I received the device today, and have unboxed it. Thanks to my webcam, I now share the unboxing process with you. Technorati Tags: unboxing,Sony,Sony Reader,PRS-700,e-book,e-ink...

The good folks at Feedbooks are improving their publishing application programming interface (API). Writers can now “switch to the Table of Contents (ToC) of your book while editing, to drag & drop parts/chapters/sections and re-order them the way that you want.” Sounds very user-friendly---another online publishing option for potential authors. But quickly reading the post the first time, I mistakenly thought Feedbooks was going to let the reader perform these in-book mashups.  It got me to thinking: why not? When a mashup will work For novels that rely on straightforward linear progression, a...

Update: The Scandals discussion has been rescheduled for 8 p.m., July 28. Stuck in the middle of nowhere---without a bookstore or  library near by with good book discussion groups? You might check out the OPAL global chatcasts, which mix audio and text and encourage audience participation. The main host is Tom Peters of TAP Information Services. Tom---an academic librarian well regarded for his work with public libraries---spends hours and hours preparing for these programs. They should be of interest to many, but writers in particular, given Tom’s detailed analyses of characters, plots and literary styles. On June 23 at 9 p.m. Eastern...

I came across this comment by Felix Torres and it hit me right in the center of the forehead like a 50 caliber bullet. (Well, maybe not quite like that as I am writing this.) He is so right! We all forget that Amazon developed all the software for their store (and has patents on a lot of it) and has developed, on its own, software for enterprise level backup and search. We get fooled by the facade of Amazon as a retailer and proceed to forget that they do all the back end stuff themselves. ...

FedEx has informed me that my Sony PRS-700 Reader will arrive tomorrow before 10:30 a.m. I get to keep it for two weeks, officially starting Thursday but I’m not complaining about having an extra day to get the jump on things. I thought that, in the interest of chronicling my experiences, I would sit down and write down the preconceptions I come to this trial period with, so that I can look back in two weeks and see how much they have been changed by spending time with the thing. So, here are my uninformed impressions. Sony has offered me a generous...

Here's part of a press release I received from OverDrive. OverDrive (www.overdrive.com) today announced that digital audiobook catalogs from leading publishers will be compatible with iPod® and other Apple® devices after a simple upgrade of OverDrive’s free, easy-to-use audiobook software. Starting in mid-June, millions of new and existing users with Windows® PCs will be able to install OverDrive Media Console version 3.2 with enhanced transfer functionality for iPod, iPhone™, iPod touch®, and iPod nano®, as well as Zune® and thousands of other portable devices. Participating publishers include Random House Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Audio, BBC Audiobooks America, Brilliance Audio,...

I can't say it any better than David Lomax did in this email to me. I don't think anyone is trying to price gouge, however. I think its just that this whole ebook pricing thing is so new that nobody has a clue as to what to do. Unfortunately the incompetence of publishers and resellers is driving away the very readers they are trying to retain. Here's David's email: You guys at Teleread are really good at reporting on the price issue with regards to ebooks, so I thought this one might interest you. Sony has just made...

Here's a very good article about Amazon, Bezos and the Kindle by Jeffrey M. O'Brien. It has some interesting personal stuff about the players as well. Thanks to Peter Brantley for the link. Here's a short quote from the ending: ... Display makers such as Plastic Logic say color is only a couple of years away. But Bezos says the technology is nowhere near ready. So what's next? The only hint he gives about his "10-year road map" comes in reaction to an observation that the wireless connectivity could foster interaction (think virtual book clubs) among Kindle owners. He...

I met Allen Lau, co-founder of Wattpad, at the IDPF conference and reported on his strong interest in keeping infringing material off his site.  Allen has just issued an open letter to writers asking for their help in this endeavor.  He sent me a copy and here it is.  I found Allen to be a forthright and open person and I believe he is sincere in this effort. Open Letter to the writing community As noted in a recent New York Times article published on May 11, 2009, digital piracy in the literary world has ballooned in recent months as an expanding...

I have read several posts recently, both here and elsewhere, from people in the publishing industry explaining where they want the e-book industry to go. These posts carefully outline why the current model is the way it is, and what steps publishers are, or should be taking to get readers on board with the way they perceive things to be going. They are also completely missing the point. Here is a new way of looking at things. Instead of deciding what you want to sell and at what price, then endeavoring to convince people why you have...

Well, it looks as if Amazon is gradually increasing the scope of the Kindle's abilities. If you go to your Kindle account on Amazon here is the notice you get: Our customers have told us that they love being able to add highlights and notes to their Kindle books, and now we've made it possible for you to access your highlights and notes here at AmazonKindle. To view your highlights and notes from your browser, sign in with your Amazon account, and select one of your books where you've added highlights or notes. Just as automotive GPS units are starting to...

I myself like to see books, magazines and newspapers optimized for the Web---as opposed to just reproducing the original layouts. Exceptions exist. But generally I’d rather not zoom in and out. Not everyone feels this way, however; and Exact Editions has developed a spiffy app to accommodate them. See those two arrows at the bottom of the left image? They let you move forward and backward. Nothing new there. But here’s the app’s real wrinkle in the navigation area. “A first for page flow on the iPhone?” asks Exact’s Adam Hodgkin---as shown by the image to...