Comments on: The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive? http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/ Like a chicken with a jewel in its beak. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:20:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: book » The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive? http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/comment-page-1/#comment-49591 book » The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive? Sun, 01 Apr 2007 16:42:52 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/#comment-49591 [...] Original post by shacker [...] [...] Original post by shacker [...]

]]> By: booktwo.org » Notebook » Stop Press for March 16th http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/comment-page-1/#comment-48856 booktwo.org » Notebook » Stop Press for March 16th Sat, 17 Mar 2007 00:32:27 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/#comment-48856 [...] scot hacker’s foobar blog » The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive? – Scot’s loose notes from the SXSW publishing panel [...]

]]> By: Jim http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/comment-page-1/#comment-48852 Jim Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:41:13 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/#comment-48852 ebooks a failure? It's too early to tell. The big problem with ebooks is that there has been no ipod equivalent to make them useful. Sony is trying with their ebook reader, and if they make it mac compatible, I might think about getting one. Big problem though. Drop a paperback in the toilet, and you're out about $12-20, worst case, and it might just be a little wrinkled. Drop the ebook reader in the toilet, it's stone dead, you lose the $300 reader *and* all the books you had stored on it. As Doctorow himself says, folios have been around a long time, and people like them as a form factor. They're not going away any time soon. That said, there are definitely applications for ebooks if a. the readers are much, much cheaper. b. the readers are either open so they can read anything, or locked to a specific, subscription based publication. I'm picturing magazines with electronic subscriptions here. c. and this is the biggie: the ebook reader ads greater functionality to the picture. In the magazine example, if the magazine stored all the back issues you've ever had, or better yet, came with all the back issues of the magazine that were ever published, in addition to getting the current one, it would be useful. About $20-40 useful, and enough to take up desk space with. Also. Ebook readers need to handle their own power. I don't think e-ink and its offspring need much power, so why not imbed a flexible solar panel inside the front and back cover, so the ebook recharges itself in ambient light, like some watches do? Anyway. With the advent of ubiquitous radio networking, I think ebooks will have more applications. Right now, it's too much of a pain in the ass to get content *into* the ebook. ebooks a failure? It’s too early to tell. The big problem with ebooks is that there has been no ipod equivalent to make them useful. Sony is trying with their ebook reader, and if they make it mac compatible, I might think about getting one. Big problem though. Drop a paperback in the toilet, and you’re out about $12-20, worst case, and it might just be a little wrinkled. Drop the ebook reader in the toilet, it’s stone dead, you lose the $300 reader *and* all the books you had stored on it. As Doctorow himself says, folios have been around a long time, and people like them as a form factor. They’re not going away any time soon.

That said, there are definitely applications for ebooks if a. the readers are much, much cheaper. b. the readers are either open so they can read anything, or locked to a specific, subscription based publication. I’m picturing magazines with electronic subscriptions here. c. and this is the biggie: the ebook reader ads greater functionality to the picture. In the magazine example, if the magazine stored all the back issues you’ve ever had, or better yet, came with all the back issues of the magazine that were ever published, in addition to getting the current one, it would be useful. About $20-40 useful, and enough to take up desk space with.

Also. Ebook readers need to handle their own power. I don’t think e-ink and its offspring need much power, so why not imbed a flexible solar panel inside the front and back cover, so the ebook recharges itself in ambient light, like some watches do?

Anyway. With the advent of ubiquitous radio networking, I think ebooks will have more applications. Right now, it’s too much of a pain in the ass to get content *into* the ebook.

]]> By: Dead-Tree Format Anyone? « Higgie’s Medium http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/comment-page-1/#comment-48836 Dead-Tree Format Anyone? « Higgie’s Medium Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:59:58 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2007/03/13/the-future-of-the-book-dead-or-alive/#comment-48836 [...] Scott Hacker’s blog sums up the recent South by Southwest panel The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive?.“Have e-books been a failure so far? It would seem so…There’s still a move to digitize masses of content, but we need to do experiments in the open to figure out what people actually want in terms of electronic reading.” [...] [...] Scott Hacker’s blog sums up the recent South by Southwest panel The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive?.“Have e-books been a failure so far? It would seem so…There’s still a move to digitize masses of content, but we need to do experiments in the open to figure out what people actually want in terms of electronic reading.” [...]

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