07-27-2011, 08:26 AM | #91 | |
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I read on my device because I do NOT wish to replicate the book experience. Some people like the feel, the smell, and suchlike of a book. I don't. But that's fine, that's why we have consumer choice. I like being able to read one-handed, to be able to adjust the font size, to be able to prop my device up in its case on the table (or my chest) using its leg feature; I like not having to inhale a musty mildewy smell, to have to put up with poor printing on cheap paper, to have to hold down the page to stop it blowing in the wind... etc., etc.. Others may be different, and that's why a happy medium would be allowing the user to choose between typesetting that more closely resembles the original if that is what they prefer, much like what JoeD (and I'm sure others) above have suggested. Why are we not discussing the possibility to the abandonment of geographical restrictions in eBooks (if Pottermore really is an independent venture)? Wouldn't it be great if at the checkout one could choose to download the book in whatever language/dialect they want? Why are we not discussing the possibility of the abandonment of the so-called 'Agency Model'? Some authors might be tied to their publishers when it comes to electronic distribution, but Rowling might provide a wake-up call for others (especially established authors) to not sign away their digital rights when it comes to contract renewal, and instead seek to negotiate directly with sellers like Amazon (and perhaps then promote their books on their own websites)? Surely discussing aspects of the Pottermore development like those above is more interesting (and more open to the less tech-savvy) than debating the limits of a file format! |
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07-27-2011, 08:30 AM | #92 |
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Absolutely, the ideal would be what is offered in some apps of a choice of 'Publishers Defaults' or using your own settings.
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07-27-2011, 08:32 AM | #93 | |
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07-27-2011, 08:33 AM | #94 |
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07-27-2011, 09:53 AM | #95 |
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I gave Karma to Arrghus, because he expressed exactly what I felt. Surely there has been enough wanking about the minutiae of font and format choices. I understand that geeks gotta geek, but there have been pages and pages of this.
As to agency pricing, Pottermore is not a direct threat to agency pricing, because what Pottermore is doing IS agency pricing. Agency pricing is about the author/publisher setting the price, and Pottermore is the publisher in this case. Pottermore can do some interesting things with pricing. 1. They can offer various kinds of bundles. 2. They can offer pricier "enhanced " editions 3.They can offer tie-ins to DVDs or video games. 4. Less likely,they can vary price as to geographical area. Its hard to say what they will do. I read in an article that other "megauthors" that James Patterson, Nora Roberts, or Steven King may be tempted to do the same kind of thing if Pottermore succeeds. In the future, there may be Pattersonmore, the Robertsworld, or the Kingverse.... |
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07-27-2011, 09:56 AM | #96 |
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07-27-2011, 10:25 AM | #97 | |
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07-27-2011, 10:29 AM | #98 |
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Agency pricing prohibits a reseller from discounting the book. So if, for example, the books are sold in the Amazon bookstore, it would be agency pricing if the price was set by the publisher, and not by Amazon. If, however, the publisher were to sell directly to the end-user in Kindle format, then you're right - it wouldn't be agency pricing because there's no "agent" involved in the process.
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07-27-2011, 10:32 AM | #99 | |
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The very point of e-Ink is the paper-like experience that provides. That would be akin to "replicating the book experience" at the macro level, as it were. Interestingly, most discussions I read against e-Readers were people claiming they did not want to give up the book experience, not realizing two things: (a) how close to paper e-Ink is at replicating a book experience, and (b) how much better a good e-Reader is too, taking us beyond the pbook experience. Okay, so there is something to be said for replicating the book experience. We can't just punt on that completely. At this point in the thread, maybe we've gotten in to the minutia, mired in it even, but that does not negate its importance. In terms of the topic at hand, it's not just about picking a favorite format; it's about picking a universal format. It would behoove us if the powers that be chose the best, but choose they should, so we could be free from the device/store lock-in. -Pie Last edited by EatingPie; 07-27-2011 at 10:44 AM. |
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07-27-2011, 11:01 AM | #100 |
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Not for me. The point of eInk was that it gave me a device which would last long enough to complete a transatlantic flight, which my previous device (a Palm T3) could not do. Now that tablets can do that as well, I have no need for the eInk device.
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07-27-2011, 11:11 AM | #101 |
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I agree that there is a distinction, but the EFFECT is the same. I don't think that Pottermore ( or similar future efforts by other authors) will have any direct effect on the agency pricing model. There may be INDIRECT effects through Pottermore's successful use of innovative pricing schemes. But we don't know as yet what those schemes might be, or that they will be successful. We'll have to see.
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07-27-2011, 11:28 AM | #102 | |
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I don't know if any of it will meet with success. I'm just happy that a huge name is trying something different instead of just signing away digital rights to the traditional houses. |
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07-27-2011, 11:41 AM | #103 | |||
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07-27-2011, 01:55 PM | #104 | ||||||
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None of the major reading systems is suitable for setting Arabic, for instance, because they don't support right-to-left languages. Quote:
The use of a reflowable format introduces challenges that can easily be overcome. The standards need a bit more development, but it's not as big a deal as you seem to think. Quote:
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07-27-2011, 02:02 PM | #105 | |
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amazon, epub, harry potter, jk rowling, standardization |
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