Pocket PC eBooks Watch - eBook and beyond  
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Inhale-exhale
Smell like the Book
David Nelson (Impressions Book and Journal Services, Inc.): The recent thread about what's gone wrong with the eBook concept and perceptions of what a book is, or might be, has been entertaining. It seems clear to me that comments like the "look and smell" of a printed book are about qualities of books that enhance a reading experience. There are many other things that could be mentioned about the "quality" aspects of both print and non-print books. Microsoft certainly thought that preserving some of the well developed attributes of printed books was important to build on, and the very attractive presentation of Microsoft Reader is IMO the only (non-PDF) eBook presentation that approaches any acceptable degree of typographic quality.
So, in response to the question of why eBooks are faltering, I would suggest that:
~Presentation mostly sucks, at least if you appreciate good typography and design.
~It's not so easy, or inexpensive, to create (good looking) eBooks after all. Many otherwise smart people allowed themselves to be led to believe that "converting" content from print to eBook formats would be easy -- and that the results would be instantly acceptable. While efficient workflows are possible (and recommended), it still takes effort, expertise, and money to plan, create, and distribute a good looking eBook. Just ask netLibrary.
So... "books" are great, and sometimes even smell good. Some of them look great on the shelf in my house. Some old "books" are very old and have to be unrolled to be read. "Book" is a very old word, and it seems that trying to apply such an old word to new things can cause consternation. Borrowing from a recent article titled "What is a Book?" by Bill Kasdorf, "We need to wait and see what 'book' will come to mean in the years ahead, and in the meantime focus our attention and energies on making the most of the rich and rapidly changing information technology environment we're fortunate to find ourselves in."
This quality commentary is taken with permission from David Nelson from ebook-community groups. I really recommend you to join this great ebook mail list.

posted by Jerry permanent link