Google plans 'buy anywhere, read anywhere' offer

[Syniurge]

Was the term "cloud" used by Google or the journalist ? According to the article Amanda Edmonds talked about their "Partner program" during O'Reilly TOCCON 2009 but I can't find the source.

People are right though to express concerns about whether it's a "download and own it" service or a service tightly bound to Google servers, because the article says:

"As long as you can get onto the library, you can access it," Edmonds said.

[llreader]

Since we are clearly speculating based on limited information, I'll have a go. It seems clear from the article that these books will be available on ereaders. Hopefully these will be in some format (currently ePub or PDF) that we are familiar with. These are the other ways that I can think of making this work (and what I think of them):

1 - Web only. Since only some readers have network connectivity and browsers, and many of them are not good quality, this seems like a non-starter.
2 - Google cooks up their own eBook format and creates a massive hack so that they run on current readers. Very dodgy, doesn't seem likely to me.
3 - Google cooks up their own eBook format and reader (maybe with a partner) like Amazon. Could happen. Doesn't seem like Google's style, but they do have the Android operating system, so who knows?
4 - Google does "caching" in ePub format, but with "bits of books" and not the whole thing. It seems like they would need to use an existing format for ereaders, say ePub for example. The format is really a container, a wrapper around whatever you put in there, be it a sentence, a book, a chapter, or an encyclopedia. It shouldn't be too hard to generate ePub books on the fly. Google could use the format to let you download parts of a book to read when you are offline, managed by some sort of software (maybe even Google Gears). This seems like a lot of work for no clear advantage, but maybe publishers will be happier if you can't get the whole thing in one place. This would be pretty crappy, but it seems possible.
5 - A good ol' eBook, in one of several formats.

Hopefully they will go straight to 5, but if they don't, I doubt the project will be anything more than a niche one. If they can provide access to texts that are not available elsewhere, it will have some draw. But people like their books (as this thread shows clearly).

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Syniurge

Was the term "cloud" coined by Google or the journalist ? According to the article Amanda Edmonds talked about their "Partner program" during O'Reilly TOCCON 2009 but I can't find the source.

Actually, I think Dell used it quite a while ago. But, cloud computing these days has a particular meaning to IT and developers.

Web Application is not equal to cloud computing.

BOb

[Syniurge]

Pardon my English , by "coined" I meant "used", not "created". Editing..

[wallcraft]

See Google to launch Google Editions platform from the AP:

The books bought from Google, and its partners, would be accessible on any gadget that has a Web browser, including smartphones, netbooks and personal computers and laptops. A book would be accessible offline after the first time it was accessed.

Note that "web browser" probably implies a requirement for on-device internet access. This rules out very nearly every existing EInk Reader, although perhaps not the next generation of devices (the DR800SG for example).

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

See Google to launch Google Editions platform from the AP: Note that "web browser" probably implies a requirement for on-device internet access. This rules out very nearly every existing EInk Reader, although perhaps not the next generation of devices (the DR800SG for example).

Wonder if I can access my Google Editions with my Kindle web browser.

Yea, probably not.

BOb

[yagiz]

Here's an update:

Google Targets E-Readers With Web-Based ‘Editions’

Suddenly I'm a lot less excited:

Google plans to launch an online store to deliver electronic books to any device with a Web browser, threatening to upset a burgeoning market for dedicated e-readers dominated by Amazon’s Kindle.

Any device with a Web browser? Hmmm....

[llreader]

Meh. There is some utility to a web-only service for me, especially if they have books that are not available in other formats, but I just bought an ereader to avoid being on the web all the time. There could still be some type of downloadable format, but it is starting to look like the "cache" is just Google Gears.

[yagiz]

but it is starting to look like the "cache" is just Google Gears.

That's exactly what I thought!

[llreader]

A slightly different take here:

Google says that it's meant to make books accessible from anywhere and that they can be read offline after being downloaded.

ArsTechnica

Google seems to be saying contradictory things here. I guess the fact that ereaders without browsers can be "connected to the internet" by plugging them into a computer could be considered part of the set of "any computer or gadget that has a browser will be able to get to the site". But it is a stretch. They need to clarify this.

[sassanik]

Okay I admit I am confused, what format is Google going to use? rtf? html?



Amy

[DawnFalcon]

"Their own", as far as we know.

[pking36330]

I don't think they are using their own data format, but I don think it will be using 'Google Gears' so that means "any device with a Web browser" might be any device capable of running the Google Gears API on that web browser.

That would permit caching of an entire ebook in html format.

They could conveniently forget to issue a Kindle compatible Google Gears API (or other devices who don't become Google Editions Value Added Resellers).

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by LucasCorso

Hi yagiz. It's only my opinion that cloud computing can't be good for people, that's all. What's happening if somebody "in charge of the cloud" decides that books shall be changed, addapted, to reflect a new situation? Just an example of why I'm against it. I'm not sure if my personal ways of using emails, instant messaging etc., have something to do with this idea.
But anyway, this isn't a forum to discuss stuff like this, and sorry if my post looked too negative.

I'm not real sure about Google's proposal, but in concept 'cloud computing' would mean nobody has sole control over the 'cloud'.

Of course there are two ways around that, one common to conspiracy theorists that some 'council' or oligarchy has control. Except for the conspiracy part, that's pretty much true-almost all of the 'cloud' is on major corporate, educational, or governmental systems-so if they ever do decide to conspire then cloud computing users are dead meat-but if that were to happen then I suspect most of us would be dead meat anyway. What keeps us free is that they don't conspire (or, most of the time, even cooperate very well).

And the other way around it is what I suspect is the case with Google, but will need to wait until it's implemented to see. That's where PR says 'cloud computing' but actuality is 'computing on hardware we own & control'. (I suppose you could argue that with enough servers Google could own their own cloud-and maybe they do. God knows they've got the money to do that. And if they do then I'll agree with you-don't want access to my library dependent on Google's goodwill.)

[phenomshel]

Well, if this has it right, it could be a game-changer:

http://features.csmonitor.com/innova...store-by-2010/

First things first: Google Editions is not Google Book Search. The two are very separate.

Editions, for one, is a for-profit enterprise. The project will launch with approximately 500,000 titles from a range of publishers, a Google spokesman said. Each title would then be sold in a platform-neutral e-format – you could download the books to your desktop, or to a reading device such as the Amazon Kindle.

Hmmm...