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The Tip Jar
Contributions to the Tip Jar are gladly accepted. Just go to www.PayPal.com and send money (in whatever amount you wish) to bill@billsmithbooks.com.

Thank you for supporting an independent author!

Contact
Email comments & questions: 
bill@billsmithbooks.com

Bill Smith Books
PO Box 124
Malone, NY 12953

BillSmithBooks, Outlaw Galaxy, Outlaw Galaxy Tales and Imagination Forge are trademarks of Bill Smith. © 2009 by Bill Smith.

The Outlaw Galaxy stories posted on this site are free to download, read and share with other friends.

If you like what you read, there are other Outlaw Galaxy novels and ebooks for sale on this site.

You can also toss some spare change into the Tip Jar. I hope you'll read some of these stories and decide, "Hey, that was worth a quarter or a dime (or even a dollar)."

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, whether it's some spare change for a short story, or a buck or two for a novel. Your support enables me to keep on writing and publishing Outlaw Galaxy stories.

To contribute to the Tip Jar by Cash, Check or Money Order. Send to:

Bill Smith Books

PO Box 124
Malone, NY 12953

To contribute to the Tip Jar by Visa, Mastercard, Discover or PayPal: Go to www.paypal.com.

"Send Money" (in whatever amount) to bill@billsmithbooks.com.

Be sure to send a comment along with your contribution!

Thank you for supporting an independent author!

And remember, I always enjoy hearing from my readers! Email your comments and questions to bill@billsmithbooks.com

About Outlaw Galaxy Ebooks

Format: Outlaw Galaxy ebooks are affordable and easy to use. They're in HTML, a "universal format" that can be read by any web browser, including Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.

HTML ebooks can be read on any computer regardless of operating system--Windows, Linux or Mac. No special software, no conversions, no encryption--just click on the file (or open with Firefox) and start reading.

These ebooks and stories are formatted to reduce eyestrain while reading onscreen, but you can adjust your browser's settings to suit your tastes. Go to "View," drop down to "Text Size," and increase or decrease as desired. You can also change your browser's font and color settings.

You can also print Outlaw Galaxy ebooks with no restrictions. 

Netbooks: Outlaw Galaxy ebooks are perfect for netbooks and other portable computers since all of them use web browsers like Firefox. All netbooks can read Outlaw Galaxyebooks with no special software. Just open the file with the built-in web browser (normally Firefox) and start reading. 

In the next year or so, there will be a flood of cheap netbooks, most running Google Android, Google Chrome or some flavor of Linux. Within a year or so, we should be seeing netbooks for less than $100 and it won't be long before ultra-cheap netbooks are on pharmacy shelves right next to cheap digital cameras.

(By the way, I am a huge fan of Puppy Linux. Puppy Linux is a full-fledged operating system that includes most everything you could need--web browser, media player that can play all common formats, word processing, email, chat, wireless connectivity, easy printing, and much more--and it all fits in a download less than 100 Megabytes. Remember that Windows requires 4-5 Gigs. Puppy Linux is small but lightning fast and it's perfect for netbooks or older computers. It's also FREE!)

Iphones, Blackberrys and web-enabled cell phones: Most newer cell phones, including IPhones and Blackberry models, can surf the web, so they too can read Outlaw Galaxy ebooks.

Other Formats: If you wish to reformat the story, just save the ebook to plain text. ("Save as" to .txt format.) Or highlight the text and paste it into a word processor (such as AbiWord) and then apply whatever formatting you prefer.

You can convert this story to PDF format with any of the free PDF convertors, such as PrimoPDF or the FoxIt PDF Editor (FoxItSoftware.com). There are also several online PDF convertors.

Kindle, Sony and Other Ebook Readers: All ebook reading devices can read either HTML, plain text (.txt) or PDF files. Many ebook devices read HTML with no problem.

Both the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader read plain text files (but not HTML). Amazon will convert your files from HTML to Kindle format and email it to you at no charge.

If you need your ebook in one of the other specialty ebook formats, just go to MobiPocket.com and download the free MobiPocket Reader or use the Calibre reader, both of which can convert this file into any of a number of ebook formats. Calibre converts to the Epub format, which is gaining popularity. The new Sigil ebook creator is also getting very good reviews from users.

Media Players, Older Cell Phones and More: Most older cell phones and media players can read plain text files. Palm PDAs can easily convert text files to a Palm-suitable format.

The $20 Ebook Reader: Many MP4 video/media players come with a built-in text reader (for plain text files). For around $20-30, you can get a media player to listen to music, watch videos and read ebooks. (Just go to ebay, Amazon, Geeks.com, TigerDirect.com or any major electronics retailers and search for "MP4 player.")

No Text Reader? No Problem! Finally, if your older cell phone or other device can't read HTML or text, you can still convert your Outlaw Galaxy ebook into a series of pictures and read it on your device's photo viewer.

Just get a copy of the free program Rasterbook and follow the instructions posted at the BooksforaBuck website; more info here. (Thanks to Rob Preece at BooksforaBuck.com for pointing this out.)

With Rasterbook's conversion, you can read your ebook on almost any device, including older cellphones, digital picture frames, digital cameras, media players, or any device that can view pictures.

In short, you can read your Outlaw Galaxy ebook on almost any device with a minimum of hassles.

Why Pay for Outlaw Galaxy ebooks? Some of you may be wondering why you should pay for an Outlaw Galaxy ebook.

Here's my thinking: They're a dollar or two. Each book provides hours of entertainment. And Outlaw Galaxy ebooks are customer friendly, so you can use the ebook the way you want to.

Compare that to other items: $2 is what you shell out for a soda and a candy bar these days. Novels run about $8. Comic books are $3-4 an issue. Don't get me started on the price of gas or a movie.

As for other publishers' ebooks? Many come with DRM (Digital Rights Management) to prevent you from making backup copies, converting them to other formats, or printing them. You have to make sure that the ebook format is compatible with your device. Not to mention that many publishers' ebooks are much more expensive.

But if a buck or two is over your budget, get some friends to chip in. Have them to toss in a dime or a quarter. Then read and share.

These ebooks are shipped without any form of DRM, so you can make backup copies, print, and reformat for other devices. And I think it's cool if you want to share them with a few friends.

You don't see movie studios or record labels doing that, do you?

No. They treat their customers like criminals. They secretly install spyware and rootkits that can destroy your computer. They tell you that you're not allowed to make back-up copies of stuff you've already paid for. They sneak in secret functions that allow them to delete files, eliminate features or block programs from being installed without their permission. They want to make "piracy" a crime punishable with enormous fines or even jail time.

Me? I'm trying to be reasonable. I offer Outlaw Galaxy ebooks at a fair price, in an easy-to-use HTML format that can be read by any web browser, and with no DRM. I expressly give you permission to print them, make backup-copies, and format them for use on other devices.

And I think it's cool if you share them with a few friends. I discovered most of my favorite authors by word-of-mouth from friends or by borrowing from libraries, so it's okay with me if you slip a few copies to other people who'll enjoy these Outlaw Galaxy stories.

I just ask that you be reasonable--don't sell these stories, make any changes or post them on other websites. If you like these stories and want to see more, please consider showing some support with a purchase or by tossing something into the Tip Jar.

As an independent writer and publisher, I take great pride in being able to share my stories directly with readers. Thank you for reading!

But please remember, I'm just a small, independent author/publisher. For me, every single reader and every single sale really matters.

Thank you for supporting an independent author!

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: I love to hear from my readers. Send comments and questions to bill@billsmithbooks.com

To the Stars!

-- Bill Smith

Bill Smith is the author of:

Star Wars:
The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels

Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, 2nd Edition (West End Games)