Book People Archive

Re: eBooks are poised to fail, just like DIVX

On Wed, 14 Mar 2001, talewins wrote:

> Michael is wrong.  "Let's face it, the only people really interested in
> eBooks are those whose real interest is limited distribution for a huge
> profit. . . .eBooks will go the way of the Wang word processors and their
> copies."
>            
> Ebooks are here to stay.  My book HOW TO BUY LAND AT TAX SALES is still
> selling for $30 in hard copy.  The ebook version is selling for $15, and its
> sales performance is better than the original even though it is only being
> marketed from my site.
> 
> If Michael meant only "ebook DEVICES" as used by major distributors, my
> opinion of them is about the same as his...  They are not needed, and should
> disappear.
> 
> ebooks break down the barriers between author and reader.  A good author can
> INCREASE the value of the books being offered while slashing the cost of the
> books to the reader.  Ebooks are not going away.  Ebooks are the wave of the
> future.
> 
As I hear this new language, and help to invent it:

Ebooks are physical devices for reading.

Etexts are the files they read.

99% of Etexts are read NOT on Ebooks, and never will be, until Ebooks
become more friendly to "outside source" files and the pocketbook.


Thanks!

So nice to hear from you!


Michael S. Hart
<hart@[redacted]>
Project Gutenberg
"Ask Dr. Internet"
Executive Director
Internet User ~#100

[Moderator: Michael's usage of the term "ebook" to mean a reading device
 is indeed one usage I've seen of the term, though as is clear from
 the previous post, it is also often used to describe the content
 of a particular book in a digitized, distributable form.  (Which is why I
 recommend using more specific terms when needed to clarify what one's
 talking about.)

 I suspect it won't be very productive to argue over terminology
 usage here, but the experience of reading or preparing digitized
 books for portable reader devices is a reasonable topic for this list.
 We've covered it to some extent previously (see the archives) but
 since the technology and the market continues to change, further
 reports on what's specifically out there now, and whether it's
 useful or not, may be of interest to readers.

 For those interested in discussing the marketing of digitized books,
 you may want to check out eBook-List, which discusses the "eBook"
 industry.  See http://www.digitalworm.com/ for more information. - JMO]