UNUSEABLE free e-book "Invisible Armies" by Jon Evans on HarperCollin

kacir · 05-23-2008, 06:19 AM

If you think that pdf is the really, really bad format for an e-book wait till you see this:
http://www.harpercollins.ca/invisiblearmies/

HarperCollin has published a new fast-paced thriller by
Jon Evans "Invisible Armies" and is making it available online for your
... aehm ... Pleasure.

Yes. There *IS* a catch.

You will not be able to read this book on any portable ebook reader. Forget about your PRS, Kindle, cybook, Illiad and position yourself in front of your big monitor.
You wil not be able to read this book offline.
You will not be able to read this book on systems without the latest flash installed.

The book is displayed using an incredibly *awfull* flash reading application.
In single pages. You have to click on a stupid navigation button to see the next page. The page can not be reformated, the font size can not be adjusted.
... and for those that grumble about the page turning experience on e-ink readers, just try this little gem. You click on the "next page" button and the text "Loading" and a kind of progressbar appers and you just patiently wait until the next page sloooooowly downloades to the reader flash application.

Sigh.

I very much hope that this is NOT how the future digital publishing is going to work.

Lemurion · 05-23-2008, 07:24 AM

This is the second time they've done this-- they tried it with Neil Gaiman's "American Gods." It's easily the worst format I've ever seen.

STML · 05-23-2008, 08:08 AM

Technically, this isn't an ebook, and they don't say it is. This is HarperCollins' 'Browse Inside' flash-based widget, which is their answer to Amazon's Look Inside. You're not supposed to download and read elsewhere, you're supposed to be trapped on their site, and as stupid and ridiculous as this sounds to the rest of us, it is what HC intended it to be.

They use the same system across all their sites, including the US and the UK (although you'll have a hard time tracking down examples on the UK site). Their new UK site is truly awful. If you want a laugh, check out the tags on this page:

http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Conte....aspx?id=38093

Ervserver · 05-23-2008, 10:41 AM

ridiculous format

Lobolover · 05-23-2008, 12:36 PM

How long is the book ?

palex481 · 05-23-2008, 06:26 PM

Iphone version of Browse inside is at mobile.harpercollins.com Granted its not the whole books or this particular one, only the first couple chapters, but it would be readable, you can zoom and landscape.

I thought it was fairly neat.

05-23-2008, 06:19 AM	#1
kacir Wizard Posts: 3,450 Karma: 10484861 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PocketBook 360, before it was Sony Reader, cassiopeia A-20	UNUSEABLE free e-book "Invisible Armies" by Jon Evans on HarperCollin If you think that pdf is the really, really bad format for an e-book wait till you see this: http://www.harpercollins.ca/invisiblearmies/ HarperCollin has published a new fast-paced thriller by Jon Evans "Invisible Armies" and is making it available online for your ... aehm ... Pleasure. Yes. There IS a catch. You will not be able to read this book on any portable ebook reader. Forget about your PRS, Kindle, cybook, Illiad and position yourself in front of your big monitor. You wil not be able to read this book offline. You will not be able to read this book on systems without the latest flash installed. The book is displayed using an incredibly awfull flash reading application. In single pages. You have to click on a stupid navigation button to see the next page. The page can not be reformated, the font size can not be adjusted. ... and for those that grumble about the page turning experience on e-ink readers, just try this little gem. You click on the "next page" button and the text "Loading" and a kind of progressbar appers and you just patiently wait until the next page sloooooowly downloades to the reader flash application. Sigh. I very much hope that this is NOT how the future digital publishing is going to work.

05-23-2008, 08:08 AM	#3
STML Speculator Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2006	Not an ebook Technically, this isn't an ebook, and they don't say it is. This is HarperCollins' 'Browse Inside' flash-based widget, which is their answer to Amazon's Look Inside. You're not supposed to download and read elsewhere, you're supposed to be trapped on their site, and as stupid and ridiculous as this sounds to the rest of us, it is what HC intended it to be. They use the same system across all their sites, including the US and the UK (although you'll have a hard time tracking down examples on the UK site). Their new UK site is truly awful. If you want a laugh, check out the tags on this page: http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Conte....aspx?id=38093

05-23-2008, 06:26 PM	#6
palex481 Connoisseur Posts: 93 Karma: 53 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505	Iphone version of Browse inside is at mobile.harpercollins.com Granted its not the whole books or this particular one, only the first couple chapters, but it would be readable, you can zoom and landscape. I thought it was fairly neat. Last edited by palex481; 05-23-2008 at 06:33 PM.

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05-23-2008, 07:24 AM	#2
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	This is the second time they've done this-- they tried it with Neil Gaiman's "American Gods." It's easily the worst format I've ever seen.

05-23-2008, 10:41 AM	#4
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	ridiculous format

05-23-2008, 12:36 PM	#5
Lobolover Gorosei Posts: 421 Karma: 334 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Microsoft Word	How long is the book ?

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