitely more than I would expect. During playback it needs about 50 mA more with occasional (short) jumps to 500 mA range. Device will get warm during use but there were no problems even after couple hours of playback so there is no major issue here.

As you plug device in, it will require short setup which is as simple as it gets. Especially so because you do everything on your computer. Most other devices (e.g. Roku) force you to enter wireless password on TV which is always annoying when there is no keyboard ready. Chromecast has successfully avoided this.

Use is equally simple. Just select the cast button in a supporting application and Chromecast will start playing content. Of course, there will be a small delay because Chromecast will have to independently visit video stream location by using its own wireless connection. Benefit of such architecture is that you save on bandwidth between devices and you can even turn off your mobile without interrupting a playback. Your glorious mobile phone becomes just a remote control.

There is an extension that enables you to cast a Chrome browser tab but I found Chromecast to be very lacking in this area. Casting a tab is unbearably slow. Any scroll operation takes ages and videos are barely a slideshow. And you can forget about sound. Only thing that works from PC is actually a YouTube.

All this brings us to most serious downfall - application support for Chromecast is lacking at best. You can really only count on Netflix, Google Play, and YouTube. If you need something else, though luck. There might be some improvement in the future but I wouldn’t hold my breath there.

Could you live without Chromecast? Definitely yes, especially if you already have your laptop connected. But at $35 this device is a steal. Assuming that you have free HDMI port and you are living in States, it is a good buy.

If you are outside of States, it is not a useful device at all. Since Google Play and Netflix are restricted to US market, all you can really do is play Youtube videos and play with Chrome tabs. Considering all the hops you need to get around in order to purchase it in the first place, it is hard to justify even thinking about it.

Agilent U1232A

Newest in line of my multimeters is a 6000-count Agilent U1232A.

This device falls into a category of electrician’s multimeters which is most noticeable on current range which only starts at 1 mA. Other specs for this multimeter are also nothing special; you cannot even use K-type probe directly with it. Considering cost in excess of $100, why would anyone buy it?

Because trust is important. While every multimeter states at least CAT III 600V rating, just few of them really do. In reality they will fry if you do something stupid (e.g. measuring current on ohm range). And it is not question whether you will do something stupid, it is just question of time. This multimeter can handle stupid.

DC voltage measurement is 0.5% + 2 counts from 0.1 mV to 600 V which is more than decent. AC voltage is slightly worse with 1% + 3 counts but no real surprise there. Nice addition is low input impedance mode as a separate switch selection. Not only that it will deal with “phantom” voltages but it will automatically detect whether voltage is AC or DC.

Simple hand-wave above its screen can produce quite a big voltage spikes (up to few hundred mV) in this multimeter. It is not necessarily an real-life issue with measurements since I don’t ever hold my multimeter in hands but it is something to be aware of. It seems that someone at Agilent decided to go a bit cheap on shielding.

Resistance is 0.9% + 3 on all ranges except 60 MΩ. Resolution better than 100 mΩ would be good but it is definitely not something I need every day. Still, it would be nice if it went at least one decade lower. Continuity tester is speedy and it will even flash screen at you. I love this for late night sessions because sound can be turned off.

Diode measurement is basic and, of course, cannot light up white LED. I find that slightly disappointing but I know of even more expensive multimeters without this functionality.

Capacitance range goes from 1 nF to 10 mF. If you need to measure smaller capacitance, you will need to have additional LCR meter. This multimeter is good for troubleshooting bad power supply caps but not that good if you want to check oscillator cap values.

There is one mode that sort-of measures temperature but only with additional accessory. If you don’t have such accessory you can use it as fixed 600 mV range but I don’t see the point. If you are not going to include direct K-type measurement, there is no need to include temperature setting especially when multimeter offers nice scaling function.

Current range starts at 1 mA and goes to 10 A of continuous current. If you just need quick measurement you can go up to 20 A for 30 seconds. While this is something that most multimeters can handle, not all of them are ready for new measurement within a minute after overload. Multimeter also has µA range that is not suitable for any real measurement because it has more holes than a Swiss cheese. It is only suitable for measuring some (e.g. flame) sensors and not for general-purpose measurement. Unless you use something like µCurrent you can forfeit low-current work.

Menu system is logical and it is usable even without manual. You can set surprisingly big number of options ranging from beep frequency and backlight all the way to smoothing. There is a possibility of basic data logging on multimeter itself but it is very restricted. Fortunately there is an optional IR to USB cable (that does not work with Windows 8, but more on that later).

Looking directly at display numbers look clear and big. However, it gets really washed out when watched from above. It is only slightly better looking from side and generally I find it rather disappointing. How come that Uni-T can provide superior LCD screens even with its cheapest multimeters and Agilent cannot get it right with one that is at $130. Selection switch is really spongy and unlike any other I have tried. It was necessary to make it a bit softer in order to allow for one-hand operation but Agilent went a bit too far in my opinion.

Build-wise this is really nice meter. Sockets are full metal and they give nice feel when you plug cable into them - not too soft, not too firm. Rubber foot fits nicely around multimeter offering protection and good feel. Some reported on it getting easily dirty but I cannot testify to that. Either I keep it too clean or (as wife can testify) I have blind spot when it comes to dirt. AAA batteries hide under single threaded (semi-captive) screw alongside a single 11 A HRC fuse.

Two more self-tapping screws hold a case together. PCB inside is nice and clean without many surprises. Protection comes in form of two power resistors, few PTCs, and a glass encased varistors. There are a few isolation slots at a strategic places so high voltage should not be an issue. Sockets are connected via hex head and no amount of vibration will set those free. This multimeter has potential to last a long time even with all expected abuse.

Carrying case is an optional accessory and comes at price of $20. For that price I have an issue with velcro strap. Even Uni-T gives elastic strap in its free case and it is infinitely more practical.

USB to IR cable has much bigger issue. In their wisdom Agilent decided to use obsolete chip (PL-2303HXA) and thus there is no Windows 8 driver support. Not now, not ever. I did manage to make it run on Windows 8 by making a completely new board.

Agilent’s Data Logger GUI was probably build by prisoners around 200 BC judging by its quality. I haven’t seen program that requires administrator rights on computer in a while. Yes, corporate users without administrative privileges on a computer can forget about it.

All things considered, I am still happy with this multimeter. Agilent did a really lousy job on accessories side but main device is good enough that you can forget few shortcomings.

P.S.: If you are interested how it looks inside, I have a close-up PCB images for you.

P.P.S.: There is quite long review video for this multimeter on YouTube.

P.P.P.S.: If you need IR to USB cable under Windows 8, check alternative communication board (you will still need Agilent’s cable).

Asus N56VJ

Since my old HP 6730b died I had to get myself a new notebook. I had a few really simple requirements: 15" screen, full HD resolution, i7 processor, and a possibility to replace DVD for second hard disk. As you can see, I was looking for a workhorse, not a ultrabook.

Asus N56VJ comes pretty close with Intel i7-3630QM, 8 GB of RAM (2x 4 GB), and a 15.4" full HD screen. Graphics side is covered with nVidia GeForce GT 635M when you play and on-board Intel card for basic tasks. It also came with 1 TB hard drive, unfortunately only at 5400 rpm. First thing I upgraded was drive and Windows 8 now boot in less than 10 seconds. This machine has lot of performance potential and it is not afraid to use it. Only thing I found missing was a TPM chip.

From looks alone this is probably the best laptop I have ever owned. Body is made of good quality plastic (visible on bottom) but with almost all user-visible surfaces covered with aluminium. While it will be a bit cool to touch at first, it heats really quickly and looks are beautiful. All user-accessible electronics (e.g. RAM, HDD) are accessible behind single (sadly non-captive) screw. And did I mention that it looks great?

I am not fan of chiclet keyboards but I got used to this one really quickly. It has nice feel and key react even when you hit just one corner. Layout is full 102 keys and most of keys are where you would expect them. Annoyingly this is not true for Page Up/Down, Home and End keys but it is hard to lay blame on Asus. For some reason all manufacturers try to keep them at most unsuitable place.

Cursor keys on this laptop also suffer bad placement combined with their slightly smaller size. Since they are not separated from other keys it is really easy to miss a column and press numerical keys instead. At least keyboard is backlit thus you can always visually double-check where your fingers go.

Keyboard backlight is nice, has three levels and some driver issues. When you boot your computer you will have keyboard backlit for few seconds, only to turn off when you are faced with login screen. So you will need to enter your password in the dark. After logon, keyboard will light-up again. It would also be nice if CapsLock and NumLock had activity LED integrated into a key but it is rare to find laptops that have such an obvious feature (e.g. HP nx9030).

Real sore point for this laptop is its touchpad. First, it is a bit too big and as such you cannot really type without ever touching it and thus making occasional mouse movements. Its stylish flat appearance will also not last. In less than a week you will notice it dipping (~1 mm) on side of left button. And yes, it is a permanent change. Two hand operation (one hand doing clicking and other one doing moving mouse pointer) is almost impossible. You see touchpad is touch-sensitive even on its buttons and thus you will cause all kinds of unwanted movements.

Just to annoy you more, occasionally touchpad will stop responding at all. For a second or two nothing would happen and then it would go alive once more. It is not unlike waking wireless mouse after not using it for a long time. It is impossible to use this laptop without external mouse for any prolonged time.

Another downer for me was customer service. Maybe I was an HP man too long, but I am saddened by lack of Service manual. If I ever need to open this machine (e.g. to clean a fan) it will be messy work based of trial and failure.

I find it very strange that Asus doesn’t offer a caddy for secondary drive although this laptop is quite capable of supporting it. There are third-party caddies around but customer support opinion is “… and we suggest you not to do this, it will break the warranty.”

This is a good laptop for someone who wants a workhorse. I can only hope that Asus will improve its customer service and feed their trackpad designer to dogs.

[2014-10-17: After having it for 18 months, battery has lost a lot of capacity. While new battery had 57200 mWh, now I it reports only 15,960 mWh. This is biggest capacity drop I had with any laptop. And yes, computer turns off randomly when battery gets under 50%.]

[2014-12-26: I got myself a replacement battery. I simply didn’t see point in getting original one at three times the cost considering its lousy lifetime.]

Mega

Since I am now in States and away from my home backup solution, I am always looking into ways to make offsite backup work. My current practice is using WinRAR to compress (and encrypt) important files and then syncing them to cloud via SugarSync.

Since I do backup quite a lot I am nearly always close to not having enough space. That is why I was happy when I heard about Mega. With 50 GB free space I would cover all my backup needs and then some more. So I got my self an account.

It took ages for website to load. Few times I even got up and checked my Internet connection just in off chance that fairies changed it into 28.8k baud modem. Once it finally got loaded I snooped around and noticed that there is no Windows/Linux/Mac/anything client. Relying only on browser upload is a brave decision and, if done right, might not be too ugly until third-party clients arrive.

Biggest annoyance of browser upload if fortunately avoided since there is an option of folder upload. As I uploaded my backup folder I noticed that all files would stay in “pending” state. After few attempts upload did start but speed was maxing at 2 KB. Smallest backup file I got was estimating completion in couple of hours. For 20 MB. And you cannot leave page once upload starts - remember, this is a browser solution.

With this I finish this rather short review of nothing. Because there is actually nothing (other than registering) that I could really test. Site was falling apart even without me doing anything.

Yes, I do know that service is very popular and that is probably reason why it is slow. But frankly I don’t care much. If there is too many users using it, why do they still allow for registration? Wouldn’t it be wiser if they would stop influx of new users until new servers are in place? Or just lock every second account for a few days (with a nice apologetic message). That way at least some people would find service in usable state. Come on guys, you kept Megaupload going. Cannot you float this piece of shit?

I will probably just revisit this in a month or two. In this state Mega might be a nice publicity stunt but as a service it is complete and utter failure.

[2013-01-23: To make things worse, service also seems to be ridden with basic security flaws.]

[2013-01-27: Things do look a bit better now as speed is greatly improved. Although lack of native client still makes whole thing quite annoying for uploads that lack even most basic features (e.g. speed control).]

[2013-01-31: It gets even better. Mega can lose your content on a whim. Nice encourgament to continue using SugarSync.]

OSH Park

PCB designers rejoice, there is new player in town and it’s name is OSH Park. It is yet another batch PCB service that will try to get it’s place under the sun.

Oh, no, wait. This is not a new player. Good old Laen’s PCB Order got a face-lift.

To reiterate a bit. You still get really nice purple boards. You still can have 2-layers with 6/6 mil traces. ENIG finish seems to be a unwritten standard (I don’t recall last board that I got without it). Panels go out every second day. All in all, it is as good as it can get. And all that will cost $5 per square inch for three boards. On PCB side there is hardly any place for improvement (slots, please). Single new thing here is website.

Interface is very simple and that has it’s benefits. If you have single big button named Select a file, there is very small chance of things going wrong. Once zip file gets uploaded, content is analysed and you get nice pictures for all gerbers along with how system recognized them. After approving project, only step that remains is to make an order.

It is definitely not a revolution and there are quite a few PCB manufacturers with such system in place. But it is not worse either.

Web site is very new and there are bugs. There are obviously missing features (e.g. deleting a project). Not even all content is moved from old pages. It will take quite some time to bring everything to a level of service I came to expect from old e-mail based ordering system.

However, my recommendation still stands: If you are hobbyist in search of excellent PCB manufacturer with good price, search no more.

P.S. And purple boards do grow on you. :)

One PCB, to Go

My hobby is playing with electronics. And that is quite expensive hobby to have. Few years ago any soldering iron would do, but as world moved toward more and more SMD and RoHS components, one needs a little bit better piece of equipment. And that is just start…

As your projects get complicated, sooner or later, you will need professionally made PCB. Things are made little bit more difficult by the fact that you have no need for thousands of boards. All that you need is one or two of them. And you need that at affordable prices.

One place where amateurs can get PCBs made cheaply is Laen’s PCB Order at Dorkbot PDX site. Whole PCB manufacturing is work of one guy. You send him design, he will add it to his PCB panels combining it with orders from other customers. As he collects enough orders he just forwards this to professional PCB manufacturer. Since there is whole panel or more, cost (per board) is way lower than what you would be able to get at from same company.

PCB that you get from Laen is very recognizable since it is colored purple! Although he promises just plain lead-free HASL almost every time I got nice ENIG (aka gold) finish. On amateur level there is hardly need for such good finish but I must confess that it looks brutally good on purple board. Specification of PCB includes 6/6 traces on 2-layer board with soldermask and silkscreen on both. Not bleeding edge but probably more than any amateur will need.

Small curiosity is also that you can order PCB only in threes. That is, you can have 3, 6, 9 or any other multiplier at humble $5 per square inch (per three). If you have board design that measures 4 square inch, you will pay $20 for three PCBs. While shipping is free withing US, international customers need to pay $5 more (which is better deal than anywhere else).

While I do use some other companies as well (e.g. BatchPCB and Fusion PCB) I would say that Laen has simplest process of them all. Just zip damn files and he will sort it out. :)

I would not say that Laen is cheapest option for any board size. Nor I would say that boards are absolutely best quality. Neither I would call purple best color there is. What you get here is high-quality board at more than acceptable price and helpful human on other side. As long as it stays like this, I have found my PCB house.

IB-NAS902StUS2-B Kinda Works

I bought Icybox IB-NAS902 to serve as cheap backup solution. It seemed like a perfect device for job. It supports SATA 3.5" HDD and it has both USB and Ethernet connectivity. And it is dirt-cheap.

For my particular scenario 100 Mbps network was good enough and, since samba was supported, Windows should connect like a charm. That was partially true since Windows XP did connect but Windows 7 refused to cooperate. Short investigation has shown that device uses ancient version of samba protocol and solution was to lower Windows 7 security a bit. Not an ideal solution, but good enough.

I was little worried about using FAT32 as file system since there is no support for files larger than 4 GB but that proved not to be a problem. When drive got accessed over network it would just split and combine large files seamlessly. When I connected over USB, I would see them as separate files. That seemed like bearable solution since all big files I had were DVD backups and, in worst case scenario, I could just grab originals and recreate them.

Configuration itself was ugly but simple and it would almost always work. It had tendency to turn on DHCP server after every restart but since it was slow to respond, my DHCP server ended up winning all the time. This was not something I liked but, again, I was willing to accept it.

Daily synchronization discovered another fault. As long as there was single computer accessing it everything was going fine. When two computers did synchronization at same time (or there was heavy traffic) everything would break apart. First it would slow down and then it would reboot. To make things even worse, data consistency would go to hell. After doing daily sync (diff-only) for a month I did chkdsk. Over an hour I looked at errors that touched almost every file on disk. This is not something that you can tolerate in your backups.

At the end, I gave up. I just connected this drive to my existing file server as another USB drive. For now it seems that direct SATA-to-USB bridge works just fine.

I cannot recommend this enclosure to anyone. It is probably cheapest 100 Mbps NAS you can find but it is useless in that mode. It does work as USB enclosure but it is both bigger and pricier than anything else out there.

It is a great idea ruined by the lousy firmware.

DipTrace PCB Layout

As with probably half of my review, I will start with some personal history…

My first rendezvous with PCB design was with almighty Eagle. This was defacto standard program for any cheap PCB creation. I hated it’s non-standard interface, I hated it’s component editor, I hated it’s export pictures, you might say that I pretty much hated it’s guts. However, it was only decent PCB editor that I knew and it was free (non-commercial use and up to a 100x80 millimeters). Our relationship was full of pain but it lasted for quite a few years…

At one point I decided that I had enough. I decided to make my own PCB editor (named it Dove :)). It would be as powerful as Eagle but with interface that humans can use. I knew that this was monstrous task but I figured that I might as well do stuff that I need first and then make it proper package somewhere into far future. I managed to bring it into semi functional state and I even made couple of boards in it. And then I made mistake of downloading DipTrace.

Originally it was just one of programs that I wanted to check in order to improve my own. But this program is PERFECT PCB EDITOR.

I am pain in the ass when it comes to uniformity - that is why I usually create all component packages myself. This was first program where I could create components without any issues. Just go and draw. All came naturally. Since creating packages is not something I do every day, standard and logical interface is the way to go. And DipTrace has quite a good component library to start with.

PCB Editor itself looks and feels like a standard Windows application (of course within reason). After few hours I felt at home with most of functions. And best of all - almost every function is where you would expect it. I forgot all dreams about my own PCB editor - this was what I wanted my editor to be. Level of detail that you can achieve is pretty unbelievable. You can do all work on single pin basis if you need to (or if you are half crazy).

Bad points, there are few. But then again, too few to mention… :)

Single reason why not to use this packet would be that it is not free. There is a freeware version that is limited to 300 pins/pads and two layers (but no limits on board size) and for hobbyist that limit goes to 500 pins (non-commercial usage only). If you want to use it for proper work there are versions ranging from 125 to 585 € (approx. $175 to $850). I don’t say this too often for programs that are not Visual Studio, but I think that it might be worth it. And compared to Eagle it is dirt cheap.

Program is very actively developed and next version will bring (free of charge for current owners) 3D preview and bunch of other changes. It is not something I consider a killer feature but it does show that guys behind this program do care.

This program is a star. Definitely best PCB program yet - use it.

P.S. I am weird in sense that I do not use Schematic editor at all so I cannot say whether that part of package is as good as PCB editor.

P.P.S. No, I am not affiliated with DipTrace nor I received anything for this post. :)

Manning

As I bought yet another book few days ago, I noticed that most of my IT book purchases are going to Manning. Whenever I need a book they are first site that I check. If there is book there, I will check no further.

Probably main reason for this is their stance toward DRM - there is none! Once I buy PDF book I can read it on whichever device I want to. I can make million of copies. Only thing they add is your name on footer of every page. Cynics would call this social DRM but I find this acceptable and quite unobtrusive when reading on computer or paper.

Most e-book readers are notoriously lousy when it comes to PDF and Manning fortunately recognized this as of late. Almost all new books are coming with mobi (Kindle) and ePub support alongside PDF (and you only pay once for all three). Some older books are getting e-book versions also, but Manning is taking their time.

Selection of books is quite nice, especially in .NET compartment where you can find gem as C# in Depth by Jon Skeet, easily the best book on C#. Other authors and books are also way above minimum quality. I would definitely say that, at least for books that I have read, quality ranges from good to excellent.

If you want to get view of newest technology where book is just in writing, Manning has solution for that also. It is called MEAP (Manning Early Access Program) and, in nutshell, it enables you book access as it is being written. You buy book in advance and every month or so you get next few chapters to read and that goes on until book is completed. During that time you have access to author and you can give him notice of error, steer him in other direction, or just annoy the hell out of him. :) Rarely it happens that MEAP book is cancelled and in that case Manning offers full refund (or two free books for your emotional suffering).

Nice touch is that I probably never paid full price for a book. It is really hard to find time in year when there isn’t some coupon code to take 30% or more from purchase (they adore giving 42% discounts). If you are patient enough there is also Deal of the Day offering where each day there is a book with discount. I find it almost impossible to pay full price.

There are bad things also. Site looks like something from 10 years ago, their account center is almost impossible to find and, once you find it, you will curse at annoying interface. Other than this, they are pretty close to being perfect.

P.S. For company with colorful book covers, they have a really ugly logo.

P.P.S. No, I was not paid for promoting them.