Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > News

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 05-23-2009, 07:25 PM   #1
Moejoe
Banned
Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.
 
Posts: 5,100
Karma: 72193
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: South of the Border
Device: Coffin
TIMES: The future of books and electronic reading

Interesting article from the Times:

Quote:
Random House has just launched the UK’s first “enhanced” electronic book list. The Book and Beyond project brings together 10 of its authors — with more to come soon — making their new books available, unabridged, for digital download to phones, computers, PDAs and e-book readers. This, in itself, is nothing remarkable. The e-book market has been with us for nearly a decade in one form or another. What is significant is that it is the first download list to feature books embedded with “rich media” content. (Video, pictures, music, games and computer apps to you and me.)
http://entertainment.timesonline.co....cle6336372.ece

Personally I don't want any bells and whistles attached to my books, it just seems wrong somehow.
Moejoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 07:34 PM   #2
wallcraft
reader
wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.wallcraft ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
wallcraft's Avatar
 
Posts: 6,975
Karma: 5183568
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mississippi, USA
Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD
From Book and Beyond
Quote:
What are Book and Beyond premium ebooks?
Book and Beyond premium ebooks are a selection of titles from Random House that contain extra material, which can be video, audio, a quiz or just extra text. The extra content is designed to be used with Adobe® Digital Editions on a computer, as they require extra processing power to display! The extra content cannot be used on the Sony Reader or other hand held devices, as they do not have the capability to display the material.
wallcraft is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 07:37 PM   #3
Moejoe
Banned
Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.
 
Posts: 5,100
Karma: 72193
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: South of the Border
Device: Coffin
Quote:
Originally Posted by wallcraft View Post

I just don't see how it can get any more pointless. If I wanted a multimedia experience on my computer (and I think they tried this one before) I'd want a CD-ROM or something like that. They're just confusing the market with attaching the words e-book to these bloated monstrosities. What we're really paying for is bundled 'marketing'.
Moejoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 07:48 PM   #4
zelda_pinwheel
zeldinha zippy zeldissima
zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zelda_pinwheel ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
zelda_pinwheel's Avatar
 
Posts: 27,827
Karma: 921169
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Paris, France
Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?
i think there's good and bad in this article.

i agree that the "books and beyond" proposals seem like a step backwards. however, one day we will have devices with multi-media capabilities, which won't require you to view these types of books on your pc. for a novel, i'm not sure many people will be interested, but think of the possiblities for textbooks and reference books : you could have a biography of a musician with music embedded in the book to play, or science books with films showing various scientific phenomena, or books about filmmakers with clips from their films... i wouldn't mind having a book talking about the golden age of film from the 30's with short clips of all the great films of the time to illustrate the text...

and this part seems particularly encouraging, with some solid numbers as well.
Quote:
Last Christmas was the turning point for e-publishing. More Sony Readers, Kindles, iPods and iPhones were sold than even the optimists anticipated: sales of e-books rocketed on Boxing Day as a result. Up to 1,300 a day in the UK are being sold currently. In America, there were 2.5m such legal downloads last year and more than 500,000 e-book readers sold. And with electronic readers being enthusiastically taken up by Britain’s schools and FE colleges, the e-book experience may, at last, be about to have its moment.

The man who developed Book and Beyond for Random House is a former marketing executive for Sony BMG Records, Jonathan Davis. He wanted to ensure the giant publisher was ready for the digital tsunami. “I lived through it once, and I like to think we’ve learnt from the mistakes made by the record industry. It was freefall. Big mistakes were made early on. The download was demonised, and all they really succeeded in doing was to stifle a new market for a year or two. Publishers need to listen and look at what people are actually doing and respond with the kind of books and reading experience they want for the way they are living.”

Most significant of all for Random House is the launch, today, of its own app. Download it to your iPhone or iPod and any book from the Random House e-book list can be yours. The app allows you to customise the size of the text and the colour of the text, the font, the look, the feel of the electronic page. It’s reading all right, but not as we know it. With 2,500 Random House titles available by the end of the year, many with “rich” content, these steroidal “super-books” are making a serious play for literary attention and our cash.

Publishers are eager to do with books what iTunes has done for music downloads. Hundreds of thousands of titles, all searchable by author, subject or title, are being digitised in an attempt to beat the likes of Google and Yahoo to the online punch. Even big-selling authors are hauling themselves onto the e-bandwagon with their own apps. The Grisham Widget, for example, pops up on your iPhone or laptop, offering thoughtfully selected chunks of the legal thriller writer’s latest book, interviews with the author and the chance to link straight through to Amazon.
whether we think the book and beyond offer is misguided or not, the guy behind it does seem at least to have the right attitude. and random house launching their own reading app is also en encouraging announcement, although since they are apparently partnering with stanza (and therefore amazon...) i do wonder where that will go.
zelda_pinwheel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 07:49 PM   #5
dreams
It's about the umbrella
dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.dreams ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
dreams's Avatar
 
Posts: 25,112
Karma: 56250158
Join Date: Jan 2009
Device: Sony 505| K Fire | KK 3G+Wi-Fi | iPhone 3Gs |Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe View Post
SNIP SNIP ...

Personally I don't want any bells and whistles attached to my books, it just seems wrong somehow.
Me neither. I still remember books with ad pages and how much I enjoyed ripping them out.
dreams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 08:10 PM   #6
Jaime_Astorga
Member Retired
Jaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura aboutJaime_Astorga has a spectacular aura about
 
Posts: 274
Karma: 4446
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Florida
Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition
Most of this sounds like a bad idea, but I don't think I would mind video on textbooks where appropriate (for example, a chemical demonstration in a chemistry textbook) or perhaps some music in a musical theory textbook. We include pictures in textbooks already, after all, right? Of course, this assumes internet connections go up on par so that the extra media won't be a bandwidth problem, or there are at least alternative versions to use in that case.
Jaime_Astorga is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 08:21 PM   #7
Moejoe
Banned
Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.Moejoe did not drink the Kool Aid.
 
Posts: 5,100
Karma: 72193
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: South of the Border
Device: Coffin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga View Post
Most of this sounds like a bad idea, but I don't think I would mind video on textbooks where appropriate (for example, a chemical demonstration in a chemistry textbook) or perhaps some music in a musical theory textbook. We include pictures in textbooks already, after all, right? Of course, this assumes internet connections go up on par so that the extra media won't be a bandwidth problem, or there are at least alternative versions to use in that case.
This is just an extension of what we've already seen with CD-Roms in the early nineties. Rich-reference books. But until the e-reader's themselves are up to par to afford this kind of interactivity, what's the point? The internet took over as that 'rich-reference' fucnction where all these things are already doable. To me it seems like a thinly veiled ploy to lock-down, restrict and extend the idea of 'digital renting' instead of 'digital owning'. A Random House bundled application that you can't format shift, that's tied to a singular device or reading application -- oh, and bonus, you get all that cruft you already pay extra for with DVD's (marketing crap, behind the scenes rubbish nobody even cares about, interviews.)

No thanks. It's very simple for me. Give me a novel with cleanly formatted text that's portable, without DRM and at a reasonable price and I'm your customer.

If I wanted a rich-multimedia experience, books would not be my first port of call.
Moejoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 09:34 PM   #8
Renaldo
Addict
Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Renaldo ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Renaldo's Avatar
 
Posts: 294
Karma: 250590
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
Device: Kindle 3G + WiFi
I think it was Sony that tried to do this with their music CDs in the late 90's, early 2000's. Buy a CD, put it in your CD player, it played like a CD. Put it in your computer and it became a full multimedia experience. Sometimes. When it didn't completely crash.

This has got to be one of the worst ideas ever. I'd rather publishers spend more time and money in getting a decent quality ebook on the market at reasonable price than all this other garbage.
Renaldo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 09:36 PM   #9
taosaur
intelligent posterior
taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
taosaur's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,562
Karma: 21295618
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ohiopolis
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga View Post
Most of this sounds like a bad idea, but I don't think I would mind video on textbooks where appropriate (for example, a chemical demonstration in a chemistry textbook) or perhaps some music in a musical theory textbook. We include pictures in textbooks already, after all, right? Of course, this assumes internet connections go up on par so that the extra media won't be a bandwidth problem, or there are at least alternative versions to use in that case.
Some kind of multimedia wiki format strikes me as generally better suited for the information we're currently putting in textbooks, rather than trying to maintain them in book format at all.
taosaur is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2009, 09:52 PM   #10
AnemicOak
Bookaholic
AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
AnemicOak's Avatar
 
Posts: 14,391
Karma: 54969924
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Minnesota
Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe View Post
If I wanted a rich-multimedia experience, books would not be my first port of call.
For fiction I agree. For a textbook, history book, computer/programming/tech book I can see where some multimedia might, MIGHT, be something worthwhile.
AnemicOak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 01:26 AM   #11
gerraldo
Anti-DRM Advocate
gerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-booksgerraldo has learned how to read e-books
 
gerraldo's Avatar
 
Posts: 351
Karma: 960
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Vienna/Austria
Device: CyBook Gen 3, Palm Tungsten T3
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnemicOak View Post
For fiction I agree. For a textbook, history book, computer/programming/tech book I can see where some multimedia might, MIGHT, be something worthwhile.
ACK and we already have lots of this on CD/DVDs for our PCs...

BTW: I have never and will never use(d) the MP3 function on my eReader!

And personally, I don't want my eReader to become some kind of InternetTablet (but with color, touchscreen and WiFi I see this coming...).
gerraldo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 04:54 AM   #12
K-Thom
The one and only
K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.K-Thom ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 3,302
Karma: 535819
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Berlin, Germany
Device: yup!
With the current technology available, this "rich media" content may only displayed on PCs or notebooks. It's nothing any of the dedicated reading devices could handle.

So what's the point? I didn't ever like to use my PC for reading, additional content won't change that. There's plenty of content for a PC if I want to enjoy a "rich media experience".

Although, given a future reading device, with full color in 16M, high resolution, I wouldn't mind a nice trailer or some animated illustrations in the inside. Adding some video interview, why not?

But right now, nope? Just the delusions of some marketing managers.
K-Thom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 12:29 PM   #13
taosaur
intelligent posterior
taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.taosaur ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
taosaur's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,562
Karma: 21295618
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ohiopolis
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro
Quote:
Originally Posted by K-Thom View Post
So what's the point? I didn't ever like to use my PC for reading, additional content won't change that. There's plenty of content for a PC if I want to enjoy a "rich media experience".
It bears repeating on this forum: more people (48%) view ebooks on a PC or laptop than any other kind of device.
taosaur is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 11:17 AM   #14
zerospinboson
"Assume a can opener..."
zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.zerospinboson ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
zerospinboson's Avatar
 
Posts: 755
Karma: 1942109
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Local Cluster
Device: iLiad v2, DR1000
Quote:
Originally Posted by taosaur View Post
It bears repeating on this forum: more people (48%) view ebooks on a PC or laptop than any other kind of device.
Of course they do. There are a billion+ internet, and more PC users, and there are perhaps a million eInk devices sold.
zerospinboson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 11:39 AM   #15
Elfwreck
Grand Sorcerer
Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Elfwreck ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Elfwreck's Avatar
 
Posts: 5,185
Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
Quote:
Originally Posted by taosaur View Post
It bears repeating on this forum: more people (48%) view ebooks on a PC or laptop than any other kind of device.
But *how many* ebooks?

Half of ebook readers being on laptops is meaningless, as a marketing datum, without knowing how many they're reading, how many they're buying.

If that half is reading 1-4 ebooks/year, and the people with dedicated ebook readers are reading 10-50 ebooks/year. How many of those PC/laptop readers are only reading free ebooks?

I think of myself as "almost only reading free ebooks." I don't think I've bought more than a dozen ebooks in the last year--a small handful from Baen, and another cluster from Fictionwise, some of which are short stories. But in my office of 40+ people, I believe I'm the only one who's bought *any* ebooks--although I know a couple of them have downloaded & read publishers' freebies, and one is taking classes online that involve downloading & reading PDF textbooks (which are heavily DRM'd; he has to put his name & password in to unlock the view; they can't be 'ported to a mobile device.)
Elfwreck is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Could this be the future of reading e-books? TadW Lounge 29 02-23-2015 08:17 PM
Blog: E-books and the Future of Reading GizmoPlanet Writers' Corner 0 10-25-2009 01:52 PM
Sony Concept - the Flex OLED electronic Reader - The future! lev News 3 09-19-2009 01:14 PM
The future of electronic paper ? tech_au News 0 06-20-2009 07:57 PM
NY Times article about e-books and reading business SpiderMatt News 5 02-16-2008 09:55 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:45 PM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.