This interesting article over at ZDNet points out a little known issue facing the “one world, one library – for free” idealists. Google and Microsoft’s initiative for the online libraries, are a pretty good deal for the libraries whose materials they scan: it’s free! However, the agreement limits the availability to their own services. OCA’s digital initiative, on the other hand, costs libraries about $30 per book to scan, but without limitations…. Hmm, free, or not to free….
According to AppleInsider.com, Apple is a major supporter of the World Digital Library, reported below. What’s more, it apparently has a name after all….
UNESCO, the Library of Congress, Bibliotheque Nationale, National Library of Brazil, Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the National Library of Russia and Russian State Library have teamed up to an create online global library. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, has been instrumental in the creation of the digital library that appears to be, as yet unnamed.
Gizmodo reports that pictures of the new Sony E-Book reader have been leaked. Apparently the device is much improved, but asks the critical question: will a new and improved dumb device actually make it better?
It has always seemed to me that the promise of e-books is that the books will be more easily distributed and widely available. But so far, e-book vendors’ strategies have gone contrary to this promise: First, e-books are expensive; and, second the devices themselves don’t work with all computers (most don’t work with Macs, for example). Each device also has insisted on using it’s own proprietary software, in an apparent attempt to steer customers to stick with their platform, thus limiting the choices of consumers of e-books.
Now, with Google and Amazon getting into the market, consumers are stuck in a position of having to make arbitrary decisions between several different hardware and software platforms. And given the cost of hardware and software, the decision is essentially a lifelong one.
It’s almost analogous to Border’s or Barnes and Noble refusing to sell all their books in English, but arbitrarily selling them in various languages and codes…. I’m not sure the e-book is going to be ready for prime time, any time soon….
C|Net News.com reports that Google is about to enter the eBook market. The Google Book Search of a few years ago, apparently taught them a thing or two about business possibilities and now they are exploring ways to spruce up their book offerings and sell them to viewers. There’s also a rumor that they are looking to develop a new device on which customers will be able to read the books they buy online. There are two things that I can guarantee: There will be some sort of digital restriction on usage (say you can read the book three times then it locks up, or you have three months to read it before it locks up), and they will probably develop their own proprietary software – because Sony’s or Amazon’s won’t be good enough and, of course, they’re just looking out for the consumer….. Oy vey, here we go again.
Blogged with Flock
Ever wonder about why eBooks aren’t taking off? Well, it’s because Amazon hasn’t been involved in the marketing of this fabulous, tree-saving, shelf-space-saving tool of the future! And everyone knows that the future is all about digital, right?
And if that exciting announcement in itself isn’t enough, get ready for the BIG news: The rumors are that the Amazon eBook will have proprietary software! Nothing that’s been done before is good enough for their new machine, so it’s great news that users who are already “hooked” on eBooks will have to download new software. (This awesome twist is logical from a company who has been hauling in the sales with their incredible “Unbox” video service.) What genius.
But this article’s punch line is the hint that Google is also looking to get into the market.
Incredible. In case you don’t pick up on the sarcasm, I’m appalled that Amazon is so thick as to attempt more proprietary software. Their “Unbox” service is so illogical that it will probably win a Darwin award before too long. Think about it: They sell iPods. iPods have sold about 100 million so far. Huge market. So they decide to get into the video market and create a service that doesn’t run on iPods. Makes sense to me.
Whatever Amazon calls their eBook, it will not succeed for the simple reason that they are working at odds with their customers. Rule number one of good marketing is to not confuse your customers. But Amazon’s smarter than we are, right?
One may ask if this is an example of computers replacing books, or of books dominating technology as the format of choice for literature….
The Columbia (SC) Free Times reports that a company called On Demand Books has developed something called the “Espresso Book Machine,” a device that is capable of printing “15-20 paperbacks in an hour – in any language and with a four-color cover.” The machine is expected to sell for $100,000 each. According to the article, NY Public Library has already installed one in their Science, Industry and Business Library.
Please read Bob Berring’s article in the recent issue of The Green Bag. In it he raises some critical issues that are facing the world of legal information. As governments of all stripes, municipal, state, county, federal, make the “inevitable” switch from print to online publication of their laws, we’re finding that the law is getting lost; the old law, that is. Obviously, the governments are concerned with publishing their current laws and regulations, but they are not doing a good job of preserving old versions, and history is disappearing into the vapor.
The interesting issue in all this is that there is a very simple solution to this disappearing law: print it as the version of record, and allow the web version to serve as prima facia evidence of what the current version of the laws are.
Let’s face it. The web is ephemera. Did anyone really envision it as a substitute for hard, cold reality? The web is the web, and it will never be anchored in a way that is as permanent and reliable of a record of the past as a printed version of the laws. The simple statement that “paper is a drag” (whatever that means) is not enough of a reason to ditch print forever. Particularly when the stakes are too high.
What can I say? It’s difficult to maintain a blog, and I got bored. But I’m back and hope to maintain this discussion regularly from here on out.
It’s true, a company called “Delicious Monster,” http://www.delicious-monster.com/, has developed a very cool, tool. This is a personal library management software application. With the software you can catalog your collection of books, CD’s, DVD’s, etc., to your heart’s content. Been there, done that, right? Not exactly. Everything that I’m aware of for the consumer market requires you to actually catalog your materials. Some may even allow you to search ISBN numbers for information on Amazon, or some other database. Yuk!
The beauty of this product, though, is that you can use your iSight camera to read bar codes! And it works. You simply hold up your CD’s or book’s barcode in front of the iSight camera and, in about 2 seconds, it’s searched Amazon and added the title to your collection – complete with cover art.
You can set up borrowers for your library, search it with Spotlight – you’ve essentially got a personal library automation tool with a barcode scanner – for $30!
Way cool. Go Monster!
