Stephen Downs, a Canadian e-learning expert based in in Moncton, New Brunswick, without a massive research library around the bend, adds his own angle on Michael Gorman's anti-ebook rant.
posted by David Rothman at 8:09 AM | permanent link

Time for Larry Lessig to educate the Washington Post in the term pubic domain?

Here is what the Post's Names and Faces column says at the top of an item on Bob Dylan, in the wake of a donation of an early Dylan recording to the Minnesota Historical Society:

"Bob Dylan aficionados can all breathe a sigh of relief: Not only does the ever-desired 'Minnesota Party Tape' exist, it also has finally become public domain."

The catch

And now the little catch: "It has been copied onto CDs and cassettes so Dylan lovers can listen free at the Minnesota Historical Center library in St. Paul. And that'll be the only place you can hear the tracks--copies will not be allowed. Imagine all the Dylan'ers who'll be trekking to St. Paul!"

Thanks, Post. Just exactly what we need--a watering down of the term "public domain." Next thing you know, Dan Glickman will be saying $15-a-pop movies are in the public domains since anyone can buy a ticket.

The bigger picture

With 'tudes like this, it's hardly a surprise why the Post and the rest of the big-time press never really bothered to draw all the lines between Hollywood's hefty donations to presidential candidates and their refusal to take a stand on anti-consumer copyright laws.

Remember, Post reporter Ann Schroeder's item passed through a copy desk.

The staffers there didn't understand "public public domain," and that speaks volumes about the quality and quantity of media coverage of such issues as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extenson Act.

Related: The people who owned the Bible--a story, in It's all one thing, via The Importance of...
posted by David Rothman at 7:23 AM | permanent link

Manybooks.net, offering thousands of public domain books, has added the Librie .lrf format, at least on a beta basis. That's A Good Thing in the here-and-now sense. Other formats at Manybooks.net include PDF, eReader, Doc, Plucker, zTXT, iSilo, iSiloX, Rocketbook and TCR. A little bewildering, all these formats. Of course, the real solution remains a universal consumer format.
posted by David Rothman at 10:54 PM | permanent link

"It would be easy for governments to narrow term extension to those who want it by requiring copyright holders to pay a small fee. Even a very small fee would filter out the vast majority of works from automatic term extension. Most would enter the public domain immediately. Yet even this idea is ignored" - Larry Lessig's column in the January issue of Wired.
posted by David Rothman at 6:12 PM | permanent link

Reminder: The eBookwise-1150 will cost $129.95 starting Feb. 1, a $30 increase from the introductory price of $99.95. "For the time being," Fictionwise will give you $20 credit toward e-books purchased from it.

Other info from Fictionwise's Steve Pendergrast: "We expect to 'catch up' over the coming weeks on ebooks published by Random House during the period after Gemstar exited the business (over 140 titles!) and we'll have the new front-list releases coming online thereafter." Some Asimov offerings among the new titles you'll see for the 1150.

The OpenReader angle: The above news is great. But let's hope the day will come soon when first-class books don't have to be dribbled out in your favorite format--since they'll be available from the start in a universal format. Don't blame Fictionwise. This is what happens in the era of the Tower of eBabel.

(Via the Fictionwise list.)
posted by David Rothman at 4:36 PM | permanent link

Better late than never. Just now I ran across Reading the Future, a 1,737-word piece that the St. Petersburg Times published Nov. 5 on the future of books, with positive mentions of the electronic variety. The article was quite a contrast to the technophobia that showed up in an opinion section of the Los Angeles Times.
posted by David Rothman at 1:56 PM | permanent link

"I think we should all throw our support behind the eBook before heavy bags throw out our backs." - Let's get rid of textbooks forever, by Jason Roberts, guest columnist in Bowling Green State University newspaper. (Via eBookAd.)
posted by David Rothman at 2:17 AM | permanent link

"Korean researchers developed a 'flexible display screen' that can be used as a rolled-up electronic newspaper or electronic book." - Flexing the display screen, in The Dong-A Ilbo. (Via eBookAd.)

Tip: Listen to the story with synthesized speech--some of the best I've ever heard.
posted by David Rothman at 2:13 AM | permanent link

A few early mammals grew big enough to prey on certain unlucky young dinosaurs. So says a science report in the New York Times this morning. News of the dog-sized mammals is apt enough as a metaphor when you think about the Times and the Internet. But why care? Well, even some uppity bloggers often rely on the Times as a starting point for their commentaries. If nothing else, do we really want the likes of Fox News or Armstrong Williams setting the agenda for the media?

But can the Times survive long term? Not if the wrong mindset prevails. In The Future of the New York Times, BusinessWeek says Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. worries that that too many readers have learned to enjoy quality news for free. His paper may soon start charging spoiled readers for existing offerings on the Net. Sulzberger even dreams of some cyber-freeloaders not just paying for the Times online but also subscribing to the paper edition. Let's hope he stops his nostalgic moralizing. While I'll focus on the Times in offering some constructive suggestions below, many of my comments would apply to publishers at other newspapers caught up in the information-yearns-to-cost craze.

Sulzberger himself should worry more about corporate earnings and less about the percentage of paying subscribers vs. freeloaders. The current $480-a-year subscription for a print edition is half the price of a decent PC, and even a reduced rate will alienate many online readers, including wealthy ones.

Instead of gouging, Sulzberger should go after both the freeloaders and paying subscribers while keeping the costs reasonable for the latter. Readers cherish the New York Times, yes. But it is not as essential to their daily routines as the Wall Street Journal is to the business world. In place of expensive nostalgia, here is how Sulzberger should respond to dog-sized mammals:

Idea #1: Become a mammal

Recognize that the Times can change from a dino to a very big mammal if it stops thinking like the former. The paper already has one of the most popular news sites on the net. Sulzberger should rejoice mightily in his digital operations' $17.3 million net on $53.1 million in revenue with the Boston Globe included. Most of the newspaper's readers see the Times online even if 90 percent of revenue--not earnings--is from the paper side.

The Net is far, far more efficient as a way to reach advertisers' targets over a wide geographical area than paper is. Almost half the weekday readers are outside New York City, which, with changing demographics, such as more non-English speakers, holds less appeal to an elite publication. Globally and nationally, the Net side can expand to reach the elite without cranking up expensive circulation operations or buying printing presses or worrying about postage.

Idea #2: Do a classy mini tabloid--maybe even a freebie

Offer not just the regular printed version of the paper but a much smaller, less expensive version--perhaps even an ad-supported freebie--with lively summaries of stories from the Times Web site. This compact tabloid would be aggressively promoted in high-income areas and printed and mailed out from printing plants at local newspapers and other contractors. It might also appear as an insert in local papers, just as the Wall Street Journal offers inserts.

The mini paper version of the Time would allow people to browse the essence of a number of items on paper in a hurry, and then they could zero in on Web content of interest to them--keying in short, easy-to-enter Web addresses of Times sections.

Overseas, the same idea could work in certain cities as Net usage grew.

I know. The proud Sulzbergers at first may bristle at idea of the paper Times being free or discounted even in a compact form; isn't quality supposed to cost? But what if heresy is good for profits? I'm committed to reading relevant stories from the Times, but not for $480 a year, and many would feel the same way.

Idea #3: Create full-strength databases for citizen-consumers

Recognize that the typical Internet user often relies on the Net as a database to satisfy needs of the moment--as opposed to making a vast commitment of time each day to wade through one particular newspaper in hopes that they just might find must-have information. I'm not the first to suggest the database orientation. Will the Times Get It?

Ideally it could build up elaborate databases on topics ranging from household electronics to investment advice and health matters and also include content from first-rate partners. And, no, I'm not talking about databases for readers as consumers--but also as citizens. Local environmentalists should be able to turn to the Times databases, for example, to learn about toxic chemicals and the companies behind them. Similarly corporations should be able to rely on the Times for information useful to their side.

With the database approach, imagine the possibilities here for targeted advertising, including the issue-oriented variety, as opposed to the helter-skelter variety that subscribers of the paper Times encounter. Even the advertising in the online Times is not as precisely aimed as these directories would be. Are we somewhat in Google territory in pondering alternatives? Of course, but what's wrong with that? What's more, Google doesn't serve up its content in the same credible environment that the Times does. It is at the mercy of the sites to which it links. Judicious linking and the use of content from good partners won't matter, but Google is all about links.

The Times' paying subscribers in the top tier of databases customers--just please don't expect them to cough up the same $480 a year that print subscribers do for all that newsprint and ink!--would have access to every single word from the Times including those from existing archives. Readers paying less or nothing would be able to see only stories for the last three months, perhaps, or the last year.

Granted, some at the Times would worry about reduced income from, say, Lexis-Nexis, but so what? The real future is in promoting and offering database-style content to individual subscribers, businesses and institutions directly. The Times is already charging for archive-related content, but not offering consumers an all-you-can-eat option for a reasonable fee. It should start doing so and play to its strengths as a "paper of record."

Idea #4: Closer ties with the blogging community

Plug more closely into the blog circuit. In a dream world for the old media, blogs wouldn't exist. But they do, and the Times Web site would do well to try to include links to relevant blog items and other outside sources at the end of each story on issues of major interest. This already happens to an extent, but let's see more of this.

Yes, the linkees and target items should be selected with care, and the normal disclaimers should appear to show that the Times is simply providing a diversity of opinion, as opposed to endorsing the views of the bloggers. News stories themselves should remain as neutral as the editorial side can make them. This way, readers will get the best of both worlds--the information from the Times and the opinions from the bloggers. Featured links can also go to relevant items from Times columnists.

The Times could also create its own blog-related communities. The Greensboro News & Record is an interesting example of the possibilities, even though the Times could be more selective in the links it featured. Like it or not, even the best of the news reporters cannot be as well informed as bloggers in specialized areas.

In my own little area of e-books I've found the Technology section of the Times to be less clueful than it should be about the vanishing books on the Librie or the Tower of eBabel. It is also insufficiently skeptical of the Open eBook Forum dominated by the likes of Microsoft and Adobe.

Idea #5: Use a reader-friendly, nonproprietary format for downloadable editions of the full Times

Keep selling downloadable complete editions of the paper, but do so in a nonproprietary format that is easier to read on tablets and Pocket PCs than the current approach is. Given the awkwardness of scrolling around, I'm hardly surprised that the Times' NewsStand version is an underperformer. OpenReader would display far better on mobile devices and, being a nonproprietary format, would eliminate recurring costs. If NewsStand wants to adopt OpenReader, so much the better.

I'm not disinterested as a founder of the OpenReader Consortium, but, really, the choice of OpenReader for encapsulated editions is a no-brainer. It builds on nonproprietary standards at the production level developed by Open eBook Forum, which lacks the guts to do a true consumer format. None other than Victor McCrary, who made a name for himself as an energetic and intelligent promoter of e-book standards while at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has endorsed the basic OpenReader concept. So have leading Internet e-book retailers--Fictionwise, eBooks.com and eBookAd. Check out OpenReader's feature set, for which we'll welcome suggestions from the news business.

Idea #6: More video on the Times' Web site

The Times Web site still isn't enough of a multimedia animal. The newspaper should recycle video content from its cable TV programs to the newspaper's Web site to add to the richness of the multimedia there--both daily editions and database content. If the Discovery cable network bails out, then so be it. Nielsen/NetRatings, according to BusinessWeek, says a mere 27,000 people watch Discovery Times. Needless to say, the Times' Web videos could be archived forever and would be increasingly valuable as TVs and computers converged. Charge for most videos until bandwidth costs come down sufficiently to offer large numbers of them for free.

Idea #7: Reply more on partners for news-gathering, while continuing staff expansion in strong areas

Keep expanding the news staff, but recognize that in many specialized fields, it actually would make more sense at times to work with carefully chosen partners observing the Times' journalistic standards. Can the Times on its own truly keep up to date on the latest in nanotechnology? Better that it focus on coverage areas--for example, political news and culture--where it is already strong. Even the Times can't afford to do everything.

Idea #8: Don't give up entirely on the inner city

As a bleeding heart, I'd love to see the Times care about serving the inner-city plebes. Isn't there at least a little money in it? Granted, the Times should not go in for tacky Hollywood news and ape the New York Post, but can't it experiment with small, ad-supported neighorhood oriented weeklies and related Web sites--perhaps some in Spanish? I don't see an immense fortune to be made here, but it would be one way for the Times to stay in touch with the city it claims to be so ardent about championing. Who knows, the weeklies could even be farm teams for prospective minority hires for the Times.

Update, 3:27 a.m., Feb. 21, 2005: The Washington Post, of course, is one of the publications to which the above thoughts might apply at least in part. The little tabloid that the Post puts out is useless to me--a pathetic effort to please young readers.

What, however, if the Post did it right with an ad-supported, Net-oriented tabloid that in a timely way captured the essence of both the Washington Post and the Internet--for example, the local blogging circuit? The abbreviated version could go to people like me who have said no to gratituous solid waste. The Post could deliver the improve lite version to homes in well-wired neighborhoods, not just make it available on newsstands.

Finally a word on archives: Years ago, along with others, I suggested that newspapers might actually be better off not charging fees for old articles--relying instead on ads. If the Times or the Post wants to offer just in-house content rather than detailed consumer news and extras from partners, "free" might indeed be the way to go for everything, not just the most recent isssues.
posted by David Rothman at 7:18 AM | permanent link

Dan "Da Vinci Code" Brown and the other usual suspects show up on the 2004 list of electronic best-sellers from the Open eBook Forum. In the past, at least, some have criticized the OeBF's methodology as being biased in favor of large publishers.

Whatever the case, I don't know whether to rejoice or weep--given the amount of dreck on the best-seller lists for paper books. Check out the Web site for The Da Vinci Code Hoax.

Total e-book sales: Retail revenues for Q3 of 2004 were up 25 percen, but "eBook units" increased just 11 percent compared to the same period 2003. Why the difference--are sellers charging more per unit? At any rate the unit stat is not good news. Total unit sales were 419,962 or less than what the biggest best-sellers would have individually achieved in the p-book area. With the twin demons of proprietary eBabel and cumbersome DRM, the e-book biz for the moment remains a dismal underperformer compared to the old predictions. OpenReader, anyone?
posted by David Rothman at 10:06 AM | permanent link

In past years, when I returned from holidays with in-laws in Carolina, I needed to go to the post office to pick up my mail. Not this year. The carrier stuffed it all in my box. My theory is that I have fewer subscriptions to paper magazines. If there are enough people like me out there, what does that say about the health of the old media?

Memo to the Washington Post: I did resume weekdays when you said they'd be free. The deal is up later this month, and I'll not resume as a paid weekday subscriber. When will the newspaper industry get it? I'm already drowning in information, and at least I can delete or ignore the Net variety rather than having to make constant trips to the trashroom.

The New York Times dilemma: Should the Times start charging online subscribers even for basics? Or is it better not to reduce the number of readers of ads? According to BusinessWeek, charges are a very real possibility (reg. required) and I'll have some thoughts later today or tomorrow.

And speaking of tests: Here's the Bed Test for the eBookwise-1150.
posted by David Rothman at 8:53 AM | permanent link

What is the dev schedule of OpenReader? Depends on when development money comes. Stay tuned. Jon Noring, OR's main founder, has been talking to a company selling handhelds. It's a Good Sign whether or not something happens. You can help by speaking up online about OR. Another person with the right connections may be reading your blog or forum post. We have programmers chomping at the bit. It's a question of finding the right sponsors.

If you want to volunteer: OpenReader is looking for both technical people and clueful folks from publishing who want to share their thoughts on standards.
posted by David Rothman at 7:58 AM | permanent link

Morpheus has a helpful post in MobileRead, summing up the converters available for the Librie--including FlatLrf, which lets you download Web pages. Also see a post by Alexander summing up other resources, such as Sony programs to read newspapers, Word, Excel and PDF, as well as RSS feeds. Now if only Sony can lower the price, still US$489, and bundle in Mobipocket.

Reminder: Mobipocket is hardly the ultimate e-book-reading program, especially for heavy-duty apps such as scientific and technical books. But it beat alternatives such as Adobe and Microsoft Reader, and is something to consider for the here and now.
posted by David Rothman at 7:38 AM | permanent link

"...Tthe danger isn't that the next young Steinbeck will have to take a bus to borrow some Waugh. The danger, plainly, is that he'll find something better to do. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, there's a Steinbeck born every minute. The trick of a literate society lies in cultivating him, carefully but generously, so that he actually grows up to be Steinbeck." - The San Francisco Chronicle's David Karpen, writing about the shutdown of the library system in John Steinbeck's hometown and suggesting some solutions.

The TeleRead take: Karpen among other things mentions inequalities of library funding. TeleRead territory. Under TeleRead, rich and poor library districts could all benefit from economies of scale and the inherent efficiencies of digital media, while arrangements would be made for fair compensation of copyright holders.

Related: Copyright and K-12: Who Pays in the Network Era?, an oldie I wrote for the Department of Education (speaking for myself, not the Department).

(Thanks to LISNews.)
posted by David Rothman at 2:31 AM | permanent link

"...I have been reduced to exploring for hacks to do the job of un-encrypting content that is legally and morally mine so it can remain available to me beyond the lifetime of my Rocket Book. DRM is in danger of spinning out of control and I love analog more and more." - Dana Hartsock, posting to the eBook Community List.

The TeleRead take: List moderator Jon Noring, himself a small publisher, had a nasty brush with almost losing a book trapped in DRM. While the OpenReader Consortium will encourage the development of an improved and standardized DRM for e-books, we'll urge publishers to think long and hard. If DRM can be a nightmare for publishers, what about readers? DRM is among the leading reasons why global e-book sales are probably less than $40-$50 million a year. Scads of people would rather not buy books they can't own for real--not when the vagaries of DRM might someday deprive them of access.

posted by David Rothman at 2:10 AM | permanent link