05:39 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Imagine all you had to do is control a computer program, and then the computer does all the title content creation for you. Sounds like the fictional example of an artificial intelligence? Well, Philip M. Parker, Professor at INSEAD University, has created this special-purpose software assistant which automatically produces a set of similar books from a template that is filled with data from database and internet searches. And guess what -- at Amazon, Mr. Parker is currently listed as the author of over 85,000 books!

Check out the video below for a demonstration.

[via Gizmodo, thanks to Madam Broshkina for the tip!]

05:35 PM by NatCh in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

We've been looking for it for over a year, but Sony seems to finally be taking its first, timid steps outside the United States' borders with the PRS505.

You can see the product page here, which includes a marketing video which is of more interest for not saying a bloomin' thing we haven't heard than anything else.

The product page is reporting a May 6th expected arrival date. I suppose this means that Canadian addressed credit cards will be usable in the eBook Store formerly known as "Connect" at some point in the near future.

Thanks to MobileReader Barcey for pointing it out to us.

Join the discussion, already in progress on the original thread!

09:51 AM by M.H. in E-Book General | News

From today's Telegraph:

Penguin, the publishing house, will release new "ebooks" at the same time as it produces a print edition in order to feed a growing demand for digital books.

The electronically-available books will come out at the same time as the print editions and will cost the same.

It is good that they are releasing ebooks but I don't see how they can justify them being at the same cost as pbooks.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Once again, our weekly roundup of highlights from the past seven days of MobileRead:

E-Books - News

• NYT: Amazon Accelerates Its Move to Digital
• Flying the Cellular Skies: EU okays use of mobile-phones above 3000 meters
• Win a Weekend with Beedle the Bard!
• NAEB to Ship Cybooks on Monday!

E-Books - Elsewhere on the Net

• Paper books to come with free e-copies?
• Fictionwise - Multiformat e-books now include eReader option

E-Book Devices - Bookeen Cybook Gen3

• Read Borrowed Library Books on the Cybook - How to Fix the Date

05:01 AM by mocelet in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

I was reading Neil Gaiman's blog and he says:

Bob Miller, who was the publisher of Hyperion, is heading over to Harper Collins [NB: one of my publishers, and also the people who pay for this website] where he wants to set up an experimental publishing unit with no or low advances and with profit sharing for an author. It could be interesting -- I was particularly fascinated by the final line of the NYT coverage:
Mr. Miller said he was considering offering both e-book and audio editions of the hardcovers at no extra cost to the consumer.
Because it seems to me that giving away an e-Book with a hardback is an excellent way to grow the e-book world, and something that a publisher could do at little or no cost. And I like the idea of essentially having bought a HEART-SHAPED BOX license rather than a copy of HEART-SHAPED BOX -- of course buying the book would give you the audio and the text, not just the object.

More at The Guardian and NY Times

04:59 AM by eBookNerd in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Email from Fictionwise today:

Big news for eReader fans! MultiFormat eBooks at Fictionwise now include eReader (.pdb) as a format download option! The new files include full color covers and inline images, chapter and section selectors, and comprehensive metadata. eReader is available for all MultiFormat eBooks at Fictionwise--even for your past purchases ... that's over 19,000 files!

10:08 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

According to NAEB's website, Bookeen shipped the order today, and NAEB will get it tomorrow. Since tomorrow is Friday, obviously shipping will be delayed until Monday.

P.S. Some of us paid for shipping through the USPS. Derek, are you sure you can't mail those Cybooks on Saturday?

04:43 PM by NatCh in E-Book General | News

It caused quite a stir around here when Amazon bought it for not one, but two big boxes of galleons. Now Amazon is offering a chance to spend some quality time with its copy of the artificially rare The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Here's the nutshell version: They're offering a trip to London for you and your very closest friend (win it and see just how many of those you never knew you had!) to spend "a weekend" with the book and its personal security retinue. Oh, yeah, and a nice pair of white gloves each.

The contest is open to residents of twenty-four countries (dunno which ones), aged thirteen and up. It's an essay contest, and the specified topics are:

• What songs do wizards use to celebrate birthdays?
• What sports do wizards play besides Quidditch?
• What have you learned from the Harry Potter series that you use in everyday life?

Full details are available here, along with a list of FAQs and the official rules.

If anyone here wins it, we will be expecting a full report.

No word at this time on whether you get to keep the gloves.