One thing he doesn't list as a reason for failure, he notes as what is still missing:
Quote:
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Already in 1992 the main argument for ebooks was “extended functionality”, smart digital features that increase the reading experience. So where are all these new e-features?
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This was one of the problems with products like those the blog author was involved in, they were trying to make stuff that was more/better/different than the original book. Had they started simpler and been ready to evolve they may have left themselves open to a larger market. The more modest and philanthropic venture of
Project Gutenberg began back in 1971 and is still going. (That's not to agree that ebooks were invented there, as suggested on the site, but the simple solution offered there bears a close resemblance to what we are now buying: the book, not the whiz-bang.)