E-book of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol outsells the hardback on Amazon

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Daithi

You're right. PDFs weren't designed for dedicated eReaders, but then again MP3s weren't designed for iPods either.

A negative assertion does not disprove the original.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Daithi

You're right. PDFs weren't designed for dedicated eReaders, but then again MP3s weren't designed for iPods either.

That comparison is flawed...

PDF was developed before dedicated ereaders was even thought off. So, when they came, the PDF's weren't made up correctly for a small screen. Nothing you do on the reader will change the PDF (because that's the nature of the format, the application that shows it will show it as the original creator designed it).

With MP3 you don't have those problems. You only need a way to play a sound. There is no problem with layout. So, any device, dedicated or not, could be able to do it, be it tiny or huge.

So, in the first case (PDF) there is the function (show lettering) and format (show the lettering in a certain way, as the created designed). In the second case (MP3) there is only the function (play the sound). No format to consider (though the better players will be able to "boost" the sound by way of an equalizer)

[Wario]

I find this information a bit miss-leading from a Amazon, they didn't count for pre-orders of the Hard book, only on the day sales.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Ankh

The longer they wait with eBook release, the more likely is that darknet will react with the scan.

And if that happens, I am not sure what the net effect would be. I think it is fair to say that it is a double-edged sword.

Sure. But I think that early eBook sales are no more likely to make a publisher wealthy than "darknet" (a term I've never to date heard or seen outside these forums) copies are likely to ruin him.

Ultimately, for better or worse, I rather think most any publisher can afford to be apathetic toward both of these things without fearing grave consequences.

- Ahi

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by Daithi

You're right. PDFs weren't designed for dedicated eReaders, but then again MP3s weren't designed for iPods either.

Originally Posted by kennyc

A negative assertion does not disprove the original.

It's not an argument based on a negative assertion. It is an an argument based on analogy.

By the way, the original was,

Originally Posted by Daithi

I would define an ebook format as "a file format that can display a book on an ereader" and by that definition a PDF is most certainly an ebook format. Just my opinion of course.

To which you replied,

Originally Posted by kennyc

PDF is not a format designed to display on/as an ebook.

That is an example of a negative assertion not disproving the original.

Now to Sweetpea's objection.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

That comparison is flawed...

PDF was developed before dedicated ereaders was even thought off. So, when they came, the PDF's weren't made up correctly for a small screen. Nothing you do on the reader will change the PDF (because that's the nature of the format, the application that shows it will show it as the original creator designed it).

With MP3 you don't have those problems. You only need a way to play a sound. There is no problem with layout. So, any device, dedicated or not, could be able to do it, be it tiny or huge.

So, in the first case (PDF) there is the function (show lettering) and format (show the lettering in a certain way, as the created designed). In the second case (MP3) there is only the function (play the sound). No format to consider (though the better players will be able to "boost" the sound by way of an equalizer)

I have to disagree with you Sweetpea. Of course all arguements by analogy are never 100% on point, but in this case I think they're pretty close.

MP3s were made for playing on a computer. MP3s were made before the existence of the iPod. The iPod is a better music playing device than a computer. None of this changes the fact that MP3s are music files.

PDFs were made for reading on a computer. PDFs were made before the existence of the Kindle and Sony. The Kindle/Sony is a better book displaying device than the computer. None of this changes the fact that PDFs are book files.

PDFs weren't designed just for displaying books, but that doesn't change the fact that they do display books. Similarly, MP3s aren't limited to just playing music as they can also play podcasts and any recorded sound.

Electronic readers were designed to display a variety of ebook formats with PDF being one of them. Just because the early generation of readers had small screens that didn't display PDFs well doesn't mean that PDFs aren't an ebook format. In fact the latest generation of ereaders with larger screens are quite capable of displaying PDFs.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by kennyc

A negative assertion does not disprove the original.

I'll share with you a secret.

PDF is the only eBook format that has the capability of representing the incredible range and sometimes considerable (and for many books necessary) complexity that books have. Books--not just books that are novels or essays--including books with footnotes or marginal notes, mathematics texts, other textbooks, illustrated cookbooks, books with liberal intermixing of different scripts and languages, poetry books where form is of equal importance to content, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

- Ahi

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by ahi

"darknet" (a term I've never to date heard or seen outside these forums)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_%28file_sharing%29

The term has been around for about 30 years, but with evolving meaning.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_%28file_sharing%29

The term has been around for about 30 years, but with evolving meaning.

Oh, I'm aware of what it means. I exaggerated when I said I never heard it before... but definitely virtually never. Not for at least a years, if not a full decade.

- Ahi

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by ahi

Oh, I'm aware of what it means. I exaggerated when I said I never heard it before... but definitely virtually never. Not for at least a years, if not a full decade.

Oh, OK!

I think that term gets a lot of play here because that is one of the ways pirated media, like books, gets distributed. But, there are also legitimate versions of darknets, since VPNs can also be considered darknets in as much as they are private secure networks operating over the general Internet.

[Hellmark]

You must avoid areas that have questionable people. I've been in a lot of communities that have piracy issues, and it isn't uncommon at all.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

You must avoid areas that have questionable people. I've been in a lot of communities that have piracy issues, and it isn't uncommon at all.

I don't consider "pirates" questionable people. Unless of course you mean the ones that kidnap and murder people for ransom. Copyright infringement of materials that person would probably never buy and may never even get around to reading/listening to... that rates fairly low on my outrage meter.

- Ahi

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

Oh, OK!

I think that term gets a lot of play here because that is one of the ways pirated media, like books, gets distributed. But, there are also legitimate versions of darknets, since VPNs can also be considered darknets in as much as they are private secure networks operating over the general Internet.

To be fair though... the piratebay is hardly a darknet. And it is may well be responsible for far more (in terms of number of downloads) ebook piracy than darknets are.

- Ahi

[Slite]

Originally Posted by ahi

To be fair though... the piratebay is hardly a darknet. And it is may well be responsible for far more (in terms of number of downloads) ebook piracy than darknets are.

- Ahi

Piratebay as such, no. Whats behind the website (i.e. the torrent sharers) very much so

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by yagiz

Beginning of a new era in publishing?

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol on Kindle is Amazon top seller

Why is it people have to mention Apple's new vaporware tablet which isn't a real product? This ruins a perfectly good article.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ahi

Sure. But I think that early eBook sales are no more likely to make a publisher wealthy than "darknet" (a term I've never to date heard or seen outside these forums) copies are likely to ruin him.

Ultimately, for better or worse, I rather think most any publisher can afford to be apathetic toward both of these things without fearing grave consequences.

- Ahi

Just as the CD industry has learned.