Sep 18

We’ve been expecting this to happen…

There’ll soon be open battle in the eBook Revolution. This update from Jorgen. PCWorld, much like the rest of us, is predicting the outbreak of an eBook Reader war. Read the article here.

They’re warning us to be cautious when making an eBook reader purchase since the next year is going to see a wide variety of new machines and devices arrive on the market with accompanying variation in price. They’re also predicting the possibility of cross-platform eBook format problems, and that might prove true in some cases. Frankly, I think only an idiot would release an eBook reader with a proprietary format at this point in the game.

I’m just curious to see if everyone’s going to join in on the ePub formatting. Now that Google Books and Sony Reader is switching to that format, and with Amazon’s distress over its Kindle-only eBooks, it would surprise me if anything came onto the market that did not read ePub. But I’ve been surprised before, yah? And some of the rumored economy-class machines might sacrifice flexibility for price. Time will tell.

Sep 17

The Video in Entertainment Weekly Magazine.

We mentioned this story back in August about the world’s first video commercial in an actual magazine, a September issue of Entertainment Weekly. It’s now available. Read about it  and watch some video here at BBC. Remember, this is only excitig to me because it suggests publishers might find a way to make money from advertising that doesn’t involve jamming video advertisements into our eBooks. We’re going to have a tough enough time keeping spam and hotlinks out, yah?

Sep 16

eBook Readers, formats and everything in between…

Okay, yet another great contribution from the intrepid Jorgen.  Here we’re presented a detailed list of eBook readers in a chart indexed with readable eBook formats. Oh, Jorgen also suggested that maybe some of you could improve it. I took a look around and have to say some of the information regarding formats needs to be updated. It’s at Wikipedia, with photos and enough stats to choke a virtual horse. Once the bugs are ironed out, this chart will be a useful  hotlink for eBook Reader users and prospective buyers.

It’s so early in the eBook Revolution that you have to wonder which of these readers will be around a year from now, and how much of this handy matrix will read like a museum brochure.

Sep 15

Astonishing Adventures Magazine – FREE Online Reading

I found an interesting online magazine while I was out cruising the web researching other ways of doing the publishing thing digitally–it can’t all be about the eBooks, can it? Anyway, this one impressed me.

Astonishing Adventures Magazine is an interactive ‘virtual’ publication uploaded to issuu.com. Issuu.com is an online clearinghouse for digital content from independent and corporate publishers. They’ve got a really bold display that utilizes Flash animation technology–very cool. (I checked and there’s a hard copy version of the magazine (Issue 7) for sale at Amazon too…) I was so impressed with the quality of the writing and artwork in this their Issue 7, that I tracked down the editor Katherine Tomlinson who kindly consented to answering a few of my questions.

1. When did Astonishing Adventures Magazine start publishing?

Our first issue came out in 2007. We’re a quarterly, so the winter issue (#8) of 2009 will be our second anniversary edition. (You won’t want to miss it. It will be a special double issue with work from novelists Brian Trent, Peter Mark May, Christine Pope and G. Wells Taylor included in the mix.)

2. How long have you been editing the AAM?

I’ve been onboard since the beginning. Publisher John Donald Carlucci and then-editor-in-chief Tim Gallagher recruited me via a Craig’s List ad. Most of the writers were already in place for that first issue but I contributed two non-fiction articles, a review of the “illustrated novel” Baltimore and an “appreciation” of Steve McQueen.

3. What kind of stories are we talking about?

Any kind of story that fits into the “Astonishing” or “Adventure” category is a story we want in the magazine. We’ve printed everything from westerns to science fiction to dark fantasy to war stories. There was even a story that would have been categorized as part of the “lonely hearts” genre. Our non-fiction articles are about pop culture, the creators of pulp fiction, comics, genre fiction, that sort of thing. We also showcase actors and actresses who have worked in genre film.

4. AAM’s ning tagline is “The greatest new adventure ePulp published.” What is ePulp?

EPulp is our term for neo-pulp, the genre fiction being created today for electronic distribution. ASTONISHING ADVENTURES MAGAZINE is available in both print and online versions at the moment but as of issue #9, our first issue in 2010, we will be all digital. JDC, our publisher, has ambitious plans to build in all sorts of interactivity and functionality into those online issues. Issue #9 is going to be awesome.

5. Where does AAM find its stories?

There’s this cave in Transylvania and inside the cave is a locked trunk. I have the key….

Actually, we’ve been really lucky there. We have a core of writers who contribute to every issue and who have been great about spreading the word. Cormac Brown, Bill Cunningham, Roger Alford and Michael Patrick Sullivan have brought their fans to us. JDC promotes the magazine on his MySpace Page and on Facebook and Twitter, so our renown spreads with each issue. I’ve been pretty pushy with my writer friends as well, urging them to get back to the computer to finish the stories I know they’ve been working on.

It’s hard to say “no” to me when I’m in full-on pesky mode. We’ve been lucky with our artwork as well. One of our cover artists, Joanne Renaud, has been really helpful in bringing in new artistic talent. Larry Nadolsky, who has a site called “Neo Pulp”  contacted us offering his services. A wonderful Los Angeles-based photographer named Susan Schader did the pictures for a mystery story we have running in the upcoming issue. I’m hoping she’ll work with us again.

6. Where can we get a copy?

The online version of the magazine with the full-color cover and black and white interior will be available from Amazon.com on September 15th. The free dowloadable version with the full-color cover and full-color interior will be available on our Astonishing Adventures Ning site (You’ll have to register first.) and at Astonishing Adventures Online.

7. What does it cost?

The downloads are free. The print copy costs $10.00. (It varies according to the number of pages) (Get yours at Amazon.com)

Thank you for your time, Katherine . You’ve  put together a fantastic magazine.

So, what are you all waiting for? Go get a copy, yah?

Sep 14

Google Books versus Amazon

Amazon and Google Books continue to trade blows in an article at InformationWeek about the ongoing battle for control of the eBook world. It’s important, in this argument, for all of us to remember that this is one corporate giant versus another. Their mandate has nothing to do with protecting individual rights and freedoms. They exist for profit–the more the better, and this argument is only about corporate giants maintaining access to the market, and product.

Google Books is just doing what it’s supposed to do. And so is Amazon, bulldogging the book settlement that will give Google Books access to the world’s book titles.

And when they talk about the rights of the author, and the freedom of information, it’s just smoke and mirrors. Both giants want to monopolize the market.

But it’s still interesting to watch,  yah?

Sep 13

Just the Facts, Please.

Jorgen continues to wow us over at eBook Rumors by digging up excellent and thought provoking articles. Make sure you check out Jorgen’s World to show your appreciation. We do.

That said, today’s offering is perfect for a Sunday read, something to think about over your coffee or tea and toast.

An article at More Intelligent Life called Facts, Errors and the Kindle by Anthony Gottlieb puts a positive spin on the sometimes mysterious and worrisome attributes of the eBook and digital content. It seems we’re no longer slaves to a truth that is indisputable merely because it is  ‘put down on paper.’ Instead we can now enjoy a level of accuracy in our information that will make it worth protecting.

Applied responsibly, our bodies of literature and archives of information can be honed and edited into true masterpieces and manifestos, yah?

Sep 12

3-G Envy for the United Kingdom

Jorgen came to the rescue as eBook Rumors struggled with tech issues by pointing us to this story at the Ethiopian Review Science and Technology News Forum. Apparently, Sony does not think that the United Kingdom is ready for the much anticipated 3G ‘Daily Edition’ eBook Reader that is coming onto the market in the U.S.

Sony just released two new eBook Readers on the UK market, but believe the wireless version might take a year or two to cross the pond.

Sony doesn’t even seemed worried that Amazon’s Kindle is expected to make landfall this year, which says something about Sony’s hardware confidence, and Kindle’s diminishing lead in the marketplace.

Sep 11

Beware Device Convergence

Mary-Jo Foley at Zdnet.com offers a humorous but thought-provoking article about the fabled all-in-one device that can read eBooks, play movies and cruise the Internet for recipes, all while you’re using it to trim your nose hairs. The truth is, designers have to be careful they don’t assume that consumers are as wild about technology as they are. Obviously, you don’t build an iPhone or Kindle so you can read electronic books unless you’re a techno-freak to begin with.

As Mary Jo Foley says in her article, there are people out there who have joined the 21st Century but prefer limiting their devices to single use, and are happy to cart them all around in a bag. (Utility belt market opening up?)

Didn’t they just publish a report saying that people who are multi-taskers, actually perform poorly at their tasks? Why expect our handheld devices to do it well, yah?

Sep 10

Google to the Rescue?

Jorgen returns with a link to an article by Jessica E. Vascellaro at the Wall Street Journal. In it, we see that Google, long considered the nemesis of publishing, is offering its services to help newspaper publishers get paid for their content.

The newspaper industry has been staring oblivion in the face since the beginning of the Internet, digital content and well, modern times, and they should listen to Google, rather than maintain the attitude that got them into this mess in the first place. That being: “The Internet is a flash in the pan. It won’t last.”

It sounds like a fairly simple fix with Master of the Search Engine Universe, Google, upgrading its current Google Checkout service to handle premium billing and subscription plans. They can simply tweak it to handle newspaper and magazine content.

Even though Google is often portrayed as the digital monster that’s taking over the world, I give it a bit of slack, since it seems if it were left to the newspaper publishers we would still be paying constantly rising prices for newspapers and magazines while retailers are fleeced for advertising space. I don’t even think there’d be radio, if it were left up to the newspaper industry.

The only way to control Google (or at least have some influence) is to work with Google. It obviously didn’t go away when the traditional corporate forces tried to ignore it, yah?

Sep 09

Dual eBook Reader from Asus?

We talked before about a rumored eBook Reader in Asus’ Eee-line of products. Now we’ve got an article from Mark Hachman at PCMag.com that starts to confirm the rumor, and adds an exciting new element to the story.

Hachman writes that The Times of London reported that this thing is going to have a hinged spine connecting two reading panels, at least one of which will be tricked out for color display. See the picture here.

Asus is also talking inexpensive and premium versions of the machine, so this is certainly going to get a lot of speculation going. (Will the dual screen be reserved for the premium, or will the economy version fly black and white only, we’ll see, yah?)

Coolest idea yet, read along: one of the screens might be able to serve as a virtual keyboard effectively turning your eBook Reader into a laptop. Too much! That’s the kind of thinking we need to get this eBook Revolution into high gear.