Well I found both PDF files of Calculus and Physics for scientists and engineers on emule
They are both the right edition.
Here's what I think
I dont like staring at the screen all day and I probably will have to use actual books during the lectures so I bought the 5th edition of calculus its quite cheap
And I'm taking physics next term So I guess ppl will sell textbooks after the 1st term?

I'd take the money I would have spent on textbooks and grab a new device to read those PDFs on. Unlike the textbooks, it will be useful in four months.

The kindle has the advantage of eInk, which is much easier on the eyes than staring at a screen. But its not that convenient for use with PDFs, if you don't read books enough to make the Kindle a good investment, go for an iPad. No eInk, but the screen is perfectly sized for reading PDFs, and you get a sick device out of it. (There's also the Kindle DX which is much better for PDFs, but its almost the price of an iPad anyways).

I'm old school and really enjoy having the physical book in front of me. I find devices such as the Kindle and iPad aren't large enough to display a whole textbook page at a reasonable size. I also find I get less distracted with a physical book rather than an electronic device. I would do exactly what you did with the calculus book and look for the older edition of the physics book so you can save money and get the best of both worlds. You'll probably be able to find people selling the current edition during the first term too as they might still have it from last year or maybe even the summer.

you could always get the pdf print and bound....

Originally Posted by GrahamA

you could always get the pdf print and bound....

How much would cost for printing a chapter?

Just so you know, downloading .pdfs of textbooks is copyright infringement and still illegal. I wouldn't openly admit to doing it on a forum where people can find out who you are.
But as for the topic, I don't mind looking at the screen. It's not a big deal, and cheaper than buying something to read it or printing it. By the way, printing it is probably an even worse idea in terms of legality. I would just keep it as a pdf and work with that.

How much would cost for printing a chapter?

I've printed and bound a document (that I legally obtained ) that was about 400 pages for $35 once.

I prefer reading from the actual book than a Kindle/iPad/laptop.

Having the pdf version is useful if you're commuting and have a lot of other textbooks to carry.

Old editions of calculus and physics should be fine as the content doesn't really change.

Advice: Get both, if you are doing problems (which you probably will). Get the textbook.
Use the pdf for reference to check solutions or use it to check for formulas.

PDF is good if you are @ thode and need to look something up.

You will need the actual textbook though. Another alternative is to print out the full pdf... or the sections you need..

PDFs are also good because you can use the search function. It's slightly faster than looking through the index. Also, it's very useful for novels since those don't have an index. You can use the search function to find passages, imagery, etc...

Originally Posted by Kayee

Well I found both PDF files of Calculus and Physics for scientists and engineers on emule
They are both the right edition.
Here's what I think
I dont like staring at the screen all day and I probably will have to use actual books during the lectures so I bought the 5th edition of calculus its quite cheap
And I'm taking physics next term So I guess ppl will sell textbooks after the 1st term?

If you don't like looking at a screen and plan on relying on the textbook heavily, either printing it off or buying a super-cheap old version would be good, but it's mostly for practise problems--you rarely ever actually use the textbook in class. In science, they're for use on your own time, to clarify concepts and do practice problems. Some people will come to lecture and follow along in the textbook if they don't learn well from the prof, but that's not very common, and usually everything you need to know is taught in the lecture, especially in first-year science--I don't really know about other faculties. I've taken one soc sci course and while there were assigned readings, we didn't use the textbook at all during lectures or tutorial.

I wish real life had a ctrl+f.

Download the textbook for Materials 1M03. It will be a life saver for the assignments, where you can just ctrl+f the term you need a definition for and find it in an instant.

As for the textbooks, it can go both ways. If you don't like the prospect of reading off a screen all the time, then go with the actual books as opposed to PDF. Personally, I didn't mind looking at my screen for the solutions manual of books or even for 1M03. I regret not hunting for the books in PDF form as I could have saved a good few hundred dollars. I found the Physics text pretty worthless, both in terms of content and problems (just use CAPA boards/lecture notes); Math was a bit more helpful but the lecture notes are just condensed textbook-- I got by more than easily enough by having my lecture notes beside me along with the solutions manual.

Your choice. I would go with PDF versions.