Quote:
Originally Posted by mogui
Perhaps the simplest solution would be to incorporate a mini or micro SD card under a plastic flap inside the book. It could be sealed, so the buyer would know if it had been tampered with, in the same manner as a CD in the back of a software manual. The SD card solution has the advantage of being readable by most readers. Of course it would contain the book in multiple formats. Could a low-capacity SD card be included at hardback prices?
The cheapest solution would be the tried and true CD in the back of the book. This would influence book size (trade paper back?) and require a PC to load the book onto the reader. Not so good for travelers, but easy for the industry to adopt.
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But these bring us back to the printed book. If I buy a printed book... I don't really need the e-book. If I wanted the e-book... do I just throw away the print book? This seems, to me, like selling you a paperback with the hardback.
Using RFID or SD cards also brings up the spector of landfilling after use, and as I said before, using an SD card for an e-book is like using your car to drive across the street... serious overkill. A card more like the chip-embedded credit card or ID card would be better, as the chip size could be better suited for the storage requirement, about 1MB max. And with the latest non-metallic conductors used, the card will be more recyclable.
Barring that, I'd rather see one of the 2-d or QR codes on a card pointing a user to a website to download. Hiding the link under a sticker is workable, too.