Don’t forget to enter your macro to the SlickEdit Macros challenge for your chance to win an iPad 2.
You can enter now through October 31, 2011, so there is still time to put your best macro together and submit it for your chance to win! Click here for contest rules and how to enter.

Dear Computer Book Publisher:

I didn’t buy your book. There are several reasons I walked out the door without shelling out for your title.

First off, fifty bucks on the sticker price subjects a book to a lot of extra scrutiny. When I think of all I can do with that sum, the bar gets set pretty high. This used to be somewhat ameliorated when Borders was still a going concern. Their frequent 30% and 40% discount coupons made me a little more cavalier in my purchasing decisions. I am now limited to shopping Barnes and Noble. They have a good selection of titles, but they are a bit more stingy with the coupons, and a 10% discount barely covers our state sales tax. I’m still willing to part with two Jacksons or more, but you’ve gotta wow me.

Why does your book have 10 authors, including 9 I’ve never heard of? Unless I’m reading a short story anthology, I’d prefer to see just one or two subject matter experts. I get a little suspicious when the author count goes above 3.

Annotated code samples and snippets are wonderful. And bonus points can be earned for legibility-enhancing color coding. But I really don’t care to pay for the trees you chopped down to provide over 200 pages of mostly boilerplate code. I work with computers for a living, so I’m not afraid to download a zip file with source code. Look into it.

Your book won’t stay open. I know a nice binding, especially a hardback binding is going to cost more. But I don’t have two sets of arms. Most of the time I’m reading a computer book while trying to work on the computer. I’d prefer not to have to pin down a page with empty coffee mugs and my left elbow while trying to type in a code sample.

Your index isn’t helping me find what I need. If I’m in the market for a programming title, it’s often because I am unfamiliar with the language or technology. And since I’m not plugged into the lingo yet, I need all the help I can get finding the relevant passages. An index that is 90% class and function names does me little good.

Before you decry how internet retailers are pushing down your margins, let me assure you that I still buy most of my software titles in a brick and mortar store. I’ve been disappointed too many times buying books online, sight unseen. I need to hold a book in my hands and flip few a couple chapters. I’ll buy that book in the store, but you’re going to have to work a little harder for my money.

Sincerely,

TechBookShopper

Lately we’ve really taken the time to notice the great macros that our users have posted around the web and we think that a contest is an excellent way to reward your efforts. It also gives us a chance to encourage you to write your best macros and to actively share them with the SlickEdit community.

The winner will receive an iPad 2 valued at $499 (he/she may opt to receive a visa gift card of equal value instead).

So, what are we looking for? In an attempt to not limit your creativity and critical thinking, we are keeping this as open-ended as possible. The winning submission will stand out from the rest. Maybe it does something really neat and creative, or it solves a widespread problem with just one line of code. Your submission doesn’t have to be long or short, but it has to wow us in order to win the iPad!

You can enter now through October 31, 2011, so there is plenty of time to put your best macro together and submit it for your chance to win! Click here for contest rules and how to enter.