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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

An Embarassment of Riches

Originally written for eBookGuru - The Digital Magazine Devoted to eBooks

I monitor a variety of RSS feeds and I am always on the lookout for news on eBooks and eReaders. This week there seems to be an embarrassment of riches in terms of the number of articles available.

Here is just a sampling of a few of them:

(more…)

posted by David at 9:17 pm  

Monday, July 27, 2009

Authors don’t need ‘friends’

Originally posted on The Writers Vineyard

That was the title of an article in the Globe and Mail last week. The topic discussed was the marketing of books and the requirement to be online.

The author of the article doesn’t buy into the argument that an online presence is necessary, instead suggesting that old fashioned methods like posters on telephone polls is the way to go. He also states that getting chosen for Oprah’s book club, nominated for the Giller prize or “Canada Reads”, or getting prominently displayed in Costco or Indigo is the way to get on the bestseller lists.

(more…)

posted by David at 12:01 am  

Monday, July 20, 2009

Copyrights and Amazon’s eBook Recall

Originally written for eBookGuru - The Digital Magazine Devoted to eBooks

Amazon sparked an outcry in the blogosphere late last week when it deleted two books from people’s Kindles. Ironically the eBooks in question were George Orwell’s “1984″ and “Animal Farm”, prompting headlines like

Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others

Amazon recalled the ebooks because the publisher lacked the rights. (more…)

posted by David at 9:59 am  

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Kids with Kindles (or a Kindle in Every Backpack)

Originally written for eBookGuru - The Digital Magazine Devoted to eBooks

A Kindle in Every Backpack. This is the title of a proposal by the Democratic Leadership Council that argues that the government should provide students with Kindles. The proposal argues that this could improve education quality and save money.

It’s an intriguing concept (more…)

posted by David at 10:27 pm  

Friday, July 10, 2009

Price Matters…

Originally written for eBookGuru - The Digital Magazine Devoted to eBooks

But it isn’t everything. Often usability trumps price. Most Linux based operating systems are free but witness the paucity of Linux desktops compared to Windows and Mac Systems. As of May 2009 Windows commands 88% of the market share for operating systems.

The same applies to eBook readers. (more…)

posted by David at 12:30 pm  

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