Rumored is an almost-done deal between iRex and a major online bookstore, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes reality. Amazon is selling the Kindle as a convenient, all-in-one e-book system for consumers. So it truly makes sense for closer ties between rival e-bookstores and hardware makers. iRex's iLiad would be especially interesting since it comes with wireless capabilities---the better to download e-books directly, even if you must be within range of a WiFi signal. Could we see a bunch of iPoddish approaches in time, not just Amazon's? That would pour a little cold water on Amazon's plans...

"The Kindle has three surefire selling points---title selection, pricing and Amazon's nifty Whispernet wireless network---that give it an advantage over devices like the Sony Reader and the iLiad." - Publishers Weekly's home-page summary of its overwhelmingly favorable review headlined Amazon's Kindle: Very Cool, Really Easy. Technorati Tags: Kindle,Amazon,Amazon Kindle...

Andrew Burt has been reinstated as chairman of the Science Fiction Writers of America's Electronic Piracy Committee, though the SFWA's board listened to advice that the committee should be called differently, and has therefore rechristened it "Copyright Committee." Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross and to a lesser extent John Scalzi are not amused. For one thing, Andrew Burt is seen by many as the root of the problems with the old committee, and should therefore not be allowed to return, and for another the SFWA is careless in claiming that the Scalzi-headed advisory committee recommended that "the former Electronic Piracy Committee...

Oh, the frustrations of the blog format, sometimes! Right now we've got three great contributions that I wish could all be at the top.  Hey, TeleReaders; this Kindle's for my sister-in-law, not you---a well-crafted essay by Evan Schnittman, VP of business development and rights at Oxford University Press, New York---argues that the ease and convenience of the Kindle outweigh any DRM-related negatives. I disagree, but I am delighted to present another viewpoint and am eager for more pro-Kindle contributions. Meanwhile feel free to write civil comments no matter what your opinion. Graduating to e-books: Many publishing students still clueless...

Moderator's note: Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti is a writer-poet and publishing veteran who worked as an editor and publicity director at David R. Godine and also founded her own publishing house. An MP3 version of this essay is now online. - DR I teach a publishing course at one of the finest graduate schools for publishing. Recently I asked for a show of hands of those students who own palm devices, have downloaded e-books or even know that the technology is now practical. Not a single hand went up at a time when HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and other giants were digitizing books by the...

Think DRM is a necessary evil? Love the iPod model for e-books---built around Amazon's Kindle? Today's your day. I'm very pleased to publish some pro-Kindle commentary from Evan Schnittman, vice president of business development and rights at Oxford University Press (photo). Discussion's more fun with different viewpoints included, and given all my skepticism about DRM and an Amazon - dominated iPoddish model for the book industry, I encourage other defenders to submit their own essays to the TeleBlog. Meanwhile thanks to Evan for taking time to present his side! - David Rothman. David kindly linked on November 21 to my...

Moderator's note: Please welcome Dr. Karina Descartin as the newest contributor to the TeleBlog---see her bio at the end of this post. Check out her own blog, The story of healing. - DR I've been reading e-books for years, almost as soon as PDAs came out, even if I haven't always been wild about them. No, I didn't need the biggest, sharpest screen, just the right information in my textbooks when I was a medical student in the Philippines. I felt secure. In my pocket I could carry hundreds of thousands of words of medical advice---well beyond what I could hold...

"Amazon has nailed the electronic-book shopping experience. But it has a lot to learn about designing electronic devices." - Walt Mossberg, the influential tech columnist of the Wall Street Journal. Technorati Tags: Kindle,Amazon,Amazon Kindle,Walt Mossberg,Wall Street Journal...

In other non-Kindle news, I am happy to report that TeleRead now is serving full RSS feeds again. Apparently, during one of our WordPress upgrades, the More/Read Rest of Post hyperlink was preventing RSS readers from seeing entire articles---just the parts until the More tag. But with the Full Text Feeds plugin, we've solved the problem. More site news: We recently installed the WP-Super Cache plugin. That improves site performance by offering cached versions of pages. Interestingly, readers who haven't commented before are the ones most likely to see this speed boost. Feel free to let us know about any...

Want to protect your Kindle-format library by stripping the DRM and converting your books to an unencumbered format that won't be obsolete in the distant future? Sorry, sucker. You're out of luck. In most cases in the United States you can't legally circumvent the DRM--as if Amazon's terms would let you do this anyway. You can thank the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In the world of best-sellers, alas, the DRM voodoo curse reigns supreme with help from Hollywood-friendly politicians in Washington, D.C. A toxic American export Alas, as reported in Ars Technical and elsewhere, Canada seems on the...

The MSM isn't fully hip yet to the Kindle's risks as a  privacy Chernobyl. Nope, don't buy one if you'd rather that Amazon not track your reading habits and maybe even be forced to share them with the feds in the future. Amazon servers will even save the annotations you make in K books. Let's hope that sooner or later the big media guys will connect the dots and see the long-term privacy ramifications. Will Bezos risk his billions if the heat is too intense from federal prosecutors, who recently sought the names of buyers of paper books?...

(Thanks to Mike Cane for the link. Earlier Scoble video is here.) Technorati Tags: Amazon Kindle,Robert Scoble...