Nieuwe release QGIS + boek!

Last week not only QGIS 2.14.0 Essen was released but also a great book “QGIS Map Design” based on this new version of QGIS.

A release of QGIS is special but this release concerns an announced LTR release.  QGIS 2.8.7 is the current LTR version in which al bugs found between 2.8 and 2.14.0 have been solved in 2.8 as well.
A (Long Term Release) LTR version has two major advantages. It is very stable and in time becomes even more stable and the functionality remains the same  over a longer period of time so instructions books and courses based on an LTR version can be used longer. When QGIS 2.16 appears, we will have a new LTR version of  QGIS 2.14.1! The name QGIS Essen refers to the city that hosted the hackfest twice. I was there and they were very inspiring and productive.
After QGIS 2.14 will be started with building QGIS 3 which will be a tremendous effort. QGIS 2 is now build on Qt 4 and Python 2.7. QGIS 3 will be build on Qt 5 and Python 3.5. Work has been started a long time ago with putting an excellent test framework in place with lots of unit tests.
Although currently QGIS 2.14 is not yet the QGIS LTR version, new manuals, books and instructions should be written on this new version of QGIS!
The first book that is based on QGIS 2.14 is already out! The book QGIS Map Design is written by Anita Graser & Gretchen N. Peterson and issued by Locate Press of Gary Sherman (The founder of QGIS). This is the first book focused on how to use the possibilities QGIS offers to create stunning maps.
The book presents many “recipes”, practical examples how to create a certain kind of map.
I could not wait an bought the book in PDF format counting 200 pages directly from Locate press. Remarkable, to buy the book you can use bitcoins as well besides using a creditcard!  You will receive an online personalized copy with a copyright statement underneath every page. Mine reads:
“Copyrighted material generated for Diethard Jansen on 2016-03-02 do not distribute”
I expect to have a lot of pleasure reading this book and using QGIS 2.14!
What has QGIS 2.14 to offer? Please have a look at the List of visual changes.