June 2010 - gutvol-d - lists.pglaf.org

another month, another million
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 13 Jul '10

13 Jul '10

2 million ipads sold to date, exactly as i predicted last month, once again doubling the rate achieved earlier by the iphone, and said to be the fastest to $1billion by any tech product... > http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/05/31ipad.html i think i said they'd hit 3 million by the fall, and 4 by year-end, which -- at this time -- is beginning to look fairly conservative. -bowerbird

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Stanza now supports iPad
by Marcello Perathoner 01 Jul '10

01 Jul '10

Version 3 of Stanza now `supports´ the iPad. You should now be able to get books over wifi from alternate sources. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stanza/id284956128?mt=8 -- Marcello Perathoner webmaster(a)gutenberg.org

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ebook reader for $119
by Juliet Sutherland 25 Jun '10

25 Jun '10

This is just FYI. I figured that this audience might be interested in following the ongoing ebook reader price wars. Kindle was recently dropped to $179 to match the nook pricing. And lower prices from other readers are on their way soon. The following from http://is.gd/cZjtm or if you prefer longer links http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/borders-offers-best-ereader-values-… "ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP <http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=BGP>) today announced that the Kobo eReader will now be bundled with a $20 Borders gift card, and double Borders Bucks that can be used towards a future Borders purchase. At $149.99 the Kobo is among the lowest priced eReaders available, and bundled with the gift card, delivers the best eBooks value available today." "According to consumer research conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, high prices continue to be a barrier to eReader adoption, despite significant interest in purchasing over the next few years. The same research has identified the consumer sweet spot for eReader cost between $100 and $150. The Kobo eReader ($149), which also comes with 100 free titles, and the Libre eBook Reader Pro ($119) both fall within this sweet spot, positioning Borders for strong consumer adoption and market penetration."

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three million, and counting
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 23 Jun '10

23 Jun '10

it didn't even take a full month to sell their third million ipads... > http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/06/22ipad.html i hoped i was being conservative when i predicted 4 million for this year, but i guess i was actually being _very_ conservative... and -- like many other people, i would guess -- i haven't even went to buy mine yet, because i want to walk in and buy it and walk out with it; and their supplies are too short for that, yet... it's magical... -bowerbird

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Keep up with the catalog on Twitter
by Aaron Cannon 08 Jun '10

08 Jun '10

Hi all. I setup an experimental twitter feed of the books that get posted to PG. If you already subscribe to the RSS feed, then the twitter feed won't be very interesting, as that's what it's based on. Anyway, be interested in hearing if anyone finds this to be of value. http://www.twitter.com/gutenbooks Aaron

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target to sell the kindle
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 04 Jun '10

04 Jun '10

target will begin selling the kindle next week. looks like this e-book thing is gonna stick this time around... -bowerbird

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Re: target to sell the kindle
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 03 Jun '10

03 Jun '10

michael said: > Are they once again going after market share over profit? they have no choice. otherwise the ipad will eat them alive. -bowerbird

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Re: tofu turkey and cracked crystal balls
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 02 Jun '10

02 Jun '10

michael said: > Actually, I seem to have noticed many of the PG eBooks, > or something suspiciously similar, on most eReaders. > No? yes. but _not_ the .epubs obtained from apple's store. to the best of my knowledge, correct me if i'm wrong. because the .epub files obtained from apple's store will only run on apple's machinery. so the promise that .epub would be _interoperable_ and _open_ was false, because it depended upon the assumption that it would never be wrapped in d.r.m., an assumption that has been known to be unwarranted ever since microsoft wrapped the original o.e.b. in d.r.m. and let it be known that the corporate publisher dinosaurs -- the same entities who brought you the .epub format -- are the entities who have also continued to insist on d.r.m., so this is _not_ some kind of "accident" that "just happened". they knew what they were doing, and rothman was a tool... so... those p.g. books on other platforms were produced _independently,_ because -- thanks to your great foresight, michael -- p.g. plain text _is_ "open and interoperable"... -bowerbird

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Re: tofu turkey and cracked crystal balls
by Bowerbird＠aol.com 02 Jun '10

02 Jun '10

david rothman, a.k.a. the idiot, said: > if you count used PDAs you were never talking about _used_ equipment. no, you were talking about _new_ equipment that sold in sufficient numbers that the price dropped. never mind the contradiction that big numbers mean strong demand, which mitigates _against_ a price-drop. you thought the prediction that tech products would always drop in price was a safe one to make. you happened to be wrong. so now you're trying to shift the argument, and making yourself look more ridiculous in doing so. > I won't claim a Bowerbird level of infallibility, > far from it good thing you're not "claiming" it, because you don't have anything close to it. you're miles away. > I won't claim a Bowerbird level of infallibility, > far from it, but consider this little prediction > that I published in Computerworld in 1992-- > about hardware in 2020: so your 30-year prediction in 1992 was off a bit, _by_10_years_. yet another cracked crystal ball. and thus you show that you make the errors that most people make -- overestimating the changes that occur in the short-term, and underestimating the ones that occur in the long-term. c'est la vie. ordinarily, i wouldn't care about your predictions. but you were _so_ adamant -- and _so_ wrong -- and lambasted anyone who disagreed with you... (and then _banned_ us when we dared to persist.) anyone who goes back and reads that old thread will see that you actually tried to argue that you were _right_. and -- when that failed miserably -- you said, "come back in a year and see who's right". so i came back the next year, and i was still right, and you were still wrong. and then i came back the year after that, and i was _still_ right, and you were _still_ wrong. and even now, i'm still right, and you're still wrong. and you're still trying to weasel out of the thing... and yet you _still_ seem to think that if you only post some message in return, you will confuse us, and we won't notice that you were wrong all along. the days when bluster and bombing were routine on this listserve have long since passed, mr. idiot. > Meanwhile I'd suggest that you and your pals > repair your own crystal balls, given the rise > of the standard ePub format for e-books. i was _hoping_ you would bring that up, david. hoping and hoping and hoping and hoping... because yes, you were wrong about that one too, and wrong in exactly the way i said you would be. after all, it was easy for me to predict, since the _first_ wave of the .epub format (known then as "open-book") had shown exactly what'd happen, when microsoft wrapped it in proprietary d.r.m. so that's what i predicted would happen again... it makes perfect business sense, and when you're dealing with businesses, that's what they will do... and sure enough, that's exactly what happened... right now, adobe has their own version of .epub, one which they've wrapped in proprietary d.r.m. and apple has _their_ own version of .epub as well, one they have wrapped in _their_ proprietary d.r.m. plus there's scrollmotion, and kobo, and nook... and who knows what google is going to do? so do we have the interoperability _you_ promised? no, we don't. because you were stupid enough to think that interoperability resided in the _format_ itself... and you weren't smart enough to know you had to disallow all d.r.m. wrappers to get interoperability. so now we are stuck with an unnecessarily difficult file-format that gives none of the promised benefits. so big "congratulations" on your "accomplishment". > Why does Bowerbird's silliness go on, year after year? because we made a 5-year bet, which i check in on every 6 months, just to see how things are going... you can bet (if you'd like to _win_ a bet sometime) that -- once we've hit the 5-year mark -- i will be happy to never ever mention your idiocy here again. as long as you stay away, i'll be happy to forget you. > he wanted my TeleRead site to promote his own technology oh please. "promotion" from a know-nothing idiot like you would be the kiss of death for a good idea. > and he hated talk from Jon Noring and me > of an industry standard. neither you nor noring knew what you blathered about. but jon knew a _little_ bit, at least about the markup... you, on the other hand, knew absolutely nothing at all. you just went on the basis of what "sounded good" and a flock of idiots believed you because it "sounded good". as far as "an industry standard" goes, why would we want to let the dinosaur publishers make the rules the mammals have to follow? never understood that. but i never argued that one standard is a bad idea... i _did_ say that it would have to be a _good_ standard, but that wouldn't seem to be an unreasonable caveat... and face it, anything that gets wrapped in d.r.m. can _never_ be called "an open standard". by definition. yet you routinely said "i disapprove of d.r.m., _but_ if the publishers won't go electronic without it, then we have to kowtow to them". well, i got news for you. the corporations will drag their feet on d.r.m. forever, or until you force them to stop. so force them to stop. oh, i forgot, you were too busy kissing their stinky feet. > Our OpenReader initiative led the main e-book industry > trade group to get serious about consumer-level standards the sad thing is that you and jon actually believe that... > But at least with ePub we're part of the way there. we're halfway to hell, that's where we are. maybe 3/5ths. but once the corporations exit the publishing sphere, and they are no longer propping up their little format, then we'll see if mammals can turn the direction around. however, in the meantime, do you know what we've got? we've got a return to the time of "browser incompatibilities". that's right. those good old days where you had to fine-tune everything you did to each specific browser, e.g., "this site best viewed in specify-a-browser here." in spite of the fact that we have "an industry standard", every viewer-program implements the thing differently. the (badly inferior) adobe program does things one way, and the apple ibooks program does things yet another way, and who even bothers with the sony, and nook, and kobo? this is more of the _crap_ that the publishing industry is throwing on the e-book sphere, so as to disable it... the paper-printers don't _want_ e-books to succeed, because they know it spells the end of their big money, so they try to hobble it with every obstacle they can find. and david rothman has been right there, helping 'em out, whether he knew it or not. (and for the most part, did not.) > Bowerbird's "observer" friend has probably > sold thousands of dollars of books in > the very format that was to fade away. only because apple adopted .epub, to please the dinosaurs, and as diversionary tactic aimed at injuring amazon's kindle. but in one year, when the agency model comes up for review, corporate publishers will learn what the music people learned, which is that apple won't tolerate their bull-crap for very long. then things will get interesting... > Gasp, PG offers ePub among other formats congratulations, you've got marcello on your side... yes, i'm really heartbroken i was unable to draft him. > and Apple has turned thousands of Gutenberg classics > into ePub books for the iPad. which, sorry, you cannot put on a kindle. or even on a sony. or a kobo. or a nook. so much for overcoming the file-format "problem"... > He'll very possibly be amusing us on schedule > in another six months or so. you mean on november 30, when the bet concludes? well now, that would be fully appropriate, wouldn't it? so if i'm not here to flaunt it, i hope _someone_ will... -bowerbird

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Cuckoo Bird [-Re: tofu turkey and cracked crystal balls]
by David H. Rothman 02 Jun '10

02 Jun '10

Actually, Bowerbird, if you count used PDAs, the $50 computer is already a reality as I've pointed out before. I won't claim a Bowerbird level of infallibility, far from it, but consider this little prediction that I published in Computerworld in 1992--about hardware in 2020: --Storage of at least a gigabyte of data --"A thin, lightweight, detachable screen that contains the CPU and memory chips, which are the true guts of the computer." --The ability to add on a keyboard. --Data speeds of 1M bit --"Millions of choices from books, newspapers, magazines and professional journals." http://www.teleread.com/computerworld.htm Post iPad, my prediction seems if anything on the conservative side. Darn. I should have used more "hype." I remember some people at the time saying that database searching couldn't accommodate the national digital library system I had in mind. Well, we don't have TeleRead yet. But we certainly have Google, and maybe TeleRead will happen eventually. Meanwhile I'd suggest that you and your pals repair your own crystal balls, given the rise of the standard ePub format for e-books. For newbies: Why does Bowerbird's silliness go on, year after year? Well, he wanted my TeleRead site to promote his own technology, and he hated talk from Jon Noring and me of an industry standard. Our OpenReader initiative led the main e-book industry trade group to get serious about consumer-level standards--endlessly enraging the Bird. Wacky emails like his most recent one are his revenge. If you love eBabel, all those clashing e-book formats, the Bird's your guy. Proprietary DRM still mucks up e-books in various formats, including ePub from large publishers--"protection" sucks. But at least with ePub we're part of the way there. Bowerbird's "observer" friend has probably sold thousands of dollars of books in the very format that was to fade away. Gasp, PG offers ePub among other formats, and Apple has turned thousands of Gutenberg classics into ePub books for the iPad. Don't you love the Bowerbird crowd's powers of prophesy? OK, enough time spent on the Bird for the moment. He'll very possibly be amusing us on schedule in another six months or so. Cuckoo clock... Cuckoo Bird... Bowerbird... it all blurs together. David Rothman Founder and former editor-publisher of TeleRead =========== On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 5:18 PM, <Bowerbird(a)aol.com> wrote: > 4.5 years ago, i made a little bet with david rothman > -- who i pleasantly refer to as "the idiot", inspired by a > label given by another observer on the e-book scene -- > about my 5-year perspective on e-book hardware... > > you can find the original thread here: > > > http://www.teleread.com/2005/11/29/you-can-buy-the-mit-100-laptop-for-200/ > > as usual, for him, the idiot was blathering on about > how there'd be $50 e-book hardware "real soon now", > a line he'd been huckstering for years prior to that... > > i always reminded him that an e-book reader-machine > would have to have a chip and a screen, and that meant > that it would essentially be a computer, and that those > were the most expensive parts of any computer, so that > it was totally unrealistic to expect that kind of pricing... > > i said: > > and if there’s a $50 computer — i mean a real computer – > > available on _any_ thanksgiving in the next 5 years, i will > > _buy_it_ for you. because the cost of _lunch_ will hit $50 > > before there is a $50 computer. and i can buy you lunch… > > 4.5 years later, there's still no $50 computer on the market. > so it looks like the idiot's crystal ball was severely cracked... > > but walmart _will_ be selling the iphone (a real computer) > for just 99 bucks. so my crystal ball? pretty darn accurate. > > -bowerbird > > _______________________________________________ > gutvol-d mailing list > gutvol-d(a)lists.pglaf.org > http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo/gutvol-d > >

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