Improved the Spring Initializr section

Removed some redundancy in the links and added a manual option.
Also bumped the Spring Boot version to 2.4.4, to keep it current.

README.adoc

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-:spring_boot_version: 2.4.2
+:spring_boot_version: 2.4.4
 :spring-boot: https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-boot
 :toc:
 :icons: font
@@ -54,12 +54,8 @@ them to your application context.
 [[scratch]]
 == Starting with Spring Initializr
 
-For all Spring applications, you should start with the https://start.spring.io[Spring
-Initializr]. The Initializr offers a fast way to pull in all the dependencies you need for
-an application and does a lot of the setup for you. This example needs only the Spring Web
-dependency.
+If you use Maven, visit the https://start.spring.io/#!type=maven-project&language=java&platformVersion=2.4.4.RELEASE&packaging=jar&jvmVersion=1.8&groupId=com.example&artifactId=spring-boot&name=spring-boot&description=Demo%20project%20for%20Spring%20Boot&packageName=com.example.spring-boot&dependencies=web[Spring Initializr] to generate a new project with the required dependencies (Spring Web).
 
-You can get a Maven build file with the necessary dependencies directly from the https://start.spring.io/#!type=maven-project&language=java&platformVersion=2.4.2.RELEASE&packaging=jar&jvmVersion=11&groupId=com.example&artifactId=spring-boot&name=spring-boot&description=Demo%20project%20for%20Spring%20Boot&packageName=com.example.spring-boot&dependencies=web[Spring Initializr].
 The following listing shows the `pom.xml` file that is created when you choose Maven:
 
 ====
@@ -69,7 +65,8 @@ include::initial/pom.xml[]
 ----
 ====
 
-You can get a Gradle build file with the necessary dependencies directly from the https://start.spring.io/#!type=gradle-project&language=java&platformVersion=2.4.2.RELEASE&packaging=jar&jvmVersion=11&groupId=com.example&artifactId=spring-boot&name=spring-boot&description=Demo%20project%20for%20Spring%20Boot&packageName=com.example.spring-boot&dependencies=web[Spring Initializr].
+If you use Gradle, visit the https://start.spring.io/#!type=gradle-project&language=java&platformVersion=2.4.4.RELEASE&packaging=jar&jvmVersion=1.8&groupId=com.example&artifactId=spring-boot&name=spring-boot&description=Demo%20project%20for%20Spring%20Boot&packageName=com.example.spring-boot&dependencies=web[Spring Initializr] to generate a new project with the required dependencies (Spring Web).
+
 The following listing shows the `build.gradle` file that is created when you choose Gradle:
 
 ====
@@ -79,6 +76,19 @@ include::initial/build.gradle[]
 ----
 ====
 
+=== Manual Initialization (optional)
+
+If you want to initialize the project manually rather than use the links shown earlier, follow the steps given below:
+
+. Navigate to https://start.spring.io.
+This service pulls in all the dependencies you need for an application and does most of the setup for you.
+. Choose either Gradle or Maven and the language you want to use. This guide assumes that you chose Java.
+. Click *Dependencies* and select *Spring Web*.
+. Click *Generate*.
+. Download the resulting ZIP file, which is an archive of a web application that is configured with your choices.
+
+NOTE: If your IDE has the Spring Initializr integration, you can complete this process from your IDE.
+
 [[initial]]
 == Create a Simple Web Application
 

complete/build.gradle

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 plugins {
- id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.4.2'
+ id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.4.4'
  id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.0.11.RELEASE'
  id 'java'
 }

complete/pom.xml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  <parent>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
- <version>2.4.2</version>
+ <version>2.4.4</version>
  <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
  </parent>
  <groupId>com.example</groupId>

initial/build.gradle

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 plugins {
- id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.4.2'
+ id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.4.4'
  id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.0.11.RELEASE'
  id 'java'
 }

initial/pom.xml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  <parent>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
- <version>2.4.2</version>
+ <version>2.4.4</version>
  <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
  </parent>
  <groupId>com.example</groupId>