Sorry folks. Here’s yesterday’s news that failed to post for some reason… Here’s an Associated Press story about established authors doing what independents have been doing for years. Believe me, James Patterson’s not taking the same risk. I’m glad he’s taking the risk and adding his heft to the eBook Revolution, but his motivation is …
Category: eBooks
eBook formats listed and discussed.
Aug 04
Suddenly slow news day…
To give you an idea how slow, I’m posting a link to an article at InfoWorld.com that talks about ePub eBook format being the new PDF. Read it here. It’s not the sexiest story in the world, but it speaks to the next major step in the eBook Revolution: the adoption of a universal eBook file format. The …
Aug 02
It ain’t easy being a dictator…
Amazon is being sued for remotely deleting copies of George Orwell’s 1984 from Kindles. It later explained the action was taken because the copy in question was provided by a third party that did not have the right to sell it. Read the full story at Reuters. It seems that in one of the cases …
Jul 22
While I’m Away…
Dear Visitor, eBook Rumors will be on hiatus from Thursday July 23 until Monday July 27, 2009. The eBook Revolution will no doubt charge ahead during our absence, as eBook Reader and hand-held device designers jockey and struggle for position and as smart publishers see the light and start to offer fair prices, yah? I’ve …
Jul 21
Free Content continued…
Here at KansasCity.com the theme of free content is developed to include the realities of business. In an excellent article by Scott Canon, The Kansas City Star digs deeper, looks for precedents and talks about Freemium (barebones content) versus Premium (content you pay for with all the bells and whistles). You need to make money …
Jul 20
Add Fairness to the Equation, see what happens…
Here’s an interesting application of the old model on the new. Sell a ‘bricks and mortar’ book about ‘free’ digital content. Hilarious. Dissecting “FREE” means money. Reuters has an excellent article here about new titles devoted to just such a thing. It seems too simple to require continuous study. I suppose giving the ‘free’ content away …
Jul 19
You mean for the high price of $299 you’ll control what I read?
Amusing thought-police associations aside, it is clear to see in this article at the Register.com why Amazon Kindle’s high-price, expensive eBooks, and locked and managed personal libraries are a business model doomed to fail in an age when digital information and machinery are designed to promote accessibility, convenience and practicality. Every time I read a …
Jul 16
On its way to Ubiquity! (Damn things will be everywhere!)
A florida hotel’s EPIC Page Turner program loans free eBooks and a Sony Reader to their Club level guests. This perk includes an EPIC Virtual Nightstand for reading exerpts from eBooks. Read the full article here at Gadling.com. I’ll give top marks to this hotel for embracing the eBook Revolution. The full scale adoption is …
Jul 13
Is Commonsense Catching on?
Sourcebooks is releasing 14 mass market romance novels under its Casablanca imprint as DRM-free eBooks. They’ll be priced at $6.99 and available in nine formats at Smashwords. While Sourcebooks stops short of a wholesale endorsement of DRM-free eBooks, their actions do suggest they’re responding to the marketplace instead of trying to control it like so many …
Jul 10
Profit is Relative
Publishers are worried that Amazon.com will eventually force them to lower their eBook prices and diminish their profits. An excellent article here at Bloomberg.com claims that publishers now make “$2.15 per digital book versus 26 cents for a print copy” and they’re afraid that Amazon.com’s dominance of the eBook sales market will give the online eBook giant profit-slashing bargaining power and …