Enhanced eBooks and One Art Historian (Chronicle of Higher Education)

In the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s opinion section, art historian Jacob L. Wright advocates for print and enhanced ebook publication. Fascinating perspective, although I dread the consistency issues–not to mention the fairly serious issues around a self-designed book being published on a proprietary platform without consulting preservation experts: My book was produced in two forms.… Continue reading Enhanced eBooks and One Art Historian (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Conspiracy Theories… among Engineers

Where do conspiracy theories come from? I was fascinated by this link at the technology news site ArsTechnica. The article tries to debunk an urban rumor, “Does Apple really assign engineers to “fake” projects as a loyalty test?” It struck me as a classic conspiracy theory. What gives rise to such thinking? Engineers come to… Continue reading Conspiracy Theories… among Engineers

Google Editions and Open Source

From GigaOM at Salon (and a bit dated), but this article by Matthew Ingram has some more reporting than the WSJ article. Open vs. Closed: Google Takes on Amazon and Apple in e-Books – Technology News | GigaOM Network – Salon.com Whatever pricing scheme it chooses, it seems clear that Google wants to come down… Continue reading Google Editions and Open Source

The iPad and Publishers (New Yorker)

[I had meant to post this link when this article appeared in April….  PWR] The New Yorker on the iPad and books: The industry’s great hope was that the iPad would bring electronic books to the masses—and help make them profitable. E-books are booming. Although they account for only an estimated three to five per… Continue reading The iPad and Publishers (New Yorker)

Laura Miller on Kindle vs eBook

Laura Miller at Salon has a good backstory on Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple iPad eBook reader. Laura Miller – Salon.com: “This dust-up is the culmination of a long-standing feud between Amazon and book publishers. What triggered it, however, is something new: the introduction of Apple’s iPad.” Note Miller comments about publishers’ fear of Amazon’s attempt… Continue reading Laura Miller on Kindle vs eBook

Apple’s iBook on the iPad

Today’s Apple announcement (liveblogged at the NY Times) had Steve Jobs diplomatically say of Amazon’s Kindle, that Apple “we are going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit farther.” The iBook app allow eBook viewing and purchasing within the application (like iTunes), so it’s not necessarily tied to a particular hardware. The Times… Continue reading Apple’s iBook on the iPad