TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for June, 2007

By David Rothman

“By end of the year, half of the potential world market will have a working cell phone, while the majority of the world will still never have made a land line phone call. It is going to be a similar story with paper books vs. eBooks.” – Project Gutenberg founder Michael Hart.

Related: Project Gutenberg—its history and purpose—gets a nice writeup in Red Hat Magainze. Something to show friends?

By David Rothman

Of possible interest to TeleBlog readers:

–“Simple tutorial” to make an epub books—with free tools (site). Cool! This is a great example of why we need a standard e-book format—to lower the barriers of entry. So what do people think of the tutorial? Any suggestions for Aaron, the author?

–New Blog Printing Technology: SharedBook Introduces Blog2Print Widget (press release). Add a button to your side, and visitors can use it to whip up a book with your posts, and, yes, you’ll get paid. The service is just for Blogger right now, but presumably WordPress will come in time. Shudder, is anyone interested in the TeleReader Papers? The twist with Blog2Print, by the way, is that readers themselves can choose which posts they want in the custom-made books—well, at least by date range.

By Robert Nagle

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This information will provide useful information about how to make the TeleRead reading experience more enjoyable. Also free free to make suggestions—on anything ranging from layout to content—in the comment book below.

By David Rothman

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Related: Google news roundup on iPhone.

By David Rothman

What if paper books could contain links that, when followed, let you find out definitions of words or other extras? You’d have a “networked book in print,” as Ben Vershbow of if:book has called the new invention.

Despite the interesting ergonomics of the blueBook developed by Manolis Kelaidis in the U.K., I agree with Ben’s skepticism.

“By the time e-paper is a practical reality,” he asks, “will attachment to print have definitively ebbed?”

Update, 4:26 p.m.: While skeptical, Ben has just added, in a post to a mailing list, that “I couldn’t agree more that Manolis’ work is beautiful, and more generally, that the future of books is not monolithic but rather a multiplicity of directions. I sincerely hope Manolis’ work is a part of it.”

By David Rothman

Web 2.0 is the target of Andrew Keen, a Silicon Valley business man, who, in the tradition of Michael Gorman, argues that the many-to-many interactive approach is undermining venerable institutions like the Encyclopedia Britannica.

So, gang, what do you think? Keen (inevitable book here, inevitable blog here, inevitable blogospheric outcry written up here) isn’t entirely wrong, as I see it—given the amount of dreck online. A TeleRead-style approach, a well-stocked national digital library system, could greatly expand the supply of vetted books and other material while allowing for fair compensation for writers and others. Yes, the amateur alternative has its flaws at times. Wikipedia has suffered QC problems on occasion, and the masses have been known to overwrite sagacious entries from experts.

The promise of 2.0

Unlike Keen, however, I have high hopes for 2.0. Wikipedia is a wonderful starting point for research elsewhere, for example—just like a conventional encyclopedia. Besides, librarians and others could work with Wikipedia to address deficiencies. Furthermore, one wonders how useful the so-called professional information can be at times. With more frequent updating and a greater variety of topics covered, Wikipedia is far more helpful to me than Britannica, which isn’t Web 2-ish enough—lacking sufficient interactivity even among experts. (more…)

By David Rothman

“It appears publishers have no favorites among the current spread of eBook formats. ‘It’s true—publishers do not have a favorite or a preference at this point,’ Steve Potash, CEO of Overdrive and president of the International Digital Publishing Forum, told TechNewsWorld. ‘The field is wide open, and Adobe is well-positioned to seize the market.’” – The Next Chapter for eBooks, in E-Commerce Times.

The TeleRead take: I’d hope that the Potash quote is a bit out of context, or that Steve meant to make clearer the distinction between formats and reading software. He’s president of the IDPF, right? And hasn’t Adobe been talking up its use of the new IDPF format—not just PDF—in books readable in Digital Editions? Instead of Adobe seizing the market in the format sense, shouldn’t the IDPF format be about to do so? Ideally the IDPF format will be more than a Trojan horse for more of the same old e-book toxin, PDF—a horror for PDAs users. Not to raise questions about Steve alone. Shouldn’t the publishers in his organization make it clear that the IDPF OPS/epub format will be their favorite? Enough “platform agnostic” talk. Give me that old-time standards religion.

The DRM mess: Still propping up the Tower of eBabel

Of course, with DRM questions unsettled, we’re still talking about the P Word—”proprietary”—regardless of the existence of the IDPF format. I hope that IDPF can move quickly to address the DRM interoperability issue, given the unfortunate preference of many large publishers for that technology. (more…)

By David Rothman

E-book fans love “free.”

Public domain books and other freebies are probably more popular than the commercial variety of e-books.

Free public libraries could give timely, commercial e-books a big boost, and e-retailers could benefit, too—once people are accustomed to e-reading. But among librarians and users, e-books are a risible bust, causing more than a few library geeks to roll their eyes.

When I visited the Alexandria, VA, public library recently, a reference desk staffer didn’t even know that her library system has e-books available via NetLibrary. So I wasn’t surprised to read the following headline in Library Journal’s Academic Newswire: Ebooks Gain at Libraries, but Lack of Awareness Remains an Issue.

Lack of awareness just one reason for the debacle

But how much is this just an awareness issue? For many library-goers and other consumers, e-books are still like the Rube Goldberg machine shown here—horrendously complex. (more…)

By David Rothman

So exactly when will ETI’s e-book prototype or a similar device reach the market—perhaps under a brand name of a partner company? Garth Conboy, ETI president, mentions no deals or shipping dates.

He says of the gimzo pictured here: “That device is really a prototype reader with our software on it. For productization, the mechanical design would certainly want to be brought in line with the firmware. It’s not yet.”

The TeleBlog take: I guess that means no ETI-related reader this summer. But when it comes, it should be of interest, given ETI’s focus on hardware and software ergonomics.

By David Rothman

1. On a 1-10 scale for standards matters, how important is it for the IDPF specs to include interoperable DRM?

2. Same on the issue of reliable interbook linking?

3. Same in regard to specs for shared annotations and highlighting.

4. How can e-books address digital divide issues? How important is this to you?

5. Same for disability issues. Could the current IDPF standards be improved to address them? And in what ways?

6. How happy are you with the current IDPF, and in what ways, if any, could it be improved? Should there be more emphasis, compared to the present, on e-publications beyond e-books? How could this happen? On another matter, can anything be done to reduce board-member turnover?

7. What are the biggest changes that the e-book industry needs to make? What are the best ways in which the industry can grow the demand for content and hardware? See next question.

8. What do you think of “social DRM”—reader-specific information embedded in books to discourage piracy? Should the IDPF encourage experimentation with SDRM? And what are your feelings about no DRM at all—which some say might increase piracy but increase e-books’ appeal to readers?

The candidates for the open seat are: Richard Bellaver, Ball State University, Jon Noring, DigitalPulp Publishing, Matt Shatz, Random House, and Eli Willner, Green Point Technology Services.

I’ll e-mail the above questions to all four candidates and invite them to respond in full or part in the comment area below.

Related: Earlier item on the election, which ends July 10.

By David Rothman

Let’s start with a DearAuthor.com reader’s comments on selections at local Wal-Marts:

“I’m in a small rural town. The book/magazine section here is one side of a single aisle. From the front of the store it goes like this: magazines, African-American romance/fiction; large section of Christian fiction and Bibles; category romances; best sellers; then on the endcap at the end of the aisle are children’s books and two shelves at the very bottom of the endcap for westerns and men’s fiction.

“That’s it, and that’s all the books sold in town, no indie bookstores or even a chain store here—and we’re the self-proclaimed ‘Literary Capital of Alabama.’ I get all my print books via mail-order from Barnes & Noble or, to a lesser extent, Amazon. Most of my book budget goes for e-books.”

The TeleRead take: So what about people who feel uncomfortable with mail-order or computers and can’t find what they need at the local library? Perhaps Ray Bradbury should get on the case. Who says TV is the only dumb-downer?

And in case you’re curious about “The Literary Capital of Alabama”: It’s Monroeville—hometown of Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood), as well as the birthplace of Mark Childress (Crazy in Alabama). Harper Lee probably hates e-books, but perhaps facts like those above can help her change her mind. Monroeville and similar places just might want to consider the LibraryCity and TeleRead concepts. Rather than replacing local libraries, e-books would be integrated with K-12 and schools in a comprehensive, systematic way. (more…)

By Robert Nagle

We are aware that site performance for TeleRead has been slowing down recently. We are working on that issue, and by next week or so, you should probably see noticeably faster page loads. For now, though, please bear with us. Thanks!

By David Rothman

Back in May, eBook Technologies, Inc. quietly demonstrated a prototype of an E Ink machine with a six-inch display at the IDPF’s Digital Book 2007. It ran “the first device-based implementation of the new IDPF content standards.”

As you can see from a photo, ETI might well be sharing vendors with others in the e-book arena—we know this is true of the screen, if nothing else. But that’s not the point here. The software’s interface might be what ETI is really betting on. In many ways I’m reminded of the interface of the old Gemstar machines, and if that’s ETI’s strategy, it’s fair. We’ll forget about the issues of proprietary DRM and possibly proprietary standards extensions—worries not unique to ETI. The glory of e-book standards is that, once they’re for real, companies can compete on interfaces and in other ways meaningful to consumers. All for the good. I don’t even mind the store button shown in the photo (fourth icon down, the pile of books) if users can choose stores or libraries. Whatever can make the machine easy to use!

Prototype just one possibility

Of course, this prototype might not be the model that ETI releases. The company “is actively working with a broad range of cutting edge electronic paper technologies and can quickly bring fully functional privately branded E-Ink electronic paper devices to market in sizes ranging from six inches to the just announced 10 inch and larger sizes as well as electronic devices using more conventional screen technologies including LCD.” (more…)

By David Rothman

IDPF’s latest board opening has drawn four candidates: Richard Bellaver, Ball State University, Jon Noring, DigitalPulp Publishing, Matt Shatz, Random House, and Eli Willner, Green Point Technology Services. Voting closes July 10.

Other news:

–Go here and here for details on LibrieDigital’s support of the IDPF standard. This is significant, given LD’s work for major publishers. Now, if the IDPF gang can get DRM right, along with shared annotations and other standards-related issues.

–An $85 desktop? Details here.

–Internet radio stations went silent today—against the outrageous new music royalties that may silence many of them.

By David Rothman

“VitalSource Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of digital book solutions, today announced that its state-of-the art e-book format, VitalBook (*.vbk), has been selected as the preferred platform by MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc., the largest used textbook wholesaler, bookstore systems provider and distance learning materials distribution service in the United States.” – News release from VitalSource (spotted via the TeleBlog’s new e-book-oriented Google News feature).

The A question: Will MBS work with VitalSource on technology fit for new business models, such as ads in e-books, which could be especially attractive in the textbook market, where students complain of high costs—even for used books? OSoft definitely is eying that market, and Adobe is planning for ads to go as an option into e-books, including presumably textbooks. We need a variety of models, ideally a choice for customers buying a title.

Image: Screenshot of VitalSource Bookshelf.

By David Rothman

Text is the main show at the TeleBlog, but who can ignore the news on the RealPlayer 11 beta, given the usefulness of video downloading for legit purposes?

Still, I wonder if the accompanying DRM wrinkles will get in the way of fair use. And what about RealPlayer’s tendency to inflict bloatware on your? Still, RP 11 might be of interest because of its future ability to convert files from YouTube and other services into an iPod format.

Any volunteers? I lack time to test the beta. Anyone want to give it a shot and share the results?

By Robert Nagle

Amidst all this hype about iPhone, isn’t it curious that none that of the technology reporters have mentioned using iPhone as a portable reading device?

I realize there’s no external memory, and that it’s so far a closed platform for application developers. But Apple is selling it as a kind of net-enabled tablet for reading. It won’t be long before early adopters tire of using the Edge network to turn a page.

(In honor of those who steadfastly resist the Apple hype machine, this blogpost will not contain a graphic of the actual device).

See also my post last year about web novels vs. ebooks—plus, a Techmeme roundup.