I have been a user of the iPod Touch from day one. With the iPhones being tied to unreasonably expensive mobile phone contracts it was never an option for me to buy one just for fun. But when the iPod Touch was announced I knew this was my device. I have been updating iOS whenever there was an update available, and usually I was pleased with what Apple had refined and added.

However, one thing has been bothering me for some time now, and I did not know if it was me getting older, or if really something had changed with the OS.

Long Audio Files

One of the main purposes the iPod has for me is listening to podcasts and audio books. With these I tend to almost enjoy my commutes. But also when doing chores around the house or at the gym my (now 4th gen) iPod Touch is a trusty companion.

Nevertheless, in recent times I got annoyed regularly when trying to pause playback and resume later from the lock screen. I am not …

This is part five of an ongoing series about my experiences while writing the MySQL Admin Cookbook for Packt Publishing. All previous parts can be found under the mysql-admin-cookbook label.

After the initial discussions about the book’s outline which I described in part 2 of this series were underway, talks about the actual writing contract started. Naturally, neither Udo nor I had any experience with publishing companies and the contracts between them and their authors. Add to that the fact that we are both from Germany and had had little to no …

This is part four of an ongoing series about my experiences while writing the MySQL Admin Cookbook for Packt Publishing. All previous parts can be found under the mysql-admin-cookbook label.

This part will be about more software used in the process of writing the book. The last episode covered writing tools, file/version management and backups. What's up now is graphics programs, virtualization and PDF handling.

Outlining

For outlining and structuring thoughts I like mind-maps. I know they are not for everyone, but if you like them and do not want to spend a lot of money on …

This is part three of an ongoing series about my experiences while writing the MySQL Admin Cookbook for Packt Publishing. All previous parts can be found under the mysql-admin-cookbook label.

Even though I said I would be presenting things in mostly chronological order, I think after the previous - rather dry - part, a little more technical and fun information would be nice for a change: The tools used to create the MySQL Admin Cookbook (well, at least those used by Udo and me). To give a detailed account of what software products we used during the whole experience I will split this topic up into multiple posts. Otherwise it would just become either way too …

This is part two of an ongoing series about my experiences while writing the MySQL Admin Cookbook for Packt Publishing. All previous parts can be found under the mysql-admin-cookbook label.

While last time I focused on the initial contact with the publishing company (just referred to as "Packt" from now on), this issue is about the process of putting together an outline proposal and coming up with things to write about in the first place. As from this point on in the process Udo was involved with everything, I will be referring to "us" and write "we" most of the time from now on.

The Publisher's Expectations

The only thing we knew about the …

This is the first part of an ongoing series about my experiences while writing the MySQL Admin Cookbook for Packt Publishing. All parts can be found under the mysql-admin-cookbook label.

In a few past posts I wrote about different aspects of my book writing project already. However those posts were not very contiguous, and I was asked a few times what my general experiences were and what caveats to look out for when taking on such a project for the first time. It might be of interest to some if I write down my experiences in a little more structured form.

This will be a series of several posts, because for one I do not think it would be feasible to …

Finally, it is available for orders: The MySQL Admin Cookbook is the first book I have written and it is now ready for shipping. You can find more information about it at the publisher's website, including a free sample chapter!

I have yet to receive my sample copy, however that should not keep you from going ahead early and ordering it, e. g. from amazon.de. For your convenience, here is a direct link:

On Amazon you can also have a look at the index and a few pages of the first chapter.

More international points of sale can be found on the publisher's website, …

Finally: Not quite 65 million years in the making (Jurassic Park, hint, hint), but it took about 15 months to get my first book to the printer. A few days ago Udo – my co-author – and I approved the final version of the MySQL Admin Cookbook for publishing. From what I see the book has not been added consistently to the online book stores around the net, but I will most certainly put links on here, as soon as it is available.

I think, before I begin the next one, at least a few months of relaxing are in order….

The book is in its final stages. Right now I am putting the finishing touches to the illustrations and going through the editors’ most recent comments and suggestions. Takes a lot more time than expected, though…

In one week, on December 24th, it will be exactly one year since I was first contacted by Packt Publishing. After reading several posts from this blog they asked me if I’d be interested in writing a MySQL administration cookbook with hands-on recipes for those among us who have to make sure the MySQL servers are kept running and in good shape.

Funny thing, I almost deleted their email, because initially I thought GMail’s spam filter had not caught some sort of bulk or phishing email, because I had never heard of Packt Publishing before and at first only saw an unfamiliar sounding sender’s name. As I was one of very few people in the office on that day I decided to read it anyways. Turned out to be not so spammy after all…

What followed were several weeks of sending mails back and forth, convincing a colleague to co-author and together set up a chapter outline. Finally, around February we started writing actual contents. …