[LINK] The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age

[Anthony Hornby]

DA Direct have brought the Espresso POD machine to Australia
http://www.dadirect.com.au/Welcome/ebm.asp
If you want a print book this model should save all that shipping and time.

For the Espresso currently the range of titles available is the issue
with some publishers loving it and others taking longer to win over is
my understanding. Though of course the DA sales people will tell you
the title list is expanding exponentially !!

Regards Anthony

2009/2/5 Michael Skeggs mike at bystander.net <mskeggs at gmail.com>:
> Interesting blog post from an author comparing the economics of self
> publishing real books versus e-books.
> Not sure I agree with the assumptions or conclusions, but interesting none
> the less. Note, contains some profanity.
> http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the-cost-of-self-publication-ebook-vs-print-one-persons-story/
>
> Regards,
> Michael Skeggs
>
> On 05/02/2009, Marghanita da Cruz <marghanita at ramin.com.au> wrote:
>>
>> Ivan Trundle wrote:
>> > On 05/02/2009, at 1:04 AM, Kim Holburn wrote:
>> >
>> >>> Text
>> >>> messages are short, you say? I'm willing to bet that the average
>> >>> American will read substantially more text off his or her cell phone
>> >>> screen this year than from a book.
>> >
>> >
>> > 'substantially more' is probably not the point. Americans are well-
>> > known for their paucity of book readers. That phenomenon is likely to
>> > spread.
>> >
>> > I'm currently reading a series of classics by Joseph Conrad on my
>> > phone (tele-prompt style) - it's an interesting experience, and not
>> > one that is as enjoyable as a real book. As much as I try, there isn't
>> > enough contextual information for me to absorb the details of the story.
>> >
>>
>>
>> Perhaps the novel will live on in book form.
>>
>> I still enjoy reading the Weekend Australian on a Saturday morning. Though
>> for
>> news I am fast becoming an RSS Feed Junkie.
>>
>> As Rik mentioned previously, hardcopy manuals are a thing of the past. In
>> fact
>> manuals seem to be a thing of the past - just ask google. Though I do
>> confess to
>> tracking down an online printer manual, to squeeze out the Inkpad. but
>> that's
>> another story <http://www.ramin.com.au/linux/>.
>>
>> and  it wouldn't hurt for poetry and drama to move off the text page to
>> recorded
>> words as intended by the author.
>>
>>
>> > I regard it as being akin to driving a car at night in a complex
>> > environment with poor lights and no street lighting, but with the tail
>> > lights of the car in front remaining prominent - unlike daytime
>> > driving, where it is possible to soak in the richness of the
>> > environment.
>> >
>> > And yet I've got enough pixels, my eyesight is still good enough, my
>> > comprehension generally more than adequate, but the whole experience
>> > is not as rewarding as having pages that I can flick in and out of.
>> >
>> > Sure, it's possible to go forward and back, etc, in a digital book,
>> > but there is so much contextual richness in knowing where you are, and
>> > where you are going.
>> >
>> > Kindle2 might well help to diminish these problems, but until I can
>> > replicate the book reading experience electronically, I won't enjoy it
>> > as much.
>> >
>> > Incidentally, I read far more on-screen than in print, yet I am a
>> > member of a very active book club, I have at least two novels on my
>> > bedside table at any one time, and every room in the house has at
>> > least one large bookshelf or more crammed with books.
>> >
>> > I do see an advantage down the track for e-books, however. My music
>> > collection has been transformed into the digital age long ago, and the
>> > shelves and drawers that I have full of CDs, cassettes and vinyl are
>> > all simply gathering dust: if I want to play music, I simply grab my
>> > phone, use its wireless link to the server which is now full of music,
>> > and choose what to play. The replacement box and associated hardware
>> > is 1/4 the size of my hi-fi gear, and once I ditch the old media, it
>> > will free up more room for ... books.
>> >
>> > iT
>> >
>> > --
>> > Ivan Trundle
>> > http://itrundle.com ivan at itrundle.com
>> > ph: +61 (0)418 244 259 fx: +61 (0)2 6286 8742 skype: callto://ivanovitchk
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Link mailing list
>> > Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> > http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Marghanita da Cruz
>> http://www.ramin.com.au
>> Phone: (+61)0414 869202
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Link mailing list
>> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
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>>
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