Have eBooks Turned A Page?

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://news.com.com/Have+e-books+turned+a+page%3F/2100-1025_3-5326015.html?tag=nefd.lede">http://news.com.com/Have+e-books+turned+a+page%3F/2100-1025_3-5326015.html?tag=nefd.lede</a><br /><br /><i>"Although revenues remain tiny, industry surveys show encouraging signs of growth in e-book sales over the past year. Publishing executives and analysts say the industry is finally coming to grips with the most significant issues that have stalled e-book adoption to date."</i><br /><br />The biggest issue is publishers are figuring out what consumers want. {Gasp!!! 8O } Imagine, doing what consumers want, which is pretty much a friendly DRM model. This statement cracked me up: (No pun intended.)<br /><br /><i>"Violano said security concerns are one of the main reasons some top publishers offer limited or no support for e-books--particularly of top-selling authors. Printed-word stars like "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and legal thriller specialist John Grisham have been notable holdouts in the e-book world. "The major obstacle now is availability of titles," Violano said. "Some publishers just don't trust letting their content be available in digital form."</i><br /><br />You know who's books I see on forums like alt.binaries.ebook? Those from J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Robert Jordan and J.R.R. Tolkien. People painstakingly scan paper books in with OCR technology, compile it, proof it and post it to the universe if there is no other way to get it. I rarely see stolen ebooks from authors like Dan Brown and Michael Chriton that are more likely to have their books in an ebook format. Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code" has all four of his novels in <a href="http://www.ereader.com/search?keywords=dan+brown">ebook format</a>.<br /><br />Of course, Adobe is still living on their own planet claiming that it is still an laptop/desktop world for ebooks. I cannot imagine anything more painful than reading a book on your PC or laptop. Even if you had a svelte Tablet PC, imagine trying to get comfortable lying in bed and somehow propping that thing up? :idontthinkso:

[Steven Cedrone]

I still think a real winning combinitation is Tablet PC's and textbooks! I can understand why textbooks are not released in ebook format ($$$), but I would love to just carry a tablet as opposed to the fifty pounds of textbooks I often have to carry...

Steve

[cscullion]

Have you ever tried books24x7.com? Not exactly textbooks, but "tech" books, and very well done. The downside is you need to have an active net connection to read.

[EricMCarson]

I actually use a Tablet PC in bed (TC1100) with eReader Pro. A very elegant solution and one that is a bit easier on the eyes (plus, it allows me to keep an eye on the baseball ticker in the background).

I continue to keep eReader Pro on my iPaq 415x in order to facilitate on the go reading, but I love the fact that I can put my books on both devices any time I want without activating or deactivating a device.

[aerin44]

I agree, I love reading books on my tablet. If I am somewhere where I have to stand often I will read on my PPC, but otherwise I will use the tablet.

[mgd]

Have you ever tried books24x7.com? Not exactly textbooks, but "tech" books, and very well done. The downside is you need to have an active net connection to read.

Yeah, and the price. It's a great service though ( my job pays for it).

[mgd]

I agree, I love reading books on my tablet. If I am somewhere where I have to stand often I will read on my PPC, but otherwise I will use the tablet.

So do I, but my Acer C302 gets awful warm. Using it on my lap has probably lowered my sperm count. :oops:

[stevehiner]

Seems like a VGA PPC would be better for reading. I find that QVGA devices require too many page turns. I get tired of turning the page every couple paragraphs. Maybe I'd feel differently if iPAQ 2200 series came with a scroll wheel (stupid HP design decision).

[Ken Mattern]

I still have great eBooks at my site and have good traffic even though they are mostly PD. The trick is the DRM method I use.

NO DRM

What a concept :bangin:

Oh, yes, they are still free. When I get the time I'll even begin to publish again, once in a while.

http://esspc-ebooks.com

[dbman]

The biggest problem with ebooks is the lack of a single universal secure format. It is so annoying to find an ebook I would like to buy and then notice it is only available in Palm's or Microsoft's proprietary format. Until publishers adopt a single universal format that is readable on every ebook reader, I vote to boycott the entire market. I hope others will join the boycott.

Once a standard is adopted and publishers agree to publish every book in both paper and ebook formats, I will worry what is the best way to read an ebook. Until then, give me paper.

[arebelspy]

I've got a little laptop stand next to my bed I put my tablet on, it slides right in hunder/above the bed that's great to put my tablet PC on for reading. Pocket PC is good on the go, but for at home you can't beat the tablet.. :D

-arebelspy

[dean_shan]

You know who's books I see on forums like alt.binaries.ebook? Those from J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Robert Jordan and J.R.R. Tolkien. People painstakingly scan paper books in with OCR technology, compile it, proof it and post it to the universe if there is no other way to get it. I rarely see stolen ebooks from authors like Dan Brown and Michael Chriton that are more likely to have their books in an ebook format. Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code" has all four of his novels in ebook format (http://www.ereader.com/search?keywords=dan+brown).

Hey guilty as charged. You hit it right on the head. I have bought Dan Brown and Michael Chriton books in Peaunt/Palm/eReader format. The book that I have downloaded 'illegally' are The Hobbit and LORT. I don't feel it's illegal as I own the paper versions of those books. I see it the same as turning your CDs into MP3s.

[dean_shan]

People who read on their tablets, how hot does the tablet get when you use it for reading?

[EricMCarson]

People who read on their tablets, how hot does the tablet get when you use it for reading?

Nothing too hot to hold, although my older TC1000 used to get pretty warm after about an hour of use. The TC1100 seems to work much cooler when not really being put to intensive tasks. I have never had an issue with it being too hot to read in bed.

[Jonathan1]

I use via voice to dictate my favorite books, that aren't available in e-book form, and fine tune it from there. :D Granted things get a little strange when I’m reading to myself. 8O

[jonathanchoo]

Hey guilty as charged. You hit it right on the head. I have bought Dan Brown and Michael Chriton books in Peaunt/Palm/eReader format. The book that I have downloaded 'illegally' are The Hobbit and LORT. I don't feel it's illegal as I own the paper versions of those books. I see it the same as turning your CDs into MP3s.

Actually it is illegal. Just because you own the hardback version of a book does not make you have the right to walk into a store and pick up another copy of the book in paperback - same goes with it being reproduced electronically without permission.

[Jonathan1]

Hey guilty as charged. You hit it right on the head. I have bought Dan Brown and Michael Chriton books in Peaunt/Palm/eReader format. The book that I have downloaded 'illegally' are The Hobbit and LORT. I don't feel it's illegal as I own the paper versions of those books. I see it the same as turning your CDs into MP3s.

Actually it is illegal. Just because you own the hardback version of a book does not make you have the right to walk into a store and pick up another copy of the book in paperback - same goes with it being reproduced electronically without permission.

You are talking semantics at this point. IMHO It’s a grey area where the only people who care are those who are greedy. If it was up to the music industry I would have to pay for every rip of my CD. If it was up to the TV industry I would have to pay to record a TV show for later playback. A while ago I read some grumblings about how publishers are complaining they aren’t getting anything out of public libraries. There is no limit to greed because that is the nature of a business: Find new revenue streams and damn the moral implications. Fair use? No such thing when it comes to making a buck.
We can argue back and forth but personally I consider this a case of fair use. I don’t think if you’ve already shelled out money on a physical copy of something getting an electronic version should not be a big deal. The day I have to rip off a plastic cover of a book that has a EULA on it is the day I say screw reading. I don’t need another greedy industry trying to screw me over.

[Rob Alexander]

Actually it is illegal. Just because you own the hardback version of a book does not make you have the right to walk into a store and pick up another copy of the book in paperback - same goes with it being reproduced electronically without permission.

Laws in the UK and many other countries tend to be a bit different than in the US on this point. Here, one could make a strong 'fair use' argument for converting your own paper book into electronic form. The people distributing those ebooks are certainly in violation of the copyright -- that's not permitted under any circumstances -- but if you made your own copy for your own use and/or archival purposes, you'd probably have a good case under the fair use doctrine.

The picking up of another copy of a book from a bookstore is completely irrelevant because you have just moved out of the realm of intellectual property into the realm of physical property. If you improperly copy a protected work, you are guilty of a copyright violation. If you take the paper book, you are guilty of theft. They are two distinctly different things (despite the popular, if misguided, tendency of people in forums like this to declare otherwise).

On the original topic, I'd say Ed nailed it perfectly. We have seen again and again that people will buy a product that is well priced and convenient even if they could get a pirated copy instead. DRM protected ebooks are neither well priced not convenient and it's no surprise that they've failed in the market. I will never buy one that uses anything like the MS model.

I have purchased some Palm (formerly Peanut Press) books, and I have no problem with their protection because I am assured I will always be able to read them even if I buy new devices.

I have also bought quite a few excellent scifi selections from Baen Books' Webscriptions site. Now they run it right. I pay $4-6 for a high quality book and I can download it in any of a number of unprotected formats. I read them in MS Reader because it's on my iPaq without an extra install and it works fine. My reader is not activated (and never will be), but it doesn't matter since the books are unprotected. Naturally, like any decent person who's been charged a fair price, I wouldn't even think of passing these books along to anyone outside of my household.

[jlp]

The old debate of material vs immaterial surfaces again.

If you take an object that's on sale or belongs to someone else without paying it is stealing. Whereas making recodings (i.e. immaterial, and on your own, bought media) off the radio, TV, or your own CD or DVD for your personal use is legal; and the latter two are covered by the DMCA; all are called "fair use"; exception is circumventing a crypting scheme.

Note that some consumer associations in Europe are sueing editors, and even retailers!!, for selling protected CDs that don't work in some devices (car CD players, etc.) and relating it to for knowingly selling media that are "defective" on a large number of players; it's like Goodyear selling specific tires that will fail to work on some vehicles (for which they would be supposed to be made) or Shell selling gas that will fail to power some cars.

[jlp]

Also note that the OQO & co are perfect ebook readers as well 8)

[Steven Cedrone]

Also note that the OQO & co are perfect ebook readers as well 8)

I knew that was coming... :wink:

Steve

[dean_shan]

Actually it is illegal. Just because you own the hardback version of a book does not make you have the right to walk into a store and pick up another copy of the book in paperback - same goes with it being reproduced electronically without permission.

You missed what I was saying. It is like turning your CDs into MP3s. It is perfectly legal to take my CD and rip it. I do not have to go to iTunes or Napster to buy those tracks I already own. I made no mention of going back to the store and ripping off another copy. I'm just transfering from physical to digital.

[sub_tex]

Once a standard is adopted and publishers agree to publish every book in both paper and ebook formats, I will worry what is the best way to read an ebook. Until then, give me paper.

The problem with your boycot is that if they don't see the market for it now, most likely there will be no incentive to find a nicer DRM scheme (I still don't see how there can be anything better than PalmReader's DRM. Simple.). There won't be any universal DRM scheme. Period.

It's only because of the sales with the current stuff that publishers are even considering ebooks now.

I say pick the best of what we have now, and that's PalmReader/eReader. Let the market grow.

[welovejesus]

If publishers would offer an eBook in conjuction with the hard copy for a nominal fee, it would be nice. My wife prefers the paperback while I like eBooks formats that allow highlighting, note taking, and bookmarking.
At University of Phoenix the class textbooks are in Adobe Acrobat format. After converting some files which include MS Word docs of the professor's lecture notes into Repligo format, the "eBook" experience was quite pleasant and provides the option of carrying many eBooks on those sizeable SD Cards . :D Personally I have not purchased any book via DRM due to the restrictions (namely the MS Reader format). Now if only eBook readers came with a TTS for the PocketPC! (Nothing like listening to Statistics via TTS :lol: ).

[dMores]

agreed with welovejesus.
they could have some kind of rebate coupon inside the book that would allow you to get the ebook for free. same situation here, my girlfriend loves "real" books, and i love ebooks. and we both read the same books, lately (i got her hooked on crime stories :))

i am also of the opinion that if you buy a real life book, it could be considered a gray juristical area if you download the ebook version from a p2p network or the net. you pretty much just speed up the process of scanning and OCR-ing it yourself, which you are entitled to do.

[disconnected]

I really can't understand authors like Grisham (and their publishers) who think they will lose money by making their books available as ebooks. It's these very authors (the popular ones) who could gain the most. Right now I assume all their books are available as illegal ebooks. If they were available legally, at least they would bring in some amount of money. Now they don't get any money at all from them. Of course some people will still go for the free, illegal versions, but some people would switch to the legal ebooks if they were available, and some people who now don't download them at all, either because they don't want to do anything illegal or just don't want to be bothered with finding them, would buy the legal versions. Peanut Press lists several Dan Brown books on their best seller lists every week, and I'm sure Grisham, for one, would have the same success.

And I agree that a boycott wouldn't send the right message; I think publishers would just assume that there is no market for ebooks. I've actually bought ebooks that I've already read in hardcover, just to help prove to the publishers that a market exists. I also frequently email authors asking them to publish in ebook form; a surprising number that answer claim to have no control, or even knowledge, of whether their books will be available as ebooks, saying that it is a publisher's decision.