eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

[qumqats]

I recently got a Kindle and have totally fallen for it.

Then when I started planning for DEF CON I realized that I'd much prefer to have the program and other info in an eBook on my Kindle then leafing back and forth in the paper program of Talks trying to figure out which talk to go to next. The Kindle indexes everything so it can be searched, I can bookmark items of interest, do annotations, etc..

In response to this perceived need I've started scraping the Speaker, Workshop, and FAQ info from the DEF CON 19 site
and have created eBooks in the two most popular file formats.
When the Schedule goes online I'll start work on making that available also.

These eBooks are available here eBooks DEF CON 19

The eBooks that are there are a work in progress. I'll be making improvements between now and the start of con.
Feel free to let me know what you think.

Please copy this thread to the "Defcon 19 and beyond" forum when it is created.
Please consider placing some reference to these files on the main con site.
Please consider placing these files on the DVD received at registration.

ADVthaAnksNCE

[QuinDevelin]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

This is a wonderful idea. I've already snagged a copy to play around with and it's a great reference resource!

[Nikita]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Would you like to make an ebook / kindle version of the DC program? Mail us at talks at defcon dot org. We can provide with a PDF, I don't know what else is needed to make it downloadable. Lets talk and see what we can do to make these things dowloadable from the DC site.

[spyhunter]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Just wanted to thank you for this! Having this info on my kindle is awesome!

[qumqats]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

I'm working on the Speaker Schedule. Hope to have it out tonight or tomorrow night.

I'm working off of the web page schedule and I"m having to completely reformat the data.

[eris]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

I'm working on the Speaker Schedule. Hope to have it out tonight or tomorrow night.

I'm working off of the web page schedule and I"m having to completely reformat the data.

Looks to me like you don't have to work off the web page. Nikita offered to send you a direct .pdf.

Would you like to make an ebook / kindle version of the DC program? Mail us at talks at defcon dot org. We can provide with a PDF, I don't know what else is needed to make it downloadable. Lets talk and see what we can do to make these things dowloadable from the DC site.

[TheCotMan]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

I suggested that qumqats wait until the schedule was posted, because Neil and Nikita have been super busy. I was really surprised when she replied here on the forums to this.

Since then, it has been promoted a few times on twitter, with links to this thread.

[eris]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Since then, it has been promoted a few times on twitter, with links to this thread.

That is where I saw it the first time as well. Or on Facebook, not totally sure which. I just wasn't sure if he had seen her post since it was above his most recent regarding pulling from the web.

[qumqats]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Looks to me like you don't have to work off the web page. Nikita offered to send you a direct .pdf.

PDF is about the worst format I could work with.

The html is closer to what I need, and by parsing the web page I can get corrections when I recreate the ebook on demand. I'm also combining the Speakers and Schedule pages into one page with cross links between the two sections.

I'm getting close. Should be ready by late tonight

[eris]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

PDF is about the worst format I could work with.

Well, there you go.

[qumqats]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

The eBook version of the Schedule is now available.

This eBook supersedes Speakers. Speakers and Schedule have been combined.

All the other eBooks have been updated with fixes and minor improvements.

Enjoy! :)

[sintax_error]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Thanks for the work you put into this, qumqats. Hope it works out as well in practice as it does in my head.

[qumqats]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

If you have any suggestions for changes, or if something doesn't work on your device, please let me know.

I only have a Kindle so that's the only device I know how well or not the ebooks work.

[galdr]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

Awesome job and definitely a must have as ereaders and ebook-capable devices proliferate. I'd much rather carry this than a crumpled copy of the schedule that's infinitely less searchable as I'm walking down the hallway wondering wtf to go to next.

On my Nook Simple v2, I'm finding a few nits that make this ebook an interesting non-linear experience, however. :) I know the "joys" of converting someone else's HTML and, looking at the contents, have utmost respect for the effort you've expended to make this available.

I noticed that more than one link to talks dropped me onto the page prior the talk description. For example, the Friday 11:00 page (schedule_split_006.html) link for Mike Shearer's talk jumps to "schedule_split_136.html#Schearer". The abstract for this talk, however, is contained on page "schedule_split_137.html".

The Nook seems completely confused about the structure of the schedule. On the first page of the "Contents" screen, the items are listed as being on p.126, p.231, p.84, p.90, p.92, p.2, p.9, p.33, p.59 and p.94. I haven't yet determined the nature (in terms of the epub's contents) of the Nook's confusion.

At any rate, I hope this post doesn't come across negatively. I'd be happy to provide further feedback, if desired.

Thanks!

[qumqats]

Re: eBooks for your eReader: DEF CON info on the go

GIGO

The schedule ebook is based on the web page. The links you're having problems with are also bad on that web page. In some cases its outright errors, in other cases there's no abstract for the talk.

If the web page gets fixed I can quickly run my scripts to get the web page and regen the ebook.