When I’m looking for a new book on my Kindle and told I have to wait four months for the e-book version, I won’t be heading to the bookstore. Instead, I’ll click the back button and buy one of the 360,000 other e-books available now.
via bits.blogs.nytimes.com
As you may know, the current generation of book readers uses the E-Ink technology, which currently does B&W 800 x 640 on a flexible substrate. They project that color E-Ink devices will become available no earlier than 2011. Hi-res is important: readability studies shows that paper with 600 dpi is the gold standard. a 600 dpi 8 x 10 page is 4800 x 6000 pixels, which is still a pretty big image even for today’s computers.
In an ideal world, huge amounts of content in EPUB format would come together with inexpensive, color, touch-enabled e-readers, making them solid textbook replacements and turning giant student backpacks into thin messenger bags.
This is hardly an ideal world, though. Yes, it looks like the inexpensive color e-reader will be a reality, but the same technology will also enable inexpensive color tablets. What is a school going to buy? A one-trick pony e-reader for its students or a really useful convergence device for a slight upcharge?
Ever since electronic books emerged as a major growth market, New York’s largest publishing houses have worried that big-name authors might sign deals directly with e-book retailers or other new ventures, bypassing traditional publishers entirely.
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Now, one well-known author is doing just that.
Stephen R. Covey, one of the most successful business authors of the last two decades, has moved e-book rights to two of his best-selling books from his print publisher, Simon & Schuster, a division of the CBS Corporation, to a digital publisher that will sell the e-books to Amazon.
Теперь электронные книги из Amazon можно покупать и так. Или читать отрывки. Выбор - хоть там и 300 тысяч - не очень велик. Много чего нет. Видимо, политика издателей + страновые ограничения. И эти люди запрещают мне ковыряться в носу? Нашёл, правда посткиберпанковскую антологию Re-Wired ;)
For your reading enjoyment, I have compiled a list of about a dozen things that will not save publishing. I have also created a brief list of things that will save publishing. As always, neither list is comprehensive, and I reserve the right to add items if I think of something while I’m in the shower.
via booksquare.com
Довольно ясный взгляд.
via bookmate.ru
Очень приятный и довольно удобный сервис для чтения книг онлайн. Есть поддержка lib.ru, формата fb2. Создатели обещают — и это весьма разумно - поддержку epub и мобильную версию для iPhone. Пользователи могут закачивать свои книги, искать книги онлайн, в том числе в магазинах. Есть и рекомендательная социальная сеть.
Функционально — тот же Bookworm. Только симпатичнее. Очень правильное направление для расширения инфраструктуры электронных книг.
Создатели — молодцы. Успехов им!
переведён, однако, на русский язык (оригинал тут: http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=1979). Его надо отредактировать, конечно, и нормально верстать. Есть идеи, как его распространить пошире? For free, естественно - он под такой лицензией.
via amazon.com
The line between newspapers, magazines, and books is about to become blurred. Publishers will need to envision multimedia content from the beginning. Consumer expectations are going to skyrocket. The cost of producing digital books will get more expensive. Digital content creation and distribution will become our primary focus. People will be reading more than ever.