Articles about ebook

New research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that the percentage of American adults who read an e-book in the past year has risen to 28 percent, up from 23 percent in 2012.

Yet the tree book isn't dead yet, at least in the popularity sense, as the results show most e-book readers read print books as well and only four percent are e-only readers.

Continue reading →

With an early start into the digital technologies, Kodak was able to create industry leading technologies and digital cameras ahead of its competition. It took another ten years before the digital cameras became the largest segment of the camera market. Total sales of digital cameras surpassed those of analog cameras for the first time in 2002. In hindsight, Kodak had had over twenty years to respond to an existential threat. Given the extraordinary time Kodak had, and the massive and decisive action it took, we would expect Kodak to have easily handled this major technological change in its industry. Unfortunately, the reality was something else. By 2003, Kodak was only one of five large players in the digital camera arena and was losing money. Its market share in digital cameras was less than 25 percent, and within the next few years it continuously lost market share and profits. On January 19, 2012 Kodak filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking the end of a 131-year history as one of America’s leading companies.

This failure was not due to a difficulty in technological transition, or to getting blindsided by a disruptive innovation, or to the speed of the change.

Continue reading →

Apple says it will appeal against a court ruling that bans the company from entering into deals with publishers that could allow ebook prices to be fixed or inflated. The case was raised by the Department of Justice and judge Denise Cote's decision is very much in line with what they were seeking. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is banned from entering into agreements with five named publishers in ways that might restrict ebook prices.

Having been found to have conspired with publishers to prevent retailers (rather than publishers or Apple) from setting ebook prices, Apple fell foul of antitrust legislation. The company is required to wipe out a controversial 'most favoured nation' clause in its contracts that effectively ensure that Apple's ebook prices would always match the lowest price available online. Restrictions are in place for different lengths of time for various publishers, ranging from two years in the case of Hachette, to four years for Macmillan.

Continue reading →

Oct. 10, 2007 is the day I threw off the chains locking my music. I purged the last DRM-protected file from my personal catalog -- and not by stealing. I purchased every track, and getting them Digital Rights Management-free wasn't easy six years ago. The base collection started from CDs. The problem: Songs purchased from iTunes, starting in April 2003. Later, Apple offered facility to remove copyright restrictions. Meanwhile, I repurchased some tunes, or just did without them.

But chains remain. Every video purchased or rented for download is DRM-protected. Far worse are ebooks. There, the unsung hero -- your advocate and champion -- is JK Rowling. In late April 2012, she released the entire Harry Potter series as ebooks, DRM-free, baby. Rowling is more than a hugely successful writer; she stands up for readers, too.

Continue reading →

Audible, a leading choice in the audio book market and a company that was purchased by Amazon back in 2008, is now working with Microsoft to drum up new business for both entities with offers to both the PC and mobile platform. The Amazon subsidiary has long offered free book deals in a number of forms, including the many podcasts sponsored with its advertising.

Today Microsoft announces that customers of both Windows 8 and Windows Phone can grab a free audio book with no subscription or credit card required. "Audible has apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone that let you download and listen to books on the go. With over 135,000 titles from classics to New York Times bestsellers, you can enjoy endless hours of entertainment" says Microsoft's Kristina Libby.

Continue reading →

I guess reviews just aren't enough. Social matters more. Late today Amazon and Goodreads reached a merger agreement, in a deal expected to close second quarter. The companies did not publicly disclose terms.

Goodreads is a recommendation service with social sharing capabilities. Founded in 2007, the the company claims 16 million members and 23 million reviews, but the magic comes from the social aspect. If you ever wanted to snoop in a friend's bookshelf, Goodreads lets you do something just like that -- recognizing reading recommendations from people you know can be more influential than professional reviewers and other strangers.

Continue reading →

On Wednesday, Nook Media -- Barnes & Noble subsidiary -- announced that Windows 8 users can take advantage of a "free book and magazine offer", available for a limited period of time, after installing the Nook app.

All that users have to do is download the Nook app -- which is available for any Windows 8-based device -- and sign in with their Microsoft account. From there on, they can choose up to five popular books and five top magazines (all free) from a specific list that includes titles such as Blue Bloods, Hello, Life of Pi, The Enemy, GQ, HGTV Magazine and Time, among others.

Continue reading →

How could I resist something like this? A bug in Amazon Kindle for iOS 3.6.1 de-registers the iPad or iPhone, deleting all content and settings from the device. Because of the iTunes Store review process, Amazon resorts to posting a warning that existing customers shouldn't install the app. What's wrong with this picture? That's my question for you, oh faithful, snarky commenters (surely you have words for me, too -- ouch).

Amazon's app note: "There is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time". That was hours and days ago. Today, Amazon bumped up the app to v3.6.2, which supposedly resolves the problem. I don't have an iOS device, so would you mind checking for us all please -- lab rat in the Kindle Store.

Continue reading →

Open-source, cross-platform EPUB creator Sigil 0.7.0 has been released, sporting a number of major new features. These include finished versions of the Live Preview, Clips and spellcheck features.

The new version also sports a new HTML rendering engine, Qt 5, but remains an EPUB 2 editor, despite the inclusion of EPUB 3 features such as audio and video support. Support for EPUB 3 (as well as backwards compatibility with EPUB 2) is noted as in development for a future release.

Continue reading →

Second in a series. I had a nice surprise Valentine’s Day gift delivered to my door this morning -- a box of ten copies of my new novel (I Know What You Did Last Supper) courtesy of my publisher and fresh off the press. It seemed weird holding the book. Not just because it’s my first novel (co-authored with a friend), but because I haven’t held an actual book for maybe two years now.

When the Kindle first came out, I resisted it. I’ve loved books since I was child, and couldn’t ever imagine switching to an ebook reader. But then I was given the device as a Christmas present in 2009 and despite all my reservations fell in love with it almost immediately.

Continue reading →

The most important tech news this week isn't from the Consumer Electronics Show. Amazon earns distinction, with a new service that, if rightly executed, could change how everyone buys digital content. Not since Apple licensed digital tracks for the iTunes Store in early 2003 and later secured deals allowing consumers to buy a single and get the rest of the album for appropriately-reduced cost is a music service so provocative. Amazon AutoRip is as big as DRM-free and looms over Apple's iTunes Match -- and both transform music licensing and consumption.

Can you feel it? The Earth shook today, and nothing will be the same because of it.

Continue reading →

Google Books is great at helping you find interesting reads, and makes it easy to view them online from just about any device. The service isn’t quite as versatile when it comes to letting you download local copies in a format of your choice, unfortunately, but that’s where FSS Google Books Downloader comes in.

The idea is that you start on the Google Books site, as normal, browsing and using the search tool until you find something you like. When you reach a Preview button, click it, wait for the first page to appear, and copy that URL to your clipboard.

Continue reading →

A week after Windows 8 launched, today Microsoft announced a new ebook designed to help IT Professionals to integrate the new operating system into their environments. The 147-page tome covers all aspects of the operating system, but is sure to be less-comprehensive than books that will be available from major publishers. On the other hand, this one is free.

The new book covers such essentials as the new hardware innovations, customization and configuration tips, networking enhancements, deployment of the new operating system, apps, recovery, management, Internet Explorer 10, security and several other subjects. In all it encompasses 11 chapters. As part of their announcement Microsoft's Keith Mayer states: "Now that Windows 8 is generally available, this book is a great way to get quickly up-to-speed on all the new improvements in this latest Windows release".

Continue reading →

I bought my first ebook in 1999 and in recent years stopped purchasing print altogether. My wife is a relative ebook newbie, so I am surprised that she and not me received an email today from Amazon about a forthcoming purchasing credit. Perhaps you got a similar message.

In April, the Justice Department accused Apple and five publishers -- Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster -- of fixing ebook prices. Three publishers settled; MacMillan and Penguin, along with Apple, refused. The three publishers also settled with states attorneys general, agreeing to put $69 million in a fund for consumers. The Amazon purchasing credit is product of the settlement.

Continue reading →

Book retailer Barnes and Noble announced on Thursday that its partnership with Microsoft in a new limited liability company called Nook Media LLC is complete and ready to go ahead of Windows 8's launch.

Barnes and Noble first announced it was considering a spin-off of its digital content business in January 2012. Three months later, the partnership with Microsoft was announced, and the software giant pledged $300 million to the venture, which would encompass Barnes and Noble's digital content business: e-books, e-textbooks, and e-periodicals.

Continue reading →