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By David Rothman

Francis_Bacon Where is Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) when we need him? Imagine the English philosopher using his famous scientific methods in the Iraq debate or the UFO controversy. Bacon was also a statesman and essayist, and the 25,000th book posted to Project Gutenberg happens to be an audio book of The Essays of Francis Bacon—read by Carl Vonnoh, III, of LibriVox. For more details, go to Project Gutenberg News and the Bacon-related page of LibriVox.

Other items of interest today:

–A new version of FBReader is out, aimed at the new Nokia N810 along with existing machines. It might not quite work yet on the others, although FBReader promises a quick fix. But among other things, Version 0.8.7 is supposed to correct glitches associated with JPEG files in Mobipocket. The free FBReader is one way to read the IDPF’s new .epub format. Oodles of classics in .epub and other formats are available at Feedbooks, and we’ll hope that Gutenberg and Manybooks.net can adopt this IDPF standard in time.

–Adobe "is working to deliver all of its software via the Web as a service rather than a packaged product, but the transition to earn money from subscriptions or advertising could take a decade," Reuters reports. We already know Adobe hopes to do ad-supported versions of Digital Editions, the .epub-and-PDF-compatible reader. I wonder how much those subscriptions will costs. Interestingly, Mobipocket has moved in the opposite direction, "freeing up" software for which it once charged.

–Memo to Adobe: It’s time to jump into the TeleBlog’s .epub discussion, where, among other things, some people are raising security-related concerns over Digital Editions.

–Penguin is lowering the retail prices of e-books so they’re the same as for the print versions, according to DearAuthor.com.

–The Washington Post heard our complains about the mobile edition chopping off stories and referring readers to the main online edition. Jim Brady, exec editor of the Post online, e-mailed me that it’s a bug and that the Post is on the case. Now if only the mobile edition can include the Sunday book section. It’s coming in time, but right now is a low priority. A search box meanwhile would be nice so people could at least use the word "book" to call up reviews and the rest.

–Yes, Publishers Weekly has an RSS feed on the way for E-Book Report, my new home page blog there.

 
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