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Hard copy, CD, e-book and websites – some explanations Conquering Chemistry 4th edition was published in 2004, 2005 as a hard copy book only. After a couple of years the original publisher McGraw-Hill, decided to supply a CD with the book. The CD was simply an electronic version of the book (in .pdf format). The purpose was to save students having to carry weighty books back and forth between home and school. They could leave the book at school and have the text on their home computers via the CD or vice versa. In 2013 the then publisher, Nelson-Cengage, decided to make the book available as an e-book via their NelsonNetBook website . At this stage (early 2014) access to the e-book is only available to students or schools who purchase the paper book. Each copy of the book comes with four access codes. Each code allows a student to access the e-book for 13 months. The purpose of four codes is so that the books can be sold or passed on to other students in the following year and that they can use another code to access the e-book for a new 13 month period. In this way four successive students can access the e-book. This allows schools that purchase class sets of the book to lend to their students to use the books for four successive years. It may be possible after that for the school to negotiate access for further contingents of students if the physical books are still useable. Books that have access to the e-book do not contain a CD. NelsonNetBook is the publisher's website from which access to the e-book is obtained. This website is accessed as explained on page ix of the 2013 book by going to www.nelsonnet.com.au and registering with a student or teacher access code.
Conquering Chemistry website The Conquering Chemistry website is a completely separate entity. It has been operated since 2000 by the author in order to update the text as changes occurred to the syllabus and as teachers' understanding of it developed and to provide extra material for students (and to advise of any corrections as they became apparent). Although the publishers, McGraw-Hill, were not involved in setting up or maintaining the website, they gave me strong encouragement. Page ix of both the Preliminary and HSC books drew students' attention to the website and gave its address. In
2010 McGraw-Hill sold its secondary schools books to Nelson-Cengage.
Soon after, the new publisher reprinted the two books in order to
replace the McGraw-Hill name and logo with their own. Without telling
me, they also changed the address of the website on page ix. The
explanation, when I finally discovered what had been done, was that
Nelson-Cengage did not approve of author websites and so did not want
any mention of my website in the book. The addresses in the 2010
printing took readers to an 'Item not found' message, though when I
discovered the problem in early 2013 I managed to get the system changed
so the addresses took readers to the Conquering Chemistry website, so if
you have versions of the books that on page ix have the addresses The 2013 printing of the books on page ix changes 'the Conquering Chemistry website' subheading to 'the NelsonNet student website' and gives the NelsonNet address. That address takes the reader to the NelsonNetBook site where the e-book access code can be used. The NelsonNetBook site contains a complete electronic version of the book along with some additional material, much of which has been copied (in an illogical sequence) without permission from the Conquering Chemistry website. I am quite amused – if that's the right word – that a website that is not considered worthy of a mention in the printed book is considered suitable to take material from!
To return to the CCPC 4th edition opening page click here To return to the CCHSC 4th edition opening page click here |