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3.0

An interesting experiment (giving the book away for free in all but its dead tree form) and also an interesting book. In many ways an extension of the concepts explored in [b:The Long Tail|2574|The Long Tail Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More|Chris Anderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161107539s/2574.jpg|989032], Anderson continues to explore the ramifications of digital products. Instead of focusing on the effects of near-infinite stockrooms, this time he deals with how companies can survive (and thrive) on a business model based on giving large portions of their "goods" and services away for free.
While the topic was interesting, and Anderson's writing style engaging, I felt let down by the lack of depth in the analyses. I felt that certain topics could have been more rigorously probed, and that only the surfaces were scratched.
Moreover, I was annoyed by the seeming lack of attention paid to details in the book - there were a number of instances where ratios were inverted, quantities miscalculated, and other errors made. Most glaring, Anderson calling [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]'s [b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mo4YSDB-L._SL75_.jpg|2219449] The Graveyard. Most of these mistakes were small, but I found they accumulated, causing me to lose a little of my enjoyment.