http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/book...1/ebooks-worry
Quote:
Ebooks are changing literary culture in numerous ways, none of them reassuring
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He asks of the Kindle, for instance, "What will its impact be on high street retailers? Does it open the back door for Amazon to become a monopolist retailer (and then publisher)? – Will the price of digitised books be driven down to the extent that margins/prices on hard-copy books are pushed up? – Where does the author stand in all this?" He also raises interesting questions about the potential benefits such travel-friendly devices might yield ("Could this be the rebirth of the serial and the short story, where commuters read the latest release on their way to work and talk about it when they arrive?") and about how the devices might be used to breed brand loyalty for publishers and writers.
Clearly, it's a debate worth having. It seems that ebook readers are on the way, no matter what we think of them, so we're going to have to work out how to use them to the best advantage of everyone involved.
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A bit over-focused on the Kindle and wireless access, but I suppose between the K's popularity and various netbooks, the concern isn't misplaced, just a bit exaggerated. (He also assumes that non-DRM'd books will of course be available for free instantly, and nobody will pay for them. Gah.)
Definitely brings up some issues worth considering.