E-Books: Reading to the future?<\/p>\n
Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta, vmahmud@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
Michael Crichton's new book Prey was launch last week. Within
\nthree days I already had a copy. Purchased from Amazon.com?
\nCouriered from the U.S.? Nope, I bought and downloaded the
\nelectronic version.<\/p>\n
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and notebook computers are
\nfor working beyond the desk, taking documents on the road, and
\nshowing presentations in the client's office. But they are also
\nmedia for e-books, the digital versions of hardcover novels.<\/p>\n
E-Books were supposed to be the answer to all of our problems.
\nNo more wasteful "dead-trees" (read: paper). No more heavy
\ntextbooks carried by students, causing back pains. And they were
\nalso supposed to make it easier for new writers to self-publish
\nand sell their works.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, things haven't gone right for the e-book.
\nSpecialized hardware for reading text (books, magazines, internet
\nsites) has not sold well and publishers are worried about a
\nmedium that can undercut their business.<\/p>\n
The general public too hasn't been helpful. When horror master
\nStephen King offered a downloadable-only version of his series,
\nThe Plant, thousands downloaded the series but less then half
\npaid the US$1 fee that was requested by the author. Piracy is a
\nconcern as reading fanatics scan or type in various popular books
\nto be downloaded into a PDA. Books ranging from the latest Harry
\nPotter series to the complete set of Lord of the Rings can be
\nfound online.<\/p>\n
Does this mean that e-books are dead? Not really.<\/p>\n
As a fan of Crichton, I have the option of waiting one to two
\nmonths before the book finally arrives in my favorite bookstore.
\nI could of course order it via the web but only the hardcover
\nversion is available and rather expensive (plus shipping and
\nhandling).<\/p>\n
As the owner of a Palm Operating System-based Sony Clie PDA, I
\nhave the option of buying the digital version of the book to read
\nat my leisure. The book, available at Palm Digital Media
\n(www.palmdigitalmedia.com), costs about US$15 with no shipping
\ncosts. Users of Palm, Pocket PC, Windows and Macintosh operating
\nsystems can download the free reader for their purchases.<\/p>\n
Not only that, there are also tools to make your own e-book.
\nWould be writers, sick of rejection letters from established
\npublishers, can publish their own books, set up a website and e-
\ncommerce module, market their books via the internet and receive
\nmoney for their labor of love -- completely bypassing the cost
\nand fees associated with established book publishers.<\/p>\n
Some writers have actually taken this route. Agent to the
\nStars, a touching yet hilarious story about space aliens needing
\nHollywood agents to prepare for "first contact", is written by
\nJohn Scalzi (www.scalzi.com), and can be downloaded from his
\nwebsite. If you like it, all he asks is a dollar. Should 500
\npeople like it, that would be $500 for a book that was never sold
\nto a publisher. Not bad for a book that nets zero dollars sitting
\non a computer hard drive.<\/p>\n
The prices of some e-books are similar to those of paperback
\nbooks and could be a lot less considering the low (or lack of)
\ncost of printing, distributing and marketing for an e-book. The
\nfact that a small number of people read books using electronic
\ndevices makes it a niche market that gives low profitability for
\nthe large companies but provides a nominal income for the
\nstruggling writer.<\/p>\n
Of course, reading a novel on an electronic device is rather
\nunique. You can carry the complete set of the Encyclopedia
\nBritannica and not break a sweat (all on a CD), or read 10 novels
\ncrammed into your PDA during a 24-hour flight. The only costs
\nyou should be aware of is batteries. Of course, make sure you
\nhave a comfortable resolution on the screen when reading. You can
\neven enlarge the text if your eyes are tired.<\/p>\n
Some people may balk at the idea of reading a book on a small
\nscreen, and prefer the "real" feeling of turning pages and the
\ntexture of paper. That is fine, but one must remember the
\necological costs of printing on "dead-trees", as some internet
\npeople call it. It will only be a matter of time before all the
\ntrees on the planet disappear. Save the trees, go digital!<\/p>",
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