Is eBook Piracy the key to a Bestseller?
Many thanks to Jorgen for a link to a FUTUReBOOK story that highlights the continuing debate over online piracy. It seems that the laws aren’t working, and the powers that be are trying to ramp up the legal response to digital piracy and file sharing.
That eventuality can only slow the Internet and curb the freedoms of its honest users, despite the fact that there are many examples where piracy and file sharing are not just good for business, but are encouraged as a business model.
Read the article here.
Que ProReader Fades into the Night
ITProPortal posted on the sad news about UK-based Plastic Logic confirming its plan to abandon the Que ProReader, a beautiful device that was headed for the office and boardroom. Read Plastic Logic’s press release here.
It’s a sad day for those of us lusting after its sleek lines. After months of delays the rumor mill was churning about the future of this pricey but ‘oh so sexy’ device.
I think its large format E Ink screen and high price pushed it into unexpected competition with the full-color multi-format iPad.
Hopefully, the innovators who dreamed of the device that used plastic electronics will not abandon their foray into eBook Readers.
Apple IPad Review
Starting to see these popping up all over the net, and I expect it’s just the beginning. People have had their iPads long enough to start making some knowledgeable comments. Here’s a link to an iPad Review at Tech with Tom at The City Wire.
Pretty thorough. Well worth the read.
(I’m still not sure about the logic behind Apple’s Flash shut out. You know, they offer all the bells and whistles in a full color web experience but disable about 90% of the web sites out there. It makes no sense.)
Sea Change in Publishing
Thanks Jorgen for a link to an article at the Arizona Republic that outlines some of the changes and challenges facing publishers and authors in the eBook Revolution.
An informative read on this Easter Sunday.
Barnes and Noble thinks outside the BOX
Thanks Jorgen for this link to a story at Publishers Weekly about Barnes and Noble’s test marketing print books bundled with eBooks. The deal should start sometime in the next 60 to 90 days and involves selling eBook editions of titles at serious discounts when customers buy regularly priced print books.
They’re experimenting with the bricks and mortar storefront edge that they’ve got over every competitor in the United States. The move links their ink and paper past with the digital future.
It’s also nice to see them admitting how attractive print on demand technology is to modern book sellers. They’re kicking around the idea of setting up a print on demand (or while you wait) service at Barnes and Noble locations. The digital age is all about options. Kudos to B&N.
The eBook Revolution is here to stay. If you can’t beat it, join it!
NaSPA interviews eBook Rumor’s Cypher
Bill Elder was kind enough to interview me for NaSPA’s (Networks and Systems Professional Association) latest issue of Technical Support Magazine.
You can check out their site here or download the magazine directly here or read eBook Rumor’s copy at this link. Don’t miss my interview (starts page 16) but be sure to check out the rest of the magazine.
I do make some pithy observations, if I do say so myself. Lots to read about “the continually evolving nature of IT, Networking, Telecommunications, Disaster Recovery and other related disciplines.”
Associated Press and Google News talks break down…
Associated Press (AP), the venerable news gathering agency, seems to be struggling with the realities of the digital publishing revolution. Here talks with Google’s news gathering source have broken down. The talks centered on a licensing agreement Google has with the Associated Press that allows them to host its content on Google properties like Google News. Google says there will be no new AP content hosted pending resolution of the disagreement.
The net result is Google is no longer hosting new AP stories in their news search results. Read the full story at CNNMoney.com.
Associated Press has a problem. As a news content collector and distributor, they only profit from the sale of that content through deals struck with news and media sources. They don’t have a ‘homepage’ that can be monetized with ads etc. in ways similar to news reporting outlets. Those organizations directly benefit from traffic collected and redirected by Google searches. The Internet and digital publishing is starting to cut into AP’s territory. One can understand their dismay, since they’ve been around from the beginning when news was only available on paper, yah?
But AP has to let it go. That’s the past. The digital publishing world demands an adapt or die strategy. Let’s hope they figure it out and make a course change. We need the Associated Press, if not for their content as a primary source, then at least we need their skills as painstaking collectors and distributors of information.
Perhaps that’s what AP should do: Become a news or content substantiation or fact evaluation service. An Associate Press stamp of approval would go a long way in validating an Internet news provider, don’t you think?
More from (and about) the Consumer Electronics Show
admin 
Affordable eBooks, Free eBooks, Rumors, Uncategorized, eBook Readers, eBook Software, eBook Stores, eBooks 
Here’s another installment from the media storm surrounding the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the resulting explosion in the eBook Revolution.
First CNN has an overview and a bit of history of the CES here.
MacWorld.com reports here on COOL-ER’s introduction of new eBook models, one of which touts the small Sony-pocket Edition size while keeping a larger 6″ display screen.
Pocket-lint.com has a story here about the Bookeen Cybook Orizon now rigged with 3G wireless and boasting a super-thin profile. They hope to steal the gasp-factor from Kindle. Lots of pics. Check them out.
BNET.com has an article here suggesting the true power of the eBook Revolution resides not in the hardware but with the publishing platform. Interesting take on it. (Again, I refuse to believe it’s an either/or scenario.)
More from eBook Heaven (Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas…)
Another information Bomb from the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. The eBook Revolution is shifting to high gear!
Technology for the Soul reports here that iriver took a moment out of the CES to announce that its Story (eBook Reader) was coming to America “later this month” and that a WiFi enabled version was coming sometime in 2010.
Pocketlint.com says here that Spring Design’s ALEX was finally priced and a release date set. The $399 price tag won’t run well beside Kindle’s $259 but they’re relative newbies to the market with lots to learn.
I don’t think this was announced at the CES but what the hell, Bookseller.com reports here that Vodaphone and Go-Spoken have announced their plan to open an m-book store (m-book = mobile book). That should happen by the end of the month.
Another non-CES post at The Link here announcing a late-January launch of Viewsonic’s VEB612 eBook Reader. Its profile is sleek and tantalizing, but the name really needs a bit of a re-think, yah?
Will the Apple Tablet Launch January 26?
admin Affordable eBooks, Rumors, Uncategorized, eBook Readers, eBook Software, eBook Stores, eReaders CNNMoney seems to think January 26 is the launch date of the much-anticipated touch-screen tablet from Apple. In a timely leak of information, Apple’s Steve Jobs is said to be extremely happy with the device. Its original design was supposedly cannibalized for use in the iPhone. Read a list of new rumors here.
It would be an exciting way for the eBook Revolution to start the New Year, yah?
