You can already find a ton of books, too. I had a dispute about the danger of this with a friend who is a VP for a large college bookstore chain. She prefers to think that this is not an overwhelming threat. She also recommended a novel to me and I found and downloaded a pirate copy within 10 minutes. I don't know where this is going to end but it is hard to see a silver lining at the moment for the publishing industry as we know it. And I'm sure you all have seen Srcribd, which at least keeps it slightly more in the box than the torrenting does. If I were still a college student I have little doubt that I would be avoiding the textbook expenses. I have Zero confidence in any form of DRM to handle this. God only knows where this leaves the authors.
I agree with Steve that this is completely inevitable. For my part, I'm still hung up on the whole printed fetish, the smell, etc.. But I'm sure it is an easier habit to break than I realize and probably super-easy for a generation that hasn't grown up on the printed page the way we have.
Of course, the plus side for readers is that the backlist will be infinite.
James
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Novak
To: RARA-AVIS
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 16:58
Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: kindle query
Look: right now, I mean right now, if I want to I can latch on to
bit-torrent (one example among several others) and download the entire
record and performance collection of say AC-DC, everything that they ever
recorded or performed...if I canıt do it, my 16 y.o. can in about les time
that it takes me to write four e-mails...
It is totally free, totally illegal, but it happens every minute all over
the planet...I could do the same with every 007 film ever made. I could then
make DVDıs or CDıs, I could share with friend, compress and send the files
anywhere...free, totally free...
There will be a time when there is a combination of enough
books/publications Oout there digitizedı (current and old) and a cool, well
marketed device, tips the balance and when it is easier to go that way
instead of driving to the bookstore and buying the thing that all youngsters
agree, ³weighs a ton², i.e. a book!...
Meanwhile large institutions like the U of Michigan, 6 miles away, is
presently digitizing everything, absolutely everything in its library...Iıll
take 1/2 hr for any smart and devoted 20 y.o. to Obreak inı, retreive and
disseminate, share...free of charge...
It happens already...ask your sons or daughters who are in Uıs anywhere...
It is irreversible...
Iım not saying I like it, Iım not saying I approve of it, but it is on the
way, the only thing I donıt know is what is that device that will tip the
balance...at which stage of development it is...the kindle strikes me as the
walkman in the line of reading devices...maybe some of you publishers have a
better idea...?..because they will come to you publishers to strike deals
and put all Oyourı stuff on Otheir ıdevice...just like the entire catalog of
the Beatles was with one device...at one time...and that was impossible to
maintain anyway...
...enough...my 16 y.o. daughter has finished with AC-DC...time to send it to
one of my friends in Bordeaux, he always wanted it...
Montois
On 11/5/09 5:05 PM, "Steve Gerlach" <stezzariffic@yahoo.com> wrote:
> No e-reader, whether it be the Nook or Kindle, will corner the book market
> like the iPod did for music.
>
> Reason? Simple...
>
> The iPod allowed me to take my current collection of cds/lps/music and store
> them on the iPod at no additional cost except the time to "rip" the cds to the
> computer.
>
> eBook readers do NOT allow me to take my 2000+ book collection and store them
> on my eBook reader. I have to *purchase* every book I want to store on my
> eBook reader.
>
> Will I repurchase all 2000 books again just to store them on a Nook? No way.
> That's crazy.
>
> And there's the difference. Unless someone offers electronic versions of each
> of your current "real" novels, for nothing, then there's no way any eBook
> reader will capture the market like the iPod.
>
> Today's teenagers may begin to build their collections electronically, but
> anyone with a current collection is not about to change horses mid-stream.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Steve
> http://www.stevegerlach.com
>
> Follow me on Twitter @stezza666
>
> ________________________________
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