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Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Not really... the points you've mentioned have been discussed all over this forum! And largely, those here agree with you. Who knows, however, when some sort of "micropayment" system will come about? In the meantime, simply pricing books at a lower cost appropriate to digital files would suffice.
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I am very glad to hear this. The truth is that the technology is the easy bit, getting the capital to set it up is the hard part. Making things secure and anonymous (micro-cash rather than micro-payment) is essential and not technically hard or expensive (as these things go).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Two things to think about, regarding cost: Firstly, just because it's cheap, doesn't mean more people will buy... It's a big web-based market, but spreading the word to all those people is difficult, and usually costly.
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Very true, however, the marketing problem may be resolving itself slowly.
The problem with the internet is its size and chaos. The thing I would pay attention to is what stems from "Second Life" and soon Sony PS Home. Virtual geography holds the promise of the net self-organising itself. Though it will take some time for this to properly evolve.
A virtual marketplace of booksellers, with virtual shops and stalls is in the interests of buyers and sellers alike. Likewise with common interests of all sorts. That has some long term promise. But until then making anything much known on the net is a hit and miss affair, and thereby expensive without much return.
But it is early days yet in this area. Eink, and cheap readers is making things very interesting (I am a school teacher, and in my area there is great promise).
I am not suggesting that people begin slashing prices, rather the reverse, that the free end starts charging a little, almost a nominal sum, and things meet in the middle.
But we get into the same circle re micro-cash. The real problem here is that financial services are just too damn greedy, they want their transaction fees.
There are other ways, but it would need investors willing to sit until the central account becomes big enough to earn decent interest. As that is likely to take five years or more, not many investors are willing to wait that long for dividends. A pity, a case of greed being fatal to much needed innovation.
Thanks for the reply, and this seems a great forum for my interests.
Greg Schofield
Perth Australia