So, Kindle 2 is available. The overpricing and specs are here. I wanted to mention the debate that has cropped up since its release. You should know that it is a debate that we could only be having in the FUTURE, in some sort of spacey metropolis with robots. Sorry, I love saying things like that.
It goes like this. Kindle 2 has a text-to-speech function that allows you to sit back and listen to your eBook when your little eyes are tired from all that reading–but you just can’t put the thing down. Early reports suggest Kindle 2’s text-to-speech is better than the average conversion software, but it is what it is.
Authors Guild
So the  Authors Guild got word of this and leapt into action. (I always imagine them wearing capes and masks because it’s more fun than imagining them in frayed sweaters and coffee-stained blouses…) The Guild argued that the process of turning that text into speech was the same as making an audio book. That got the red lights flashing because Amazon.com has the rights to sell the book, not a recorded version of it. Yah?
Engadget.com has quite a funny back and forth on the argument here.
This should be interesting to watch as it plays out. Text-to-speech is the same as reading an eBook out loud so the converted result isn’t an audio book… or is it?
1 ping
[…] 2 talks and apparently it exhibits this controversial text-to-speech function in a voice similar to Tom Cruise’s. A rumor over at […]