TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for October, 2009

By David Rothman

What if a Kindle rival could display videos and do Facebook and Twitter while also offering a touch screen, text to speech, an SD memory slot and Internet capabilities? Those are among the features of the Creative Zii MediaBook—and get this: the company has just displayed a working model. Breaking the news, complete with the apparently Photoshopped image to the left, was EpiZENter.net, which also reports use of the Zii-System-on-a-Chip technology

Ten publishers are said to be in talks with Creative, whose new baby can display newspapers and magazines, as well as textbooks and, of course, educational multimedia. Significantly Creative is a partner in the Singapore government’s FutureBooks initiative. A bit of a TeleRead going on over there? Tech in Hiding says: “By teaming up with the Singapore government, it allows the company to fund much of the production. It’s similar to how the US defense industry works—the government gives money to Lockheed Martin (or similar) to build new fighter jets. The government will still end up paying for the jet, but the company can also sell to other partners- Canada, UK, Germany, etc.” See a Techmeme roundup for more details on the MediaBook.

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By Paul Biba

In a press release approving the British government’s initiatives on copyright reform, the Library set forth the principles it sees necessary for any reform. This is a good exercise for looking at reforming our own copyright laws. The Library’s principles are:

1. Many contracts undermine the public interest exceptions in copyright law agreed by Parliament to foster education, learning and creativity. Addressing this issue is crucial so that existing and new exceptions are not over-ridden by contract law.

2. Libraries must be able to make preservation of copies of the material they acquire, including web harvesting of the UK domain.

3. 40% of the British Library’s collections are Orphan Works (where the rightsholder can no longer be found or traced). A legislative solution to Orphan Works would help provide access to the UK’s large historical collections over the internet.

4. Researchers and libraries need to be able to make available ‘fair dealing copies’ of anything in their collections, including sound and film recordings that Fair Dealing does not currently relate to.

5. Computer based research techniques, such as scientific research, needs to be allowed by future copyright law, in the same way that in the analogue world research activity is protected through ‘fair dealing’.

You can find the full press release here. Thanks to Resource Shelf for the link.

By Paul Biba

I received the following email from Michael Volz. I’m on a Mac and the add-on won’t install in the Mac version of Firefox so I can’t report how it works. If anyone tries it, let us know. It’s available here

Hello Paul,

I’m contacting you, because I’d like to inform you about a new free Firefox addon called “EPUBReader” with which you can read ePub files directly in Firefox. EPUBReader is developed by me. I thought you could be interested in this information and if you publish an article where this fits in, it would be great if you could mention it.

Here some more background information:

Before I started the development, I checked if something similar exists. Of course I found OpenBerg, but OpenBerg seems not to support Firefox 3.*. So I decided to write a new addon which would support the current Firefox versions.

- Why use EPUBReader instead of a special ePub-reading software?

Of course there is free software out there to read ePub-files on your PC. The difference is that you have to install and start a new software, in case of EPUBReader you can just use a program (Firefox) you probably use anyway.

The main reason why I thought it would be a good idea to create EPUBReader as an Firefox addon is, that an ePub-file is basically an archive of HTML-files. So why not use a program which is specialized in displaying HTML-files and many people have already installed? The great benefit is, that in that way you don’t have to bother with rendering and display of the HTML-files because Firefox does this for you. So the limit of what is possible to display is set by Firefox and not by a special ePub-software. And I think Firefox is always at the cutting edge.

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By David Rothman

That’s the latest scuttlebutt. If the widely reported rumors are true; at least they’d jibe with Steve Jobs’ sttement that people don’t read. Some say the rumors could also show that Apple believes the book biz is broken, which, of course, it is. Or maybe the rumors are just an Apple disinformation campaign.

No matter what, a tablet for video could still be great for book reading. What’s more, books could still be part of Apple’s long-term vision. It could let Amazon and Google and others duke it out first. Then it could swoop in with its own major efforts.

Image: It’s Piper Jaffray’s conception of the tablet.

By Paul Biba

A number of sites are reporting that the previously announced Asus dual screen reader will be released in March, 2010. According to Tech Digest the unit will come in two different sizes – 6″ and 9″ e-ink screens. They also say it will have Wi-Fi, 3G and WiMax, among other things. Mobile Computer is saying that it should come in at a price similar to the Kindle DX

Time will tell.

By Paul Biba

Received the following email:

This is Austin Allen, formerly of The Abbeville Manual of Style. I wanted to write you as a new editor for Big Think, a site that conducts video interviews with top experts in various fields. We interviewed Sherman Alexie this week and he shared his (strong) opinions on print vs. electronic books. I thought this might be something you would be interested in for TeleRead.

And I was interested, so here is the embedded video:

By Paul Biba

I got an email from them about their site and, I must admit, it was the first time I’d heard of it. So I went over there and tried it out.

I’m currently reading Imperium, by Robert Harris, on my Kindle and so I tried it out on that. It found the book available on 14 different sites ranging in price from $8.87 to $16.99. It will search in Epub, eReader, eBookwise, PDF, Kindle, HTML, Mobipocket, Palm, audio, Microsoft and Sony format, and you can exclude any of these formats from the search if you wish.

As you can see in the picture, it has include and exclude options. sorting options and currency options. They say that they search 41 booksites and were established in 1998. They also search new print books, used books, music and dvds. Rather neat! I will be adding it to my bookmarks.

By Paul Biba

Mark runs the blog eBooks Just Published and he posted a request that I’m republishing because it’s for a good cause:

DAISY is an XML-based e-book format created by the DAISY international consortium of libraries for people with print disabilities. DAISY implementations have focused on two main types: audio ebooks (digital talking books) and text ebooks. DAISY text ebooks are similar in many ways to the ePub format. DAISY uses the DTBook XML document type which provides a rich set of tags for marking up various elements of a book, making it easy to navigate and accurately convert to spoken audio using text to speech.

I’ve been working on ebook to audiobook conversion for the next release of Text2Go,which is now in beta. I’ve provided support for ePub and was hoping to include support for DAISY DTBook. The DAISY specification is freely available and there is a sample ebook in DTBook format. I’ve created a simple DTBook reader which will read the sample DTBook available. However I need to test this with a large range of DTBooks from multiple sources before I can be confident that I’ve provided a bullet-proof implementation.

This is where I’ve run into problems. I just can’t seem to find a good source of ebooks in DTBook format. Are there free or even paid sources of such ebooks on the Internet or are they only available through libraries or sites catering to the visually impaired? Perhaps I haven’t hit on the right keywords to use in Google? It’s a real shame as I would like to provide first class support for the DAISY DTBook format as it’s been designed specifically for text to speech applications.  If you’ve discovered any good sources of DAISY ebooks, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

By Paul Biba

Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums is a new book published today by the Library. It is based on an Australian manual and revised to conform to American practice.

It addresses the basics of copyright law and the exclusive rights of the copyright owner, the major exemptions used by cultural heritage institutions, and stresses the importance of “risk assessment” when conducting any digitization project. Case studies on digitizing oral histories and student work are also included.

Available for purchase at https://www.createspace.com/3405063, and for free download here and here. The full press release is here.

By Paul Biba

According to Digitimes, the board of directors of Wistron has officially approved the acquisition of Polymer Vision. Wistron is continuing to focus on the development of Polymer’s rollable display. The article says they intend to take it to mass production, although they may not continue to use the Polymer Vision brand.

Thanks to Jim Lester for the link.

By Paul Biba

A Halloween giveaway. Here’s the press release I just received:

Ebook lovers will be getting a special treat this Halloween. On October 31, Gryphonwood Press, along withAustralian-based Blade Red Press, will be giving away their entire catalog of electronic books for free. The giveaway includes popular speculative fiction titles in a variety of sub-genres, as well as thrillers and an anthology of short fiction. “There is something here for every reader,” says Blade Red’s Alan Baxter.

Books will be available through ebook distributor Smashwords in multiple electronic formats, including Kindle-compatible. Thriller author David Wood sees this as an opportunity for authors from both publishing houses to broaden their readerships. “Ebooks are an integral part of the future of publishing, and I’m excited to be a part of this promotion.” Visit the websites at Gryphonwood Press and Blade Red Press for details.

It’s encouraging to see some publishers trying to use ebooks as an innovative method of building sales. Would that some of the big guys were willing to try it as well.

By Paul Biba

LibreDigital is working on a new delivery system call AllAccess whyich will be available in 2010. The technology enables book publishers, resellers and authors to deliver eBooks for download on popular devices, including, eReaders from Barnes & Noble, Sony and Amazon, and smart phones like the Blackberry and iPhone. The reader will also benefit by not having to worry about different formats and displays required for each device since the technology is designed to ensure a high-quality experience on any size screen.

The technology is being demoed at the Texas Book Festival and here’s a link.

By Paul Biba

Empire of the Word will premiere on November 25 on Canadian television station TVO. It is 4 part series with the final part being about the future of reading and electronic texts. Here is the blurb from the TVO site:

Eight years in the making, Empire of the Word is a compelling look inside the act of reading and traces its impact on more than five thousand years of human history. Introduced and narrated by one of the world’s great readers, Canadian writer Alberto Manguel, the series traces reading’s origins; examines how we learn to read; exposes censors’ attempts to prevent our reading; and finally, proposes what the future might hold for this most human of creative acts.

As I am in the US I won’t be able to see it, but if any of our Canadian readers catch it, please let us know how it was and whether they have anything interesting to say in the Future of Reading section on December 16.

Thanks to Dan Bloom for the link.

By Chris Meadows

A couple of weeks ago I got an evaluation copy of an Astak 5” e-book reader. I’ve been reading books on it over the last week, when I haven’t been busy doing other things, and I’m just about ready to start writing my reviews.

But first of all, here is the unboxing video I recorded the other day, in which I take it out of the box and take a first look at it. Enjoy.

By Paul Biba

That’s what Publishing Perspectives is reporting. Macmillan is the parent of Tor, St. Martin’s, Farrar Strauss, Henry Holt and others. The article states that the “usual” ebook royalty is 25%, and the reduced royalty is applicable to “all exploitation of the content of the book in digital form”.

By Paul Biba

Stephen Windwalker’s Kindle Nation Daily is reporting that Amazon now can sort Kindle books by language. Here is what he has to say:

Here are several sorts of the Kindle catalog by language, with the number of titles available to U.S. Kindle customers in each language as of today. Please note that the number of titles available varies from country to country.

Kindle Books in Spanish (1,644 as of October 29, 2009)

Kindle Books in French (1,094 as of October 29, 2009)

Kindle Books in German (508 as of October 29, 2009)

Kindle Books in English (284,813 as of October 29, 2009)

All Kindle Books (367,935 as of October 29, 2009)

It appears that about 35,000 titles do not show in the language sorts, for whatever reason.

By Paul Biba

Here’s the release I received. You can find the full information here. The panels look very interesting. If time permits I hope to be there and report on it for you.

WHO: The Self-Publishing Book Expo

WHAT: Expo for Self-Published Books & Authors
 
WHEN: Saturday, November 7

9:30 am – 5:00 pm
General Expo admission: $15.00
Includes admission to the Exhibit Hall only
Expo and Panel admission: $30.00 

Includes admission to the Exhibit Hall and all panels, lectures and discussions throughout the day (admission to all panels is on a first come, first serve basis).

WHERE: Sheraton Hotel & Towers, 53rd St. and 7th Ave.
WHY: Open to the public, The Self-Publishing Book Expo will feature over 100 authors who will exhibit and sell their books. There will also be a series of panel discussions on a wide array of topics designed for aspiring and already published authors.

MEET SPECIAL GUEST: Josh Flagg, one of the trio of bad boys starring in Bravo TV’s hit show Million Dollar Listing. Josh will be autographing copies of A SIMPLE GIRL: Stories My Grandmother Told Me.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: WWW.SELFPUBBOOKEXPO.COM