Comments for The Digital Reader

Comment on Good News for Readers: Amazon Might be Winning Its Battle with Traditional Publishers Over Prices by Bree

Bree — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:58:20 +0000

Yeah, but I wonder how many of those sub-$9.99 books are just re-uploads of Google e-Books converted for Kindle?

The Kindle store is a mess with hundreds, if not thousands, of for-pay copies of each individual classic, and new ones mushroom up every day, as everyone wants their cut of the Kindle action. If Amazon doesn’t control that soon, it’s going to turn off Kindle customers trying to browse and buy.

Comment on 4 Calif. school districts launch iPad pilot program by Anonymous Coward

Anonymous Coward — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:31:21 +0000

Am I the only one who thinks the iPad is an overpriced overrated platform?

Comment on Review: Kobo Desktop Reader by Alexander Inglis

Alexander Inglis — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:48:32 +0000

I think the confusion runs in the press release: it sounds like something new, whereas in fact its simply an update. It is unique in that it’s the first app of its kind to support multiple DRM ePub devices when the bookstore and device maker are one and the same.

Switching views (menu at bottom left) is helpful; and the direct link to the store works reasonably well. It’s true that it doesn’t support non-Kobobooks (like library loans or side-loaded books); but then, while the Kindle desktop app does let you load them, it doesn’t track or sync them either — not really much of an improvement. No doubt: this is not a full-featured tool and — like the Kobo itself — it does what it does on its own simple terms well, but no more.

Bottom line: it’s an (updated) app designed to access the Kobo bookstore, track those purchases and bookmarks, and be able to sync via USB with Kobo and other DRM ePub devices. If you don’t buy content from Kobo, there’s no point downloading it. Then again, I could say the same for the Sony eReader app, which is a customized Adobe ADE player with a direct link to the Sony store.

Comment on 4 Calif. school districts launch iPad pilot program by fjtorres

fjtorres — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:14:44 +0000

Oh, but California school districts have tons of money for all sorts of projects–haven’t you heard of the new, gold-plated, LA school that cost US$578 million to build?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100822/ap_on_re_us/us_taj_mahal_schools
They just don’t have money for actually, you know, “teaching” students.
Go figure.

To be fair, Massachusetts has one that cost almost $200 million, NYC one that cost over $200 million, and NJ too.
Surely LA students deserve a showcase school building to build up their self-esteem?

Comment on iBooks only have 33k titles, and other embarrassing details by Nate the great

Nate the great — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:38:59 +0000

Thanks for pointing out the better technique.

Comment on Is Scribd pirating your uploaded content? by Cambio de política de Scribd – Crisol.org

Cambio de política de Scribd – Crisol.org — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:35:55 +0000

[...] Artículo en The Digital Reader [...]

Comment on iBooks only have 33k titles, and other embarrassing details by Doug

Doug — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:22:06 +0000

The technique used (Google search) doesn’t give valid numbers except as to the number of ebook pages that Google has picked up. Useful if you’re interested in Google’s indexing, but not helpful if you’re figuring out the size of the site’s e-book catalogue.

A simple search of the entire B&N e-book store (including Google Books) gives 1,176,150 titles: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK

Of those, 956,156 titles are free: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&WRD=“0.00″

That leaves 219,994 titles that aren’t free. Total Smashwords titles are 9065, of which 1044 are free, so 8021 of those not-free titles are from Smashwords (not all Smashwords titles are eligible for the Premium Catalog, which is distributed to the e-booksellers): http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&PN=Smashwords
http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&WRD=%220.00%22&PN=Smashwords

The “29K” number from the Google search is nowhere close to reality.

[I chose B&N because that's the site I'm familiar with, not because I thought they were singled out.]

Comment on Pocketbook 602 clears FCC by Medion P6101 e-reader launched in Germany (video) | The Digital Reader

Medion P6101 e-reader launched in Germany (video) | The Digital Reader — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:16:00 +0000

[...] seen the hardware before (kinda). Do you recall the post about a month ago about the Pocketbook 602 clearing the FCC? This particular Medion model was named in the paperwork. Of course, Pocketbook has since changed [...]

Comment on iBooks only have 33k titles, and other embarrassing details by Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:02:59 +0000

This is a good argument for metadata. The stores themselves could poll the metadata and break out the titles anywhichway. We have X free. We have X free public domain. We have X between $1-$4.99. We have X between $5.00-$9.99.”

I’m still frikkin confused over who has the most *real* books now — setting aside the public domain stuff ripped off for resale.

Smashwords also distributes to Kobo too, I think.

Comment on Review: Kobo Desktop Reader by Nic Boshart

Nic Boshart — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:02:26 +0000

I do use this store, and I really want a better desktop app. I’m sure it’s coming, but the fact that the Kobo is my main reader and Kobo is my main store should mean I can manage my books from their desktop app.