Do publishers and writers come out ahead when free e-books go out on the Net---deliberately or as pirated editions? Will the freebies encourage readers to buy paper editions, or the remainder of a series? Can even unauthorized P2P distribution help publishers? Such tricky issues were discussed at the recent Tools of Change Conference. Now, following up on that, publishers and others can sign up to learn when O'Reilly Media releases "A Rough Cut edition of 'Impact of P2P and Free Distribution on Book Sales,'" expected in the next several weeks. Alas, the report itself...

"After more than two weeks (months?) of inexplicable silence on mitigations for a known code execution vulnerability in its Reader and Acrobat product lines, Adobe has finally posted public information on the problem but the company’s response falls well short of providing definitive mitigation guidance for end users." - Ryan Naraine's ZDNet blog....

Beyond the earlier info today, here's more on Shortcovers=---set to launch officially tomorrow: " Shortcovers will be launching on iPhone, Blackberry and Android The service will be available globally, but launching with US and Canadian currencies Shortcovers will have 200,000 first chapters of books, 50,000 full books at launch, but adding much more content in the coming weeks from top publishers such as Random House, Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins. Shortcovers’ e-books will cheaper than their hardcopy counterparts---ranging in the $4.99-$19.99...

Now this is great. It's good to see Sony putting its marketing savvy to work. Here's the latest offer from the Sony Store. For $299.99: James Bond creator Ian Fleming was a master storyteller who gave life to the man with a license to kill. To mark the centenary of Fleming's birth and the release of the latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace, we now offer a limited edition Reader bundle. Bundle includes: * A Reader Digital Book * An eBook Store download code for one download of each of two of Ian...

One of the fellows at work just got a Kindle 2 and the two Kindle 1 owners, myself and Brett Fielo our webmaster, both got to look at it. Bottom line: we both want one!!! Much easier to hold and it has a really classy feel. The ergonomics is much better and it seems unlikely that there will be as many accidental button hits. The screen refresh is definitely faster and the screen looks sharper than the Kindle 1. The new grayscale rendering is extremely impressive and blows the Kindle 1 away. We...

Used Kindle prices may drop very soon below the current $200-225 or so, according to a SmartMoney piece---found by Chris Walters of the Kindlerama blog, who follows up. As I write this, yes, I can point to a $200 bargain. Seller unknown, so be careful. Also see our earlier thoughts. If you can hold out another month or two, why not? Photo is of the original Kindle. Other K links of interest: --Nearly 30 percent of books sold for the Kindle are now above $9.99, by Chris W.---appearing, in this case, in The Consumerist, a blog...

TeleRead, MobileRead, and other e-book advocacy sites and blogs have complained about Kindle’s format lock-in for a long time. Sometimes it seems as if no one has been listening, as other complaints such as the brouhaha over text-to-speech take center field. However, Chris Snyder at Wired’s “Epicenter” blog has taken notice with an excellent article examining the issue from all sides. The issue isn't about DRM protections on the books themselves, but on Amazon's decision to create — and now perpetuate — a non-portable format that a) denies readers the ability to read e-books they...

Soft Skull Press's Richard Nash---the guy behind many an edgy novel and brave nonfiction book, as well as a progressive on issues such as DRM and e-formats---is leaving. Press release is here in PDF. I interviewed Richard at Tools of Change earlier this month. Here's the MP3, with my not-so-lovingly-preserved ughs, which I'm leaving in, so I can post the audio ASAP. Richard by contrast sounds like an Irish Shakespearean actor. What's up, Richard? Did you and your boss want to do something dramatic, just so I'd put up the interview earlier? At the time Richard was...

"Not five minutes after posting up about my Kindle 2 arriving, it slipped from my fingers, fell three feet, and gave the hardwood floor a great big smacker." - Rob Bushway in GottaBeMobile.com. The TeleRead take: Good thing that flexible touch screens are coming in time. Kindle image is a file shot---no breakage involved....

Details here from ABC Amber (via MobileRead). The conversion is only from ePub. Cost is $19.95. ...

"...Shortcovers will enable users to buy and download e-books to their wireless smart phone or computer via the Internet, mimicking the iTunes model, which revolutionized the music business." - Globe and Mail (via Sarah Weinman's Tweet). Related: Earlier TeleRead coverage of Shortcovers. Among other things, Shortcovers offers a community-heavy approach, allowing readers to Tweet as they work their way through books, and it also lets publishers do without DRM. Hint, hint, Amazon. The Wall Street Journal says this "e-book reading and buying program...works on devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, and in...

"Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center...announced a breakthrough in flexible display technology by creating the world's first 'touchscreen' active matrix display on a flexible, glass-free substrate. Achieved through a collaborative effort between the FDC and its partners E Ink Corporation and DuPont Teijin Films, this revolutionary display is the first demonstration of a flexible electronic display that enables real-time user input." - News release. The TeleRead take (updated): As Ferrider has pointed out, the Plastic Logic machine already includes touch screen capabilities. But the screen is built into a fairly rigid frame. So that could be the technical here; not sure....