View Single Post
Old 01-18-2008, 02:34 PM   #127
rmeister0
Addict
rmeister0 has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.rmeister0 has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.rmeister0 has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.
 
Posts: 270
Karma: 298
Join Date: Mar 2005
Apple's market share dipped into the 2% range during the worst of the late 90s, and is estimated at 7-8% today. Either way, their market share has been growing. When you buy a Mac at the Apple store, they ask you if it is your first Mac, and 50% of the time they reported as saying "yes". So to say that 99% of people don't use Macs may be true, but to say that 99% of people who use computers don't use Macs is mathematically untrue. Please don't spread FUD.

Once the SDK is released in February, I doubt it will be too long before an ebook reader is written for the platform. Heck, there's already one out there now if you're willing to hack. What I suspect is really wanted here is that one of the major formats (eReader, MobiPocket, LIT, et al) gets ported, and that is a question for those format's owners, not Apple.

A heck of a lot of software that runs on the Mac platform is not made by Apple; if somebody decides to use the SDK to write a book reader app and sell compatible books on line, there's not much they can or would want to do to stop them.

Jerry Pournelle made the point that if a good reading option were available for a device you already own, the mass market paperback market must just collapse. I think he's overstating, but while most people won't pay $400 for a dedicated book reader, they will pay $5 to download a book onto a device they already own and use for other purposes.
rmeister0 is offline   Reply With Quote