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#211 | |
New York Editor
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Quote:
I suspect NBC's decision will come back to bite them. ______ Dennis |
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#212 |
Groupie
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Location: Moscow, ID
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#213 | |
eNigma
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: The Philippines
Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader
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Quote:
I would like to see pBook publishers put some kind of encoded data in the pBook, so it could be read and put on my reader, whatever the reader may be in the future. I know, I know, it opens them up to piracy. But it would give us the best of both worlds. How about putting an honesty drug in the drinking water? |
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#214 | |
fruminous edugeek
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Northeast US
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Quote:
If you're asking about the magnetic stripe on the gift certificate cards sold by bookstore and other retail chains, I don't know. I'm no expert in this area, but a fairly casual Google search turned up a page that described the storage capabilities of one kind of magnetic stripe card as 2-16k. That wouldn't be enough for most books, though it would cover most short stories, at least in text or other low-overhead formats (low-markup HTML, possibly). I don't think even the most optimistic text compression would get a minimally formatted novel into that size file. Then there's the problem that most people don't have magnetic stripe readers at home in any case. According to this source, QR codes can hold a maximum of 4296 characters (about 4k). With compression, that might be able to contain a short story with very minimal formatting. Maybe you could put a bunch of them on one page, one for each chapter of a book? You could add one for the OPF file that would bind them all together. You could fold the page with the QR codes in half, print the cover on the outside, and sell it as a book. No DRM, of course. ![]() |
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#215 | |
eNigma
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Barcode symbology densities
The highest density found in commercially available barcode symbologies appears to be PDF417:
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RFID is a passive technology that can be embedded in a book cover. There are powered tags and unpowered tags. At this time the applications envisioned for this technology do not support the kind of information density we would need for a book. So far, they have been used in libraries to identify books. Information capacities are expressed in bits, not bytes or megabytes. Densities of 64 bits and 192 bits are typical. Smart card solutions require a physical connection. The smart card contains a microprocessor, typically a PIC, I think. Theoretically this technology could be adapted to a higher memory density sufficient to encode a book-length file. The interface protocol would, in all likelihood, no longer be smart card compatible, but a standard unto itself. Power for the circuit is provided by the reader, so batteries are not an issue. This would be no cheaper than an SD card. 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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#216 | |||
New York Editor
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That would founder in practical problems, like an inability to record it densely enough to make decoding it in a reader a practical experience for the user. If you want to do that, you do what is currently done by things like computer books: you bind in a CD or DVD with the electronic content. Quote:
______ Dennis |
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#217 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Quote:
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. |
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#218 | ||
eNigma
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Quote:
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Last edited by mogui; 09-02-2007 at 03:12 AM. |
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#219 |
fruminous edugeek
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Steve, I think those business card CDs are still your best option for selling ebooks at conventions and the like, at this point. Everybody knows how to use them. Recycling is still somewhat problematic (though they CAN be recycled), but they aren't large, and I don't think you'd be making as many of them as AOL!
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#220 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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#221 | |
curmudgeon
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Location: Redwood City, CA USA
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Quote:
Once you've done that, you can import as Apple Lossless, or MP3, or whatever format you like. The imported version will have no DRM, exactly as though you had ripped it from a regular CD. There are two drawbacks to this approach:
Xenophon |
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#222 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Quote:
3. If you only buy 1-2 songs at a time, it's silly to burn a CD for each purchase. My workaround: 1. Start recording software and set input to line input. Hit record. 2. Play song in iTunes. After a few adjustments to get volume and other settings right, you can essentially re-record it into MP3. |
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#223 |
fruminous edugeek
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I thought iTunes would only let you burn a protected track to CD a limited number of times?
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#224 | ||
curmudgeon
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Apple really doesn't give a rat's **s about the DRM, except that they have to supply "enough of it" to make the big studios happy. Apple makes their money on the hardware, so their incentive is to make life as easy for their customers as possible. Xenophon |
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#225 | |
Enthusiast
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: T-E-X-A-S
Device: Dell Axim X51v
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Quote:
Sometimes I like to listen to music on my PDA (low quality MP3), and other times I like to listen to the same music in a lossless format (FLAC or straight from the CD). I can really do what I want with my music. When I buy a book I'd like similar abilities. |
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