Pocket PC eBooks Watch - eBook and beyond  
 http://cebooks.blogspot.com 

The Fictionwise "Thanks a Million" Contest!
Since we opened our virtual doors, 260,000 readers have registered at Fictionwise, 25,000 eBooks have been added, 220 billion words have been served, and -- we sold our one millionth eBook! To thank you all for your support, we've launched a special "Thanks a Million" contest. Simply buy an eBook* between now and June 2, and you will automatically be entered into a contest to win $500 in Micropay dollars, plus five additional second prizes for $100 in Micropay!

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/27/2005

Upgrade Watch
MicroOLAP releases CHM eBook Reader 2.4 for Pocket PC
MicroOLAP Technologies is announcing the new 2.4 version of the CHM eBook Reader for Pocket PC, a CHM files/help systems viewer for Pocket PC devices.
CHM (also known as "compiled HTML") is a common Microsoft Windows file format for help and documentation. One CHM file can contain many HTML files, images, archives and other files. Plenty of Microsoft documentation, eBooks, manuals, help files are stored in CHM format. CHM Reader for Pocket PC enables mobile reading all of them.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/26/2005

Gutenberg 101
Hero of the global literacy revolution
PROFESSOR Michael S. Hart of Project Gutenberg fame is going places and meeting people – lecturing at august edifices and rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty.
The success of PG has encouraged others to set up similar organisations throughout the world. Some bear the Gutenberg name but take note that Prof Hart’s Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.net) is a separate organisation from Project Gutenberg of Australia (gutenberg.net.au), the German Projekt Gutenberg-DE (www.gutenberg.de) and Project Gutenberg of Europe (www.gutenberg.nl). The “Project Gutenberg” trademark is used with permission, and these newer projects operate within the copyright rules of their respective countries.
Prof Hart might be the initiator, leader and the most famous figure in the global literacy revolution but he certainly would not have achieved this much without the support given by the mostly anonymous heroes – people of different nationalities, political beliefs, race and religion who share common ideals and who work selflessly for a common good.
Project Gutenberg is, without doubt, one of the success stories of mankind.

posted by Jerry permanent link

eparadox
E-Book Publishing Is Foundering for Good Reason
It is tempting to read too much into Adobe's decision, effective June 3, to close its online content store. Neither Adobe nor online content seem any worse for the company's experience in selling electronic books, but they don't seem very much better for it, either
...Maybe it's different for young people. Perhaps they are more accustomed to using screens because they started younger than their parents. I'd test this hypothesis, except I don't know any young people who read. That's definitely a more serious problem than the failures of electronic publishing, but not one I can do much about.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/23/2005

NexTunes
Jobs previews iTunes 4.9 with built-in Podcast
Jobs said the new version would incorporate support for Podcasts, the popular pre-recorded audio broadcasting concept. The software will be released within the next 60 days, according to Jobs. Apple will only offer free Podcasts through iTunes. The final version of iTunes 4.9 will also display relevant album art during Podcasts, providing users with purchase links to the iTunes Music Store.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/19/2005

BUNDLE: Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith: The Illustrated Screenplay AND The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith--The Final Chapter
Includes The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith--The Final Chapter by Lucasfilm insider J.W. Rinzler! Episode III--The One and Only Official Screenplay, available exclusively in eBook format, including scenes that won't appear in the movie itself! Even before the release of the most eagerly awaited Star Wars movie of all time on the theater screen ... here's your chance to experience the action on your own computer screen! Straight from the set, this is the complete, final screenplay written by George Lucas, as brought to life before the cameras by a stellar cast of performers and an unparalleled team of special effects wizards. Enjoy a rare and fascinating director's-eye-view of all the action, all the legendary characters, and each of the exotic worlds from science fiction cinema's greatest saga, as it comes full circle. And thanks to the full color images from the final cut of the movie itself, you'll be able to visualize the adventure as it unfolded throughout the shooting of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. For the total Star Wars fan and filmmaking enthusiast alike, this extraordinary e-book is an essential part of the Star Wars experience. As a special bonus, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Illustrated Screenplay will be bundled with a free digital copy of The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith--The Final Chapter by Lucasfilm insider J.W. Rinzler. This eBook is a companion piece to the Del Rey title The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith by the same author, which hits bookstores across the country April 2nd.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/18/2005

Cebooks Feed Available
feed://cebooks.blogspot.com/atom.xml

posted by Jerry permanent link

Don't Go Breakin' My DRM
Barney Wragg is the vice president of the eLabs arm of Universal Music Group, which investigates and develops technologies to improve and change the way music is distributed. It's at the center of the world's largest record label's efforts to both drive new revenue streams from online and mobile technologies and to ensure its stable of artists' rights are protected. Although the music industry is often perceived as viewing mobile distribution with extreme wariness, especially when it comes to DRM, Wragg believes it offers bountiful opportunities for his company and the music industry as a whole.
"I think it's got to have the right price, the right repertoire and it's got to be easy to use and all of that's got to be put together with a marketing message If you get those things together in a service and you've got services well architected and well designed so that record companies know the content and obviously feel confident about releasing their repertoire, it will be very successful."
The answer is already available: iTunes, and eReader

posted by Jerry permanent link

PDA Novella
The History of PDAs in Words and Pictures
"For the past four years, I've been studying the history of PDAs. It's all summarized in a 10,000-word article on my web site." This history is also illustrated with some pictures and photographs, which are worth it all by themselves.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Math 101
RIAA Damages Should be $5 Per Month
'The RIAA can no longer claim that students who are downloading music are costing them thousands of dollars each. They cant claim much of anything actually. In essence, Yahoo just turned possession of a controlled music substance into a misdemeanor. Payable by a $5 per month fine.'"

posted by Jerry permanent link

Trend Watch: Micro Mobile Devices
Game Boy Micro, Anyone?
Nintendo presents its new Game Boy device, which will be released this fall. Users will be able to download tons of popular games, and the Micro's screen will be much brighter than past models

posted by Jerry permanent link

Thanks BobR
Excellent E-Book Blog and Interviews
Some really excellent sites don't seem to make a big first impression on me, but over time my eyes are opened to content that is really interesting. Pocket PC E-Books Watch is a site that is growing on me that way. I'm sure I've visited before at various times, but didn't realize how much great material they have. All kinds of information about ebooks, the ebook industry, ebook technology, interviews, and other various sorts of content for mobile devices.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/17/2005

Slowing ebook news?

Yes... The sales is up but the innovations, movers and shakers in eBook industry are quieter than before.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/12/2005

Not Open Anymore
Open eBook Forum Now International Digital Publishing Forum
The Open eBook Forum has changed its name to the International Digital Publishing Forum, in what Steve Potash, the group’s president, told LJ is a response to “the significant expansion in interest in digital books and digital content from parts of the publishing space that didn’t necessarily relate to the word ebook.” Potash said that the group views digital audio and other multimedia as a natural extension of digital publishing.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Yoohooo
Can Yahoo's New Music Service Earn a Profit?
THE announcement by Yahoo on Tuesday that it is starting a discount online subscription music service sent competitors in the business reeling.
Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and chief executive, said he did not think that a low-priced model could last long. "Based on our discussions with record labels, it is clear that very aggressive introductory pricing for portable subscriptions will be at negative gross margins and we believe that consumers should expect rapid price increases," Mr. Gorog said in a statement.
As it is, selling online music is a difficult way to make money.
Apple Computer, which has sold more than 400 million songs from its iTunes music store, makes only a small profit from those sales.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/10/2005

4.8
Apple offers videos via iTunes Music Store
Apple has begun bundling videos with some of the music albums available via the iTunes Music Store, following the release of iTunes 4.8 yesterday morning (still only available via the web). As noted yesterday, Apple's iTunes 4.8 music jukebox software adds security fixes, improved iPod sync, and support for video, including fullscreen playback (as well as video window preferences). In most cases, the videos appear to be marketing incentives offered along with the albums

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/04/2005

Open doc
Open Document Format Approved
"The OASIS Group announces that the third Committee Draft [PDF] of the Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) v1.0 Specification has been approved as an OASIS Standard. The submission of the approved standard can be found at here.
The OpenDocument format is intended to provide an open alternative to proprietary document formats including the popular DOC, XLS, and PPT formats used by Microsoft Office. Organizations and individuals that store their data in an open format avoid being locked in to a single software vendor, leaving them free to switch software if their current vendor goes out of business or changes their software or licensing terms to something less favorable."

posted by Jerry permanent link

Metro doc
Microsoft gunning for Adobe's PDF format?
When Bill Gates showed off the new Metro document format in Longhorn at a hardware conference last week, some analysts were quick to call it a PDF killer.
Indeed, there's plenty of overlap between Adobe's popular Portable Document Format and what Microsoft is planning to include in the next version of Windows. Metro is designed to do things PDF already does, namely to allow for the creation of files that can be printed, viewed or archived without needing the program that created them.

posted by Jerry permanent link

1:1840
RIAA’s Grand Total: 10,037 - What are Your Odds?
With this number in mind, there have been 10,037 people sued by the RIAA since June of 2003. According to the web log “ RIAA Watch”, 6,523 people were sued by the RIAA in 2004. What exactly does this mean?
If we divide the total population of the P2P community (~12 million individuals), by the total number of lawsuits in 2004 (6,523), we get 1,840. In other words, your chances of being sued are 1 in 1,840 for all users (regardless of network) per year. How does that stack against all other odds of dying from an intentional or non-intentional injury? According to the National Safety Council, one’s yearly chances of dying from all external causes were 1 in 1,755 in 2002.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/01/2005

Going Dutch
Dutch plans for iPod tax could kill MP3 industry
A Netherlands proposed tax on MP3 players could devastate sales of hard disk players, and set up international waves over copyright legislation.
If this legislation comes into play, the surcharge will be as much as €3.28 ($4.3) per gigabyte. This might put €180 ($235) to the price of a top end iPod.
....
Or the Dutch could just become a nation without iPods. I wonder how happy that would make them?

posted by Jerry permanent link

Pocket Knife
Still Swiss and Still Sharp (Digital Memory Optional)
SALES of Swiss Army knives - the staple of campers, Boy Scouts, do-it-yourselfers and travelers, not to mention Switzerland's citizen-soldiers - plunged as much as 50 percent after stricter airport security rules were imposed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
But the knives' two manufacturers, which announced last week that they were joining forces, have been counterpunching. They have added a bevy of new versions, including one with a flash memory stick, several with digital features and another with a handle that glows in the dark.

posted by Jerry permanent link

TimeOut!
Vending Machines of Japan
PhotoMann recently decided to 'collect' images of unique vending machines found in Japan. They are everywhere. Estimates suggest there are 5.6 million vending machines which works out to be one for every 20 people in Japan. Sales from vending machines in 2000 totaled $56 billion! The most common are drink and cigarette machines followed by machines with pornography.

posted by Jerry permanent link

The Folly of Proprietary Formats
Librie vs. Manybooks.net

As long as folks are rediscovering the Librie, they might be interested in TeleRead's latest on The Proprietary Format from Hell. The screen, by the way, is readable but not the supposed "book-text quality." Contrast is far from paper-level. Take it from me. I own a Librie.

posted by David Rothman permanent link