11.25.2K6: RTF e-books = Good decision.

A few weeks ago, I made the business decision to remove PDF files from my list of available e-book formats, and substitute them with Rich Text Files (RTFs). The decision was based on a few factors:

• No one was downloading the PDF files of the e-books. Upon investigation, I discovered that although a number of e-book readers can read PDF files, most of them cannot read a letter-sized "tagged" PDF properly. Most people who read PDFs on their readers take an unformatted file and save it according to their reader's screen specs.
   
• Although PDFs are a generally popular format, it made no sense to offer half a dozen or more PDF formats at various sizes for each iteration of e-book reader.
   
• Many e-book purchasers prefer to download an e-book format and convert it to their format of choice. This is because there are a lot more e-book formats than the five I offer, and until standardization rules in the e-book world, people will need different formats.
   
• Of the various formats that are easily converted to e-book formats, RTF is simultaneously the most popular, and the most information-rich, allowing easy addition of images and chapter links. It is readable on most word processing programs, including MS Word, and RTF can be directly converted by many e-book programs (or converted to a format most e-book converters can read).

Just a week after making this decision, I have already seen a number of new sales, most of them in RTF format, and some of them by people I've conversed with on discussion forums who have lamented about inconvenient formatting for their devices. One person even purchased most of my collection at once, all in RTF format. And I've received numerous kudos from those in various discussion groups who approve of my decision.

Of course, I still have the letter-sized PDF files. If I should get requests for them, I may put them back up as purchasing choices. But overall, I'd say it was a good move.

11.12.2K6: Students provide a design study on e-paper

Students in the Media IT Group of Halmsted University have worked up an excellent design study on e-paper by creating a product called Newsboy, and have put together a set of video presentations on it (named after the three central characters, Karin, Olivia, and Özgur).

E-paper is one of the latest technology ideas being developed by a number of labs. Essentially a portable wireless computer, this device would mimic the portability, flexibility and handling of paper, but would be a permanent and reusable device, cutting back significantly on the widespread use of paper for newsprint, magazines, flyers, etc.

The Group uses three (so far?) videos to show Newsboy users in the process of downloading and reading the daily newspaper, playing games like crosswords, accessing e-mail, checking out targeted sales material, interacting with students and professionals, saving select material, and purchasing items wirelessly. And oh, yes, rolling it up to chase a fly out of the room! The Group is Swedish, so I have no idea what they are saying in the videos... but the pictures are clear enough for anyone to understand.

I like the way the Media IT Group's design achieves flexibility without being too flimsy, which I think will add to its impression of longetivity and practicality. The solid spine of their product makes sense from an engineering and ergonomics standpoint. And the clips give a good run-through of the things you can do with it, and how.

Overall, a product that I would really want to check out. Right now, more solid and substantial e-readers are being marketed in select areas, mostly towards daily newspaper reading. Those marketing efforts have had mixed success, due mainly to the quality and usability of the e-reader. But the idea of turning newspapers (and perhaps other periodicals) into downloadable files has great promise.

Newsboy is only a design study, and may never be created... but as a public demo of what e-paper could mean to us, it serves as a great reference for future designers and visionaries.

11.3.2K6: LEDs to cut power use soon

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, approximately 22% of power generated in the U.S. goes to supplying light.

A great deal of that light is being generated by incandescent light bulbs... the good old bulbs we've been using since... well, Edison. But those traditional light bulbs are not very energy-efficient: About 95% of the energy put into a traditional light bulb goes out as waste heat. That's 95% of all the power going into traditional bulbs, wasted. And with today's energy prices, that's just plain wrong.

Fortunately, new lighting technologies are coming to save a lot of that power. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the devices that started out illuminating watches and pocket calculators, are rapidly developing in quality and dropping in price. Formerly limited to a few colors only, LEDs can now generate multiple colors, including white light. An LED light can put out the same amount of light as a traditional light bulb, but for a fraction of the power used, and with little of it wasted as heat. They can last up to 100,000 hours, far longer than a traditional bulb (whose lifespan is usually measured in a few hundred hours). And although they are a bit pricey right now, within 2 years, experts believe they will have dropped in price enough to allow consumers to comfortably buy them for the home.

LED lights are already available, if you'd like to check them out... in fact, LED bulbs are rapidly replacing the traditional light bulbs in flashlights and other small light sources. Small, battery-powered lights can be found in hardware stores (I have one in my living room closet). They also direct light better, meaning less light in places that don't need it.

Between this technology, and the compact fluorescent bulbs that are available right now, the U.S. is in a good position to get rid of wasteful old bulbs and start cutting its collective energy bill. Using more efficient, less heat-wasteful bulbs will reduce our energy usage for power generation, and for additional cooling of bulb-generated heat, saving the country billions, reducing the output of global warming gases, and conserving tons of oil, gas and coal fuels.

11.2.2K6: E-books: The pawns have control of the board

I have been immensely enjoying the time I've been spending lately on Mobileread.com. To put it simply, we're trying to shape the e-book industry from the outside-in, and we're actually making some progress!

Mobileread.com, as its name suggests, is dedicated to mobile devices that can be used to read e-books, be they handheld computers, cellphones, smartphones, or whatever is around the corner. The site is populated by readers, authors, computer programmers, gadget freaks, and a few industry insiders. The various forums cover everything from recommending books or authors, or reviewing e-book reading devices, to debating the value of Digital Rights Management (DRM) or discussing pricing and distribution models.

Just a bunch of geeks venting? Not so! In fact, just recently comments made on this site made their way to the ears of Sony executives, who were busy setting up their Connect™ e-book store, and convinced them to reset their e-book prices to a more "consumer-friendly" price point. Other comments reviewing hardware and software have resulted in improvements (or at least changes) in hardware and software products. I've taken heed of comments made here myself, in shaping this site.

Someone wanting to know the state of the e-book market could do much worse than to start here and browse around. And more importantly, someone in the publishing industry wishing to know how to shape their e-book marketing and sales should spend time here first! Knowledgeable forum participants have provided plenty of comment, debate, and sober recommendations on e-book formatting, DRM, delivery systems, marketing methods, ways to combat e-book theft and "piracy," consumer-based review and recommendation systems, and of course, consumer-friendly pricing.

Addendum 11.5.06: These days, the biggest issue being discussed is about e-book formats. There are a few dedicated e-book readers out there, and even more software applications that run on PCs and laptops, handheld computers, smartphones, and other devices. And it seems there's a format for each device which is a bit different from the others. Many claim that the dizzying prospect of which format to use, or whether an e-book is available in a format that works on your personal reader, is one of the major factors serving to keep consumers away from widespread adoption of e-books.

What is needed is a truly universal format for e-books, one that any device or reader can read. Unfortunately, it's hard to get everyone to agree on a standard. And once it's written, it's even harder to get everyone at the other end to accept and properly use that standard. We've recently seen the results of such an effort... it was referred to as the Browser Wars, and it is the reason why different web browsers don't read the same web pages the same way, and won't always allow you to do the same things.

The e-book world is essentially looking at a reboot of the Browser Wars, trying to convince everybody to get on the same page, and faced with numerous big hitters (like Microsoft, Adobe and Sony) who like to do things their own way. Those who should be big hitters in the game... the publishers... are essentially uninterested in the e-book arena, because they do not understand the economics of it, are afraid of losing money to piracy, and are too staid to invest the energy into working out the problems.

Which leaves the e-book consumer, clearly the pawns in this little war, to attempt to advise and guide things. On the face, it seems absurd to shape an industry this way... after all, it didn't work out so well with the web browsers. On the other hand, maybe the fact that (apparently, at least) there is not as much at stake financially in the e-book market, will keep the big hitters from bothering to exert too much adverse influence. And at the same time, the Browser Wars taught the pawns how to exercise control through Open Source efforts, and Open Source groups are already working on new formatting initiatives that might nip a lot of this grief in the bud.

Ultimately, the pawns have control of the situation, because they have teeth, and they're not afraid to use them. They can choose not to buy into proprietary readers and formats. They can decide the fate of companies trying to exercise control of their field, using only the power of speech and the reach of the internet. The e-book user will make or break the e-book industry, depending on how they feel the industry is treating them. And if the e-book industry tries to take unfair advantage, we'll see a French Revolution led by the pawns, and a new system that will rise from the ashes of the old. The pawns are already organized, and ready to cheer, march, or revolt, on cue. Their cue.

How will it all work out? Go to Mobileread.com and find out. The e-book market has its problems, there is no doubt on this. However, thanks to sites like Mobileread, I am confident that eventually those problems will be solved.