"Now Greensboro's old economic base, manufacturing, has gone to China, and they're wondering about their future. I suggested that they consider basing their economy on blogging." - Dave Winer.

The TeleRead take: Of course--just what displaced textile workers in Greensboro and elsewhere need. Doc Searls got it just right when he said that economic progress and related benefits will happen "because of blogging, rather than with blogging." The Winer idea is in the best tulip bulb tradition. I can see some service jobs for blue-collar people when tech- and Net-related growth occurs, including perhaps bloggish endeavors whose employees will use the services of cooks and carpenters; but let's not overdo it, especially in the wake of the Great Dotcom Bust. The Winer statement is just plain embarrassing for the blogger movement, of which I'm a booster. It detracts from the stellar contributions that Dave W. has made to the technology and its popularization as an enabler. If others weren't taking the Weiner statement seriously, I'd shrug it off as a joke.

Alpha Bloggers slow to catch on

What I find particularly irritating, in this context, is that Dave W. apparently ignored my invitation to chat about the Democrats' copyright policies and the relationship between copyright and wealth. A more imaginative blogging community could do much good by acting early and deftly. Just how can white hats try to influence Professor-to-Be John Edwards, a probable Democratic primary candidate in '08? Mightn't blogging be part of Edwards' much-touted poverty center in Chapel Hill and along the way help educate the millionaire professor in Real World Copyright Law?

Why no reply, Dave? I guess e-tulips are more fun. I'm staying away from the Triangle Blogger Conference because there isn't sufficient interest in my ideas yet among enough of you Alpha Bloggers, but I'm not going to let my Edwards-related proposal just fade away.

Dealing with the Dems--Hollywood-style

The Democrats these days are a Hollywoodish, personality-driven party. Convert the VIPs like Edwards, and the hearts and minds of the trendies will follow. In another post I'll offer some specifics on how blogging, Wikis and other interactive technologies could be enablers for the Edwards center, as opposed to ends in themselves.

The good news is that a prominent local blogger at the University of North Carolina--none other than Anton Zuiker, the organizer of this morning's blogging conference--understood in a flash the possibilities here. Just what you'd expect from a Peace Corps alum. And Ed Cone, the blogger and Greensboro News Record columnist, also is open minded. What's more, perhaps Doc Searls, who went to college in Greensboro, will come around; and then Dave W. and the likeminded can catch up with the Tar Heels and us hangers-on who attended college there. Of course, if Dave wants to smarten up ahead of time, that's fine with me.

Related: Bloggers gathering outside cyberspace, in the Durham Herald-Sun.

Detail: I'd not have wanted people to boycott today's blogging conference--just the opposite; this is a chance to learn from Dave Winer and other masters of the medium. It simply wasn't worth my time and money to travel down to Chapel Hill right now for the purposes I had in mind.
posted by David Rothman at 3:26 AM | permanent link

Perhaps John Edwards, the multimillionaire professor-to-be headed for Chapel Hill, needs to drop "Poverty" from the name of the "Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity"--or even call the center "The Working People's Advocacy Center."

Even just by association, the poverty image isn't the most flattering to apply to hardworking people buffeted by events that have little to do with personal values and diligence.

Advocacy for "Advocacy"

The use of the word "Advocacy" would also help. Unemployment, its causes and related complications shouldn't just be fodder for comfortable academics to study from their offices in a picturesque college town. They are problems to be cured. You can be an advocate for the poor without necessarily being against business, the source of jobs.

Of course, if the center's researchers do find that one source of the problem is the decline of unionism--well, let the chips fall where they may. Same for the opposite conclusions. May a debate flourish, just so the goals are the same: more work, more opportunity!

Academic standards should be rigorous, the truth mustn't suffer in the name of advocacy, but can't the center actually stand for something?

"People" vs. abstractions

Finally, wouldn't the word "People" serve as a reminder that the center shouldn't just be about abstractions? No Marxism here, just a suggestion that this be a center with a people-centered mission, not a just a make-work program for academics and other "policy advisors." Yes, I know that the center will deal with national issues. But isn't the best way to get down and dirty at the local level and use the resultant insights at the national one?

The Net could play a role in this, and I'll have more to say later.
posted by David Rothman at 3:13 AM | permanent link

"PrintToLRF is a Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) backend which can generate LRF files (as used by the Sony LIBRIe e-book reader) from within any Linux/UNIX application that can print. PrintToLRF is released under the GPL license." - Peter Knowles, the author.

The TeleRead take: Cool--especially with a TeleRead-related screenshot (flattery will get you everywhere)! Peter also wrote the booklistgen program for people using the Librie with a MemoryStick. When will Sony get it? A great community like the Librie list's can add major value to an interesting and highly innovative machine. Global multilingual Wikis, anyone? I doubt that Sony will be a pioneer, but perhaps it'll catch on after competitors eventually give the concept a try.
posted by David Rothman at 10:44 AM | permanent link

Want to load up your iPOD with audio recordings of classic ranging from The Autobiography of Charles Darwin to Willa Cather's Oh Pioneers? Get them for free at 1000+ Free Books, MP3 Books. Caveat: These are read by voice synthesizer. Still, I've heard worse. Despite some irritating graphics, this site from Accelerated Schools is a true service to K-12 and the Net. (Found via Pocket PC eBooks Watch.)

Related: Audio books have a place for exercisers, the disabled and others. But, even at libraries, is text starting to lose out too often to other media? Not just audio but video? See Family Video, libraries now in rental biz, from Ripon College Days, via LISNews.)
posted by David Rothman at 7:02 AM | permanent link

If you like to discover new writers and escape the world of brand names and DRM, check out an e-book publisher, distributor and retailer called Writers Exchange Publishing. Sci-fi, romance and Christian-oriented works are among WEP's genres.

As noted in a post by "Pipi" to the RCA REB1200 list, the company is offering $3 titles in the following formats: PDF, PDB (Palm), RTF, HTML, LIT (Microsoft Reader), PRC (unencrypted Mobipocket), RB (Rocket 1100), IMP (Gemstar 1150), IMP (Gemstar 2150/RCA REB1200). Not all books come in all formats, and some cost more.

Time for librarians to see if there might be some library-fit gems from authors sold by WEP? Some titles by WEP authors are winning fans via Fictionwise.

I'll welcome comments from reader and writers? Do you like what Writers Exchange is up to? Is QC good enough, and are contracts fair?
posted by David Rothman at 6:17 AM | permanent link

My friend Rochelle of Tinfoil + Raccoon has a witty and thoughtful follow-up to her earlier post on the Cybook.

Just one of the pros: "My cat who likes to snuggle in the crook of my arm loves the Cybook because I don't need two hands to turn a page. If I want to lay on my side and read, it's easier to prop the Cybook up than it would be a regular book."

Cons: "Power/battery problem, and the overall design of the machine (the floppy cover, in particular)."

I myself love the cover as a screen protector, but, hey, Rochelle's entitled to her opinions.

Her latest post is must-reading for those who wonder why e-bookdom so far is just a speck in the publishing and library worlds. Remember, Rochelle is a librarian--right there on the front lines. Plus, she sees the potential of the medium as a way to spread the books around in this oft-miserly but increasingly Net-oriented era. So pay attention, including when she knocks today's DRM, just as author Kate Saundby does.

The nude Cybook--an update, 11:13 a.m.: Rochelle needn't put up with "the floppy cover" even though it's good for protecting the screen. Laurent reminds me: "You can remove the cover by placing both front and back cover flips horizontally on a table, the Cybook itself being vertical, and pulling the Cybook towards you while maintaining the cover in place. The three inner clips will get out and the Cybook will be in the nude." Headline tweaked accordingly.
posted by David Rothman at 6:07 AM | permanent link

Below, slightly edited and with hyperlinks added, is a reply that novelist Kate Saundby made to a fellow member of the ebook Community List who questioned whether authors of significance are "published mostly in e-book format."

Whether it's incised on a clay tablet, flourished onto parchment with a quill, printed on paper via an offset press or tapped via a keyboard into cyberspace or whatever, a book is a book is a book.

In fact, were Somerset Maugham and John Steinbeck living today, it's a lead-pipe cinch they'd be using word processors not manual typewriters--and probably selling original short stories to Fictionwise to boot.

As Liz Burton pointed out, it's impossible to get a feel for where e-books are going these days without taking the independent commercial electronic publishers into consideration.

A stupid exercise

Unless one is thoroughly familiar with their output and/or who is who, there is no other way to analyze ebooks and their impact on publishing in general. Because, make no mistake, e-books are here to stay and to prognosticate the future of this lively, burgeoning industry by comparing it the New York print publishers' business model is, frankly, an exercise in pure futility.

If nothing else, the explosive growth of Fictionwise vis a vis Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's et al proves that.

Personally, I'm getting mighty sick and tired of the continually predicted death of e-books, especially independently published e-books. DRM is a monumental pain that has been inflicted on e-book customers like myself by the paranoia and greed of the aforesaid New York print publishers, and its continued use is being aided and abetted by various media "authorities" who appear to be obsessed with literary brand names above all else.

Overpriced--and overprotected

That is, I have yet to purchase Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, not because I'm not interested in reading it--of course I am--but because of:

A. This particular title's double-digit download price.

B. The fact that it's encrypted.

As far as I'm concerned, enough already. The author's already made his profit and then some and it's time to emulate the local video store, folks, and relegate it, as an older title, to the cheap shelf where it belongs.

Enjoyable

On the other hand, I recently picked up Darrell Bain's first novel, Medics Wild at a much more reasonable price. Not only did I enjoy it hugely, Medics Wild also left me with a better understanding of what life was really like for the ordinary troops during the Vietnam war than I could ever have achieved otherwise. Darrell's had great success with his later titles, but I think this is one of his best.

I also recently purchased Dorien Grey's two latest Dick Hardesty titles, The Role Players and The Popsicle Tree, one of which is currently up for a Lambda Award. As a mystery maven from way back, I'm a long time fan of Dorien Grey, as well as Elizabeth Dearl, who is, in my humble opinion, one of the best female detective novel authors around today, period, and a natural heir of Agatha Christie. Her first novel, Twice Dead, is a pure and simple gem and its sequels aren't half bad either.

Were it not for independently published ebooks, I would never have experienced Meredith Whitford's magnificent historical novel about Richard the Third, Treason, J.B Jones's vibrant slice of small town Americana, Cousin Feely, or the lyric prose of Larry Bailey's Birthright, Covenant or Wake of the Whale. In fact, I defy anyone to read the prologue to Larry Bailey's Wake of the Whale and not rank his writing with the best of the best. And while we're on the subject, Elizabeth Burton's rollicking fantasy novel, The Ugly Princess, is a great read too.

Back to an older, better era

What independent e-publishing is doing, in fact, is returning the industry to the golden era of the early part of the 20th century when American publishing reached its zenith. Then, there was room for the likes of Ezra Pound and James Joyce. Such early twentieth century authors were nurtured by their publishers and editors and given the time they needed to find and build their audiences, and it's no accident that most of them remain household names to this day.

In contrast, the major New York print publishers of today, which are mostly owned by entertainment conglomerates, by the way, are currently marketing their "name" authors like so much brand-name cereal and they think strictly in terms of multi-million dollar blockbusters.

While there's nothing wrong with promoting a brand name as long as it's cereal, gasoline or automobile tires, books are another matter entirely and most of the hardcover New York Times bestsellers I've borrowed from the library recently have wound up being deservedly thrown against the wall by the third chapter.

Good reading--and buyable when you're in your PJs

The bottom line is this. If you're as dedicated a reader as I, what are you really looking for?

In my own case, beginning, middle and end, I want to be entertained, uplifted and enlightened. I look for characters who will engage me, make me care what happens to them and how their stories come out. When I come across an author I really enjoy, I want immediate access to their backlist and to be able to shop for new titles from home at three a.m. in my pajamas.

With e-books I can do that. In a brick and mortar bookstore, I cannot.

I also like being able to read in the dark and to carry an entire library with me wherever I go, which I sure can't do with print books. I also like not having to pay for shipping or to worry about where I'm going to store a title once I'm done with it.

E-books give me all of this, which is why I like them so well.

Last but not least, as an author, I deeply appreciate the fact that, were it not for independent e-publishing, I wouldn't have my writing career. While I'm no Dan Brown, this is no small matter to me or my many talented colleagues in this wonderful business.
posted by David Rothman at 5:16 AM | permanent link

From LISNews:

The Meta-WIKI Says Google has made a proposal to host some of the content of the Wikimedia projects. The terms of the offer are currently being discussed by the board. The developer committee have been informed of some of the details via email. A private IRC meeting with Google is planned for March, 2005. Please note that this agreement does not mean there is any requirement for us to include advertising on the site. More details will be put here when the offer is allowed to be made public.
posted by David Rothman at 2:33 AM | permanent link

A downloadable software upgrade is due next month for Cybook owners--with eReader added to the e-book software list, as well as a reader that can display unencrypted PDF.

And Bookeen, the Paris-based company behind the Cybook, is also negotiating with Microsoft over the possible inclusion of Microsoft Reader software.

In Microsoft's place, I'd be crazy not to let Bookeen show off Reader on the 10-inch screen. If the actual Reader isn't possible on the Cybook, then Bookeen will try to come up with its own substitute even if it may not be able to deal with DRMed ebooks.

A power fix for Rochelle

I found out about the timing of the upgrade just now while doing a SkypeOut conversation with Laurent Picard, Mr. Cybook himself, who along the way figured out the most likely reason why Rochelle Hartman of Tinfoil + Raccoon fame had a problem with her Cybook battery runnning down.

Ah! The culprit most likely was the machine's memory card, not her being out of power-suspend mode. If you leave the card in your Cybook, the battery will slowly discharge--meaning that you should either remove the card or else keep the Cybook always plugged in when you're not using it.

Genuine annoyance--but relief's coming

Yes, this is an annoyance even if its exact nature is different from what I expected. But, in character, Laurent plans a fix. I may have misunderstood, but I believe that next month's software upgrade will cover it. This is one heck of a responsive company, a stark contrast to Sony.

Laurent is also working on another issue of concern to Rochelle, the complexity of the software, which future refinements will address.

Why I keep writing so much about the Cybook machine, the eBookwise unit, other Gemstar-related machines, and of course the Librie: What else is out there other than PDAs, overpriced Tablet PCs and the obsolete eBookman? And my preference continues to be the Cybook, especially now that I know that more goodies are on the way for existing owners. As usual, I'm eager to hear both pros and cons from Cybook owners.
posted by David Rothman at 6:07 AM | permanent link

I'll beat up--gently--on the Cybook, my favorite machine of the moment. Laurent Picard and his crew at Bookeen have given the Cybook a 10-inch screen and are striving mightily to cope users cope with the Tower of eBabel. The Cybook in my book is one of the best e-book readers out there, maybe even the best if you're into serious reading.

That's why the experiences of Rochelle (Tinfoil + Raccoon) seem all the more frustrating. She forget to turn her Cybook off, and, at least in the power setting on her particular machine, the reader didn't shut down automatically. The result? A discharged battery and the Great Disappearing Ebook Caper. No, Rochelle has not lost her Bob Dylan autobiography and other goodies forever--she most likely can retrive them from her desktop or her locker at Fictionwise. But for now she is annnoyed, after having earlier found the Cybook to be too difficult for the nontechnical to get going easily.

On every machine: An annoyance

Alas, every machine on the market has its irritants that get in the way of use by nontechies--or even nonJapanese. Consider the arrogance of Sony in refusing to release a translated manual despite all the global PR that the Librie has received since appearing on the market a year ago. In the case the eBookwise-1150, I'm frustrated that it can't pick up fonts from my PC or be used in the landscape mode--two capabilities that the old Gemstar/RCA 1100 devices have.

If e-books are to catch on, then vendors would do well to worry more about the details--and trying their machines out on ordinary users. The good news is that most of these pesky little failings are correctable. Meanwhile I'll e-mail Bookeen and see what the usual default setting for "suspend" is--I don't recall. Could Rochelle's review unit have been an exception? Or could she have disabled "suspend" and have forgotten about it?

Tip to Cybook owners: Try Settings > Control Panel > Power. Then use the suspend feature for the battery mode, and remember to tap okay. To be on the safe side, I normally leave my Cybook charged up.

Related: Cybook passes Raccoon's screen test, but complexity annoys her.
posted by David Rothman at 3:01 AM | permanent link

"Copyright does little for new and niche creators who often sign away their bargaining chips cheaply. In the absence of alternative compensation schemes, digitisation so far appears to have brought few financial benefits from disintermediated distribution." - First Monday essay by Martin Kretschmer.

The TeleRead take: I've suggested that Draconian copyright can jack up prices for consumers and help promote poverty. Maybe, however, John Edwards's UNC-branded poverty center can also study victims besides the usual poverty-stricken people--artists. Alas, that's less of a joke than I'd care for it to be.

And the remedy? Perhaps a clue lies in a Pew study cited in the article: "Not surprisingly, Starving Musicians are more likely to say free downloading has helped and Success Stories are less likely to say it has helped their careers. Still just 13 percent of Success Stories say that free downloading has only hurt their career and 16 percent say it has both helped and hurt."

Washington's favorites: Investors, not artists

Time for a different and fairer way of paying for music--with allowances for the needs of rich and poor musicians alike? But, of course, Washington politicians care more about studios than artists. Guess which group has the most campaign money to toss at pols?

Related: In The Hacker Manifesto, written up by Simson Garfinkel of the MIT Technology Review, Prof. McKenzie Wark takes on the "vectoralist class" that profits by controlling the flow of information and entertainment.
posted by David Rothman at 7:40 PM | permanent link

Here's a pro-e-book article at a site for women, with "aesthetic/kinesthetic" arguments leading the way. It even advocates smaller screens. No, I don't agree with everything in Israel Steinmetz's article in Bella Online; some old novels with long paragraphs work better for me on a larger screen, for example. But there is plenty of useful guidance for novices. (Via eBookAd.)
posted by David Rothman at 8:27 AM | permanent link

Salon has caught Amazon covertly funding 43 Things, the hopes-and-dreams site. Shades of the CIA and the old dotcom crowd? A way to drive folks to Amazon? Techdirt has its own take.
posted by David Rothman at 3:39 AM | permanent link

I'm enjoying my Librie in some ways. Without a thirsty battery-sucker in use, I'm more likely to be reading in the living room where it's brighter than in my office.

Sunlight flatters the reflective screen more than on backlit machines. Eyestrain never was a problem for me with good LCDs, and, with the Librie's E Ink, this issue is nonexistent. And I can see 200 or so words at a time on the screen, many more than on a PDA.

There. You know I'm not a Librie-hater. It's illegal to hate any aspect of e-book technology during Read an eBook Week.

Not the biggest booster, either

But I'm not the biggest Librie booster, either. Forced to choose between the Librie and a Cybook for my at-home reading, I'd prefer the latter (away from home I like my Sony Clie PDA).

If nothing else, the little monochrome screen on the Librie couldn't replace a full-sized book with color illustrations. And that's just the start. I can't believe that some members of the Librie list are actually seeing this half-baked effort of Sony's as a replacement for books. Wait. I think that at least some of them don't own Libries yet. I do. Here's how the Librie could be more of a threat--beyond the abandonment of the Orwellian DRM for something less proprietary and less obnoxious in other ways:

Improvement #1: Decent manuals in English and hopefully other languages

Does Honda satisfy itself with just Japanese focus groups? How come Sony after a year hasn't done manuals in English, French, German and other languages? Why not stay in better in touch with enthusiasts everywhere? Japan is not the world.

Improvement #2: Better navigation

As for as I can determine, the Sony's nav scheme sucks badly. You don't have a nice, Mobipocket-style scroll bar at the bottom of the screen, where you can touch the cursor with your stylus and scoot to your desired place.

Instead, based on my discovery made through button-pushing, not a manual, you hold down the page-ahead or page-back arrow. You see little numbered flags. And then you select the number of the flag you want to move ahead.

The Librie is okay for leisure recreational reading and short work documents. But it apparently is useless when you need to get from place to place in a hurry.

Improvement #3: Enough labeled function buttons for quick access to functions

Use numbers and a cheat sheet, if need be, rather than English-language descriptions on the machine itself. But do have these buttons so Western barbarians can find pet features without having to thread their way through a maze of Japanese-language menus. Enough function butters would mean direct access to more functions. That would be good for both learning speed and long-term usabilty.

Improvement #4: A touch screen and stylus if the technology will allow

That's the question--it is this possible? Why didn't Sony do the obvious to simplify the interface? Did a stylus-maker do terrible things to the Librie's main designer when he was a young lad? As noted, the lack of stylus is a big barrier to decent navigation.

Improvement #5: Better software for memory cards and USB transfers

Even for the Japanese, I suspect, the software isn't the easiest to learn or use. I still don't have the software working for making short clips from Web sites, for example.

Feature #6: A faster refresh rate

You can speed up the refresh rate between pages, as I noted in a previous posting, but not by very much. I like the option of sacrificing more image quality, if I wanted, to accelerate the rate.

Oh, and one other thing, Sony. Please allow a choice of font styles, not just sizes, and allow bolding. I want heavier characters to make up for the less-than-perfect contrast between letters and the background. Maybe this feature exists. But I haven't discovered it.

Memo to other Librie owners: Your own thoughts on how this machine could improve? Email me and I'll share them with my readers.

Manybooks.net update: Matt McClintock remains dead-serious about getting the Librie format working, so you don't have to mess with translating classics into the Librie's LRF format. If need be, I'll lend him my Librie. He's about the only person I'd do this for. Hmmm. Maybe I'll yet make it as a Librie enthusiast.

Related: The battle of the Librie memory stick: Why we need global Wikis to create readable instruction manuals, as well as Wanted: Librie owners with Windows to test the booklistgen program.
posted by David Rothman at 3:29 AM | permanent link

Two clips of interest, via LIS News:

--"The Future Digital Heritage Space. An Expedition Report--"intended as a navigation tool for boards and directors of heritage organisations and research centres, IT project managers, and curators of digital collections, virtual exhibitions and environments."

--Steps Studied to Improve Archives, a clip from the Daily Yomuri in Japan. Quote: "The National Archives of Japan has only 42 full-time workers, compared with 2,500 in the United States, 450 in Britain and 130 in South Korea."
posted by David Rothman at 3:20 AM | permanent link

Will historian Allen Weinstein, the White House's choice as archivist of the United States, pander to image-minded politicians at the expense of the public's right to know? That's the issue raised yesterday in a Washington Post editorial, which, alas, concluded that the nomination must be confirmed. But at least the Post did note the questionable circumstances behind the forthcoming departure of the present archivist, John Carlin, pictured here, who is still in office for the moment, pending such formalities as Weinstein's confirmation by the full Senate.

L Streeters have usually been aggressive when it comes to the availability of information for journalists, academics and other specialists. Too bad they don't always care as much about the public domain and about ordinary citizens' affordable access to images, text and sound. I have yet to see a correction of the Post's misuse of the term "public domain"--a point I raised some days ago; I even alerted Ombudsman Michael Getler via email (I'll call to see if he received the note).

Oh, well. The Post is a copyright holder, and at times that gets in the way. I doubt that Exxon can ever be completely objective about oil spills.

The Post's hypocrisy

Maybe, however, the Post and other members of the media can try a little harder about copyright matters. If elite newspapers want to run editorials quoting from classics, perhaps they can help schools and libraries educate the masses to appreciate the allusions to the fullest. That means a robust public domain on and off the Net and greater care in reporting the nuances of the issues. L Street fell down on the task when it described a Dylan recording as being in the public domain--even though one must fly to Minnesota to hear it.

Why won't the Post owe up to its error, a reflection not so much on the reporter as on the copy desk and the newspaper as an institution? Can't the paper care as much about the public's right to information on the Net as about access to specialized information at the Archives and elsewhere? Yes, one is a copyright issue and another is more of a freedom-of-information issue. But the parallels are still there.

Public's access vs. middlemen's

Of course, specialists' access can later be public access--when the specialists publish their findings. Meanwhile, however, the strong impression comes through that in setting its information-related priorities, the Post is protective of the role of middlemen and less than fully appreciative of the cause of direct public access.
posted by David Rothman at 8:06 AM | permanent link

"...the Print on Demand vision has crossed over to the blog world, which until now has been exclusively electronic.... A new service called Blogbinders is offering to 'turn your weblog into a book!' (hat-tip Andy Lark). It supports a variety of blog types, including Movable Type, LiveJournal, Typepad and Blogger." - PaperBlogs, in Read/Write Web.

The TeleRead take: This could be cool. R/WW's Richard MacManus in fact can envision "socially authored books" that would be "along the same lines as what I discussed with Tim O'Reilly in my interview with him last year. A LiveJournal blog + comments as a book would be an example of mixing books with social networking." Meanwhile the Blogbinders folks are talking of being able in the future to turn your blog posts into XML for your use elsewhere.

But back to the paper-blog connection. Every now and then I wonder, "Is it time to perp The TeleRead Papers and do it on pulped wood?"--picking up selected posts from the more than half a million words that TeleRead has published. Anyone have any death threats or other thoughts on this? Email me.
posted by David Rothman at 3:50 AM | permanent link

Will Microsoft really be more open to standards? And might this actually mean something for OpenReader? I'm skeptical, but you never know. Microsoft's Dick Brass and Steve Stone originally said that e-book buyers shouldn't have to worry about a VHS-vs.-Beta mess. It would be great to see billg let Dick resume where he left off some years ago. I doubt this could happen, though, by way of the Open eBook Forum, where secrecy and a proprietary mindset are the order of the day.
posted by David Rothman at 3:14 PM | permanent link

Check out the OpenBerg project. Possible synergies could exist with OpenReader. OR's Jon Noring notes that the "proposed OpenReader format will support OEBPS 1.2 as one of its allowed encapsulated frameworks. Thus, any OpenReader browser (or User Agent) must render OEBPS 1.2 Publications. OpenBerg's engine is thus a great forward leap in an open source implementation of OpenReader." (Via the eBook Community list, of which Jon is moderator.)
posted by David Rothman at 10:59 AM | permanent link

The faster e-bookers can reduce reliance on PDAs, the better. Sales are down yet again. Part of the reason is the move to cellphone-PDA combos. But many have screens too small for displaying e-books well. That's no small reason why I'm delighted to see ETI and Fictionwise reviving the Gemstar plaform, and why I'm cheering for the success of new technologies such as E Ink.
posted by David Rothman at 4:27 AM | permanent link

Oh, this is getting better.

We already know that John Edwards, the former Democratic VP candidate who repeatedly wimped out on the elitist DMCA and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, is reincarnating himself as a poverty-fighting professor at the University of North Carolina.

Now we find out that an Edwards speech about his new job has even referred to putting "libraries of information on a chip."

Connecting the dots

Perhaps someone at the UNC Law School or in the Tar Heel press can connect the dots in a school-and-library context. Isn't it time to find out if the reborn Edwards will actually try to de-Hollywoodize U.S. copyright law, a goal in which he took little or no interest while on the related Senate Judiciary Committee? Shouldn't schools and libraries be able to spend more money on education and the poverty fight, and less on payments to the copyright heirs born decades after the creators' deaths? If nothing else, how does Professor-to-be Edwards stand on the related Kahle vs. Ashcroft case? Or the Public Domain Enhancement Act proposal? And just how does the multimillionaire feel when Eyes on the Prize, the classic civil rights documentary, must be withdrawn from circulation because of copyright-related gouges?

Bono and morality

With all the legal parasites and studio greedsters demanding their pounds of flesh, Eyes would have been too expensive to for schools to buy. If, as John Edwards says, it is "wrong" to let poverty exist, why is he so silent on Hollywood liberals' hypocrisy and the need to rectify it? Aren't good schools and libraries the ultimate poverty-fighters? I won't join calls for a defiance of copyright law to copy Eyes illegally; I will join the protestors in anger over heir-optimized copyright legislation passed at the expense of the commonweal. Being pro-copyright, as I am and Edwards surely is, does not mean being pro-gouge. Or apathetic. To be mute is to let the greed go on. A well-stocked national digital library system with fair compensation for copyright owners is one thing and would lead to new rewards for underpaid writers, artist, musicians and others creators. Massive copyright giveaways to studios and heirs are another thing, especially when the most gungho zealots such as Jack Valenti are envisioning eternal copyright short of a day. None other than Mark Twain said fifty years past an author's death was enough for terms. Get it, Professor?

The DMCA as a poverty-promoter

Then there's the ugly issue of the DMCA. Does Prof. Edwards really care about the massive collateral damage that the Hollywood-bought DMCA could do to competition in a number of consumer areas? One Carolina firm selling remanufactured laser toner cartridges, for example, had to beat off a lawsuit from Lexmark--based on 56 bytes of computer code that the Tar Heel company was said to have picked up while violating the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision. If the legal tide goes the wrong way, the DMCA as now worded could ultimately cost consumers many billions--even pushing some people over the edge into poverty, through higher living costs. Some recent legal decisions have reduced the threat, but it has hardly gone away. Just what kind of consumer advocacy was it when even a Carolina millworker's son, a self-described "People's Senator," remained silent? Remember, at the time Edwards was mute on the DMCA, he was serving on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee dealing with anti-competitive practices.

Adding to the fun is that Edwards, as reported by the Associated Press, talked up his new UNC poverty center in a speech in New Hampshire "in what appeared to be an early start for the 2008 campaign cycle." How long until it's time for him to hold out the cup to Hollywood again? Just how long until the next lunch with Steve Bing, the Democratic sugardaddy?

The path to redemption

I do believe in redemption, however, even for Bing; and I'd love to see Prof. Edwards more populist about copyright law than was Sen. Edwards. Professor? I don't mind your being rich. But I do mind your being silent about Hollywood-bought transfers of extra billions over the years--from the public to wealthy copyright heirs, entertainment conglomerates and other corporations. I like your overall populism; but is a Faustian bargain with Hollywood really necessary? Perhaps the Democrats just might have come closer to victory with a strong, pro-Net stand on copyright. Be that true or not, the moral questions should transcend the exigencies of election cycles.

UNC is my old school, I'm a former poverty beat reporter, and in ways beyond my involvement in an online library project addressing the famous "savage inequalities," I take these issues very personally. Through the work of the legendary Howard Odum, Chapel Hill is a name well known among poverty warriors in academia. Will John Edwards prove worthy of this tradition? I fervently hope that the answer will be "yes," and if members of the Carolina community and inhabitants of the blogosphere can point him in that direction with a little tough love, then so much the better. It will be much easier right now to get Prof. Edwards to speak up for balanced copyright than it will be when he is in the thick of the Democratic primaries and Hollywood cash beckons again.

Edwards and the blogosphere

Let's hope Edwards will catch on to the positive possibilities here. Significantly, a blogging conference will happen Feb. 12 in Chapel Hill, and it would be a natural setting for at least informal dialogue about Edwards and copyright to happen among activists--potential targets of repressive copyright legislation. With enough Net-oriented activists on his side early on, Edwards could outDean Gov. Blogger. Last time around, I voted for Kerry-Edwards; this time I'd actually like to feel comfortable campaigning for John Edwards.

Reminder: TeleRead as a cause is nonpartisan. I'm eager to cooperate with politicians of every party when it comes to well-stocked national digital libraries.
posted by David Rothman at 4:24 AM | permanent link

February's issue of Cites and Insights from Walt Crawford sums up the debate over the accuracy of the Wikipedia vs. that of traditional encyclopedias.

The TeleRead take: The rap agains the Wikipedia is unfair in many ways. Critics, for example, don't understand that you can link to snapshots of the Wikipedia rather than rely on the ever-changing versions. Beyond that, keep in mind that the Wikipedia has some inherent accuracy-related advantages over the Britannica and the rest. On the whole, for example, it is more up to date, especially on tech-related topics. At the same time, I like the idea of libraries and other professionals fact-checking entries, which they could then publish on library sites.
posted by David Rothman at 3:57 AM | permanent link

Why can't the media get e-books right? Are we forever destined to read Nunberg-style bilge?

The latest myths, honest mistakes rather than nasty distortions like the Stanford Lud's, come from the Propeller Heads column in Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia. The headline is E-books save you space, cash, but cause eye strain. Example of the errors there:

1. "Save money..."

Depends. If you're buying commercial e-books to keep, they actually might be more expensive--given the risks of companies either going out of business or deciding in the future not to "support" old formats. Just ask Gemstar owners.

2. "Cause eyestrain."

And paper books don't? Besides, I myself can read hour after hour on my PDAs, my Cybook loaner and my eBookwise machine without suffering eyestrain. This will vary. Some people may have problems, but for them, what about something like my Librie, which reflects light just like paper? While e-book displays aren't perfect--for example, I wish the Librie screen had more contract--they've come a long way.

3. "...a PDA might hold 15 books."

So memory add-ons don't exist? My Librie can hold several hundred books, as can my Dell PDA--with a 256MB card. And bigger cards are around.

4. Since Project Gutenberg books are in "plain text format," there "are no restrictions on use."

As a practical matter for home use, that's true--but the world "no" is a tad strong, given all the legalese PG throws in. Beyond that, how about the "plain text" books from places such as Fictionwise and eBookAd? They most decidedly do not want you to spread around copyrighted works, whether in ASCII or another format.

One nuance to keep in mind: The Propeller Heads were actually outside contributors rather than Times-Dispatch employees. I suspect that if the regular staffers had written a similar column on e-books, the results would have been yet more off target.

The story the Richmond paper may have missed: Scott Redford's e-bookstore, doing business as Diesel eBooks with more than 35,000 titles online, is right in the Times Dispatch's backyard. Scott has endorsed the OpenReader concept, and I wish him the best of luck with local publicity. I could be overlooking something, but I can't seem to find a word about Diesel in the paper's archive.

A myth of a different kind: The notion that the Net, including presumably e-books, can replace public libraries (found via LISNews).
posted by David Rothman at 1:56 AM | permanent link