"Friction" is why e-books adoption is slow

[mogui]

Originally Posted by happyreader

Unfortunately, there is the friction of being a Mac user. No Mobipocket, no Microsoft Reader, no Sony Connect.

And then there is the friction of the reading devices. I bought a number of Palm Reader books in the early 2000s. Now I use the Sony Reader instead of the Palm for portable reading. And that entails rebuying the books assuming that they're even available. And I don't want to do that.

Palm eBook files can be read by Book Designer as well as by OpenOffice. Either one can output text or html files. Then you can use html2lrf to convert to Sony Reader files (LRF) or you can just use the text files on the Reader. Good luck.

[happyreader]

Originally Posted by HarryT

So don't use a Mac for that purpose. I have both a Mac and a PC - I use whatever is the appropriate tool for the job that I'm doing. When it comes to eBooks, the PC is the better tool.

Why don't you do the same?

Don't want to turn this into a Mac vs PC thing but I have the Mac because I wish to use the Mac.

If I'd wanted to use a PC then I would have bought a PC instead of the Mac.

I almost did not buy the Sony Reader due to its lack of Mac support.

[happyreader]

Originally Posted by mogui

Palm eBook files can be read by Book Designer as well as by OpenOffice. Either one can output text or html files. Then you can use html2lrf to convert to Sony Reader files (LRF) or you can just use the text files on the Reader. Good luck.

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this.

Book Designer is not available for the Mac though.

And quite frankly I'm most interested in publishers getting their acts together rather than customers having to cobble together workarounds.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by happyreader

Don't want to turn this into a Mac vs PC thing but I have the Mac because I wish to use the Mac.

If I'd wanted to use a PC then I would have bought a PC instead of the Mac.

I almost did not buy the Sony Reader due to its lack of Mac support.

No, I quite understand. From my point of view, however, it's not an "either/or" thing. Lots of software is, as you know of course, PC only, so having both gives you the best of both worlds. One can pick up 2nd hand PCs extremely cheaply.

[happyreader]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, I quite understand. From my point of view, however, it's not an "either/or" thing. Lots of software is, as you know of course, PC only, so having both gives you the best of both worlds. One can pick up 2nd hand PCs extremely cheaply.

I understand that different people are going to have different takes on the issue.

I'm more interested in requesting native support than indicating to vendors that I'm satisfied with buying a PC or running a VM.

I would contend that Sony would have sold more Readers if they offered Mac support. Mac users tend to be wealthier or at least willing to pay more

Sony had a similar experience with their PC enabled minidisc players. It took them forever to introduce Mac support and of course by then the Mac users had gone with the iPod.

Yes in terms of total market share, Mac users are a small number. But I'd suggest that in terms of potential customers that Mac users are disproportionately larger. And the Sony Reader could use every customer it can get

[petermillard]

Hi folks

First post here from a long-time lurker.

FWIW I use a Mac and all my eBooks have been bought from Mobipocket (it's a good site with a decent range of current titles) and they transfer to my Palm without a hitch. True, Mobi's desktop Reader software is PC-only, but that doesn't stop you buying or downloading books from them - there are clear instructions on how to do this on Mobi's website - when you can access it, of course, lol

And if I can add a huge thank you to members and admins of this site - I've spent the last few months reading and digesting the threads on this forum, and very helpful it has been.

Cheers,

Peter

[happyreader]

Evidently, there was or was thought to be a security breach over at Mobipocket.

Hopefully, no one's credit card information was captured.

[HarryT]

They say that they believe that it was an attempted, rather than an actual, breach, and that it wasn't a server with financial information on it, just MobiPocket account info which doesn't include anything financial (basically just MP account names and e-mail addresses).

[jasonkchapman]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

It continually surprises me that no one's created and sold a magnetic stripe card reader for PCs. For small files, it would seem like a no-brainer easy way to transport data... even if only a write-once device. Save it in a box, and when you're done with it, shred it.

I seem to recall that there was one that didn't get very far past its initial release. It was more than then years ago, and it wasn't really a mag card reader. The manufacturer intended it so that software could be printed on long mag strips in magazines. That way evaluation versions of software could be sent out in things like PC World right along with the ad.

A similar idea popped up when the new "3D" bar codes were developed. Those are the ones that use a square array of "bars" and a cash register style gun. Apparently, those can store information in a surprisingly dense manner.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by happyreader

I'm more interested in requesting native support than indicating to vendors that I'm satisfied with buying a PC or running a VM.

I would contend that Sony would have sold more Readers if they offered Mac support. Mac users tend to be wealthier or at least willing to pay more

I agree totally. You can boot XP on the latest Macs, but who would want to? My Macs routinely stay up for over a year at a time between reboots- no PC I work with does.

When I buy another PC, it won't run Windows- only BSD or one of the Linuxes. Especially in light of the latest abortion from Redmond- MS Vista- vendors should be supporting OS X.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by wgrimm

I agree totally. You can boot XP on the latest Macs, but who would want to?

People who want to run Windows software, obviously . As I say, I have both a Mac and PCs. Which one I use depends on the task I'm doing at the time. Both have their strengths and weaknesses - it's not "one size fits all". As a practical matter, if I want to get a job done and the software I want to use runs on Windows (eg, creating eBooks with "Book Designer"), I use a PC. It seems to me to be rather a case of "cutting off your nose to spite your face" not to use a particular system if that system is the one which supports the software you need to use to get the job done.

What do you dislike about Vista, by the way? People moaned about XP having security weaknesses, and Vista addressed that very issue. It's an extremely secure and robust operating system.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

So don't use a Mac for that purpose. I have both a Mac and a PC - I use whatever is the appropriate tool for the job that I'm doing. When it comes to eBooks, the PC is the better tool.

Why don't you do the same?

So, you're telling happyreader to go buy a second computer... just for e-books? He shouldn't have to do that... no one should! It's not as if there are only 8 or 9 of them out there... yes, vendors should support Macs! Strictly from a mindset standpoint, Mac users are considered to be dedicated to KISS designs, and Macs exemplify that. Vendors should want to be able to link their products to such a mindset, especially Sony.

[HarryT]

I'm not telling anyone to do anything. Just saying that having both a Mac and a PC opens up a lot more possibilities for all sorts of different type of software. Obviously happyreader has to do what he deems to be the best thing for him.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by mogui

It is an interesting idea -- neither good nor bad, and worth playing with. This scheme, whether CDs, SD cards, USB flash or even some high-density bar code within the book itself, would permit a transitional phase for brick and mortar retailers to adapt themselves and their customers to the coming changes in content delivery. Even taking a pBook to the counter and asking them to install the eBook version on your reader would be a start. What could it cost to make a read-only micro-SD card of maybe 128MB?

Not much, since 4GB SD cards are currently available for under $100.

The problem is, SD isn't universal. Still a fair bit of Compact Flash and even some Memory Stick about.

In another part of this thread, the need is expressed for an end-to-end solution whereby the customer can visit a website, buy an eBook, and have it automagically appear on his reader. I think Palm devices are probably closest to having that from at least two sources because they have published their API long enough for 3rd party support to develop. Maybe it would be a good thing if Palm made a reader-sized PDA. Mobipocket runs well on Palms, and so do a lot of other reader apps. With the existing Palm user base there would be an instant market. The world needs more end-to-end solutions to broaden the market for eBooks.

I might be interested in such a device. One of the things I'd like is a larger screen on my device. I have a PDA with 320x480 collapsing DIA (and the larger screen was one specification when I was looking for a replacement for my failing Tungsten E). I wouldn't mind a larger screen, like 800x600. The usual objection from PDA usrs to that idea is "You can't carry that in a pocket!" No problem: I don't carry my PDA in a pocket now.
______
Dennis

[Mel]

One good advertising campaign that catches on with the target market. Nintendo made my 65 year old mother suddenly crave a DS with their BrainAge campaign. It is not that she didn't know about handheld games, she had bought the units for others. They just had to let her know that there were games for people her age as well as shoot-em-ups that her grandsons played.