The eReader Megathread: Yes, all publishers hate Canada

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The eReader Megathread: Yes, all publishers hate Canada

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Fats: Oct 14, 2006; What I cannot create, I do not understand; Fun Shoe

maxnmona posted:

Name a mainstream electronic device that won't get hosed up if you spill a bunch of liquid on it.

I guess it isn't mainstream, but I have a ruggedized Fluke multimeter that is waterproof/drop resistant/chemical resistant/etc. I wish normal electronics manufacturers offered options like that, at least to the point where I wasn't afraid to use my phone in the rain or cram my Kindle in with a bunch of textbooks.

# ? Feb 25, 2011 20:40

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 18:30

Trig Discipline: Jun 3, 2008; Please leave the room if you think this might offend you.; Grimey Drawer

I've had cell phones that are pretty okay with having a reasonable amount of liquid spilled on them. Dropping them in the ocean, not so much.

# ? Feb 25, 2011 20:57

Call Me Charlie: Dec 3, 2005; by Smythe

Looks like it is finally starting between the publishers and the library/Overdrive. HarperCollins is putting a 26 loan cap on each book they sell.

quote:

In the first significant revision to lending terms for ebook circulation, HarperCollins has announced that new titles licensed from library ebook vendors will be able to circulate only 26 times before the license expires.

Mention of the new terms was first made in a letter from OverDrive CEO Steve Potash to customers yesterday. He wrote [emphasis in original]:

quote:
[W]e have been required to accept and accommodate new terms for eBook lending as established by certain publishers. Next week, OverDrive will communicate a licensing change from a publisher that, while still operating under the one-copy/one-user model, will include a checkout limit for each eBook licensed. Under this publisher's requirement, for every new eBook licensed, the library (and the OverDrive platform) will make the eBook available to one customer at a time until the total number of permitted checkouts is reached.

Though the letter leaves the publisher unnamed, HarperCollins confirmed today to LJ that it is the publisher referred to.

The publisher also issued a short statement: "HarperCollins is committed to the library channel. We believe this change balances the value libraries get from our titles with the need to protect our authors and ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come."

Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the 26 circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of factors, including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on circulating copies.

As noted in the letter, the terms will not be specific to OverDrive, and will likewise apply to "all eBook vendors or distributors offering this publisher's titles for library lending." The new terms will not be retroactive, and will apply only to new titles. More details on the new terms are set to be announced next week.

If a lending period is two weeks, the 26 circulation limit is likely to equal roughly one year of use for a popular title. For a three-week lending period, that stretches to a year and a half.

For librarians�many of whom are already frustrated with ebooks lending policies and user interface issues�further license restrictions seem to come at a particularly bad time, given strained budgets nationwide. It may also disproportionately affect libraries that set shorter loan periods for ebook circulation.

While HarperCollins is the first major publisher to amend the terms of loan for its titles, two other members of the publishing "big six"�Macmillan and Simon & Schuster�still do not allow ebooks to be circulated in libraries, much to the consternation of librarians.

Likewise, many in the profession have pointed out publishers are overlooking the value added by librarians in promoting books and fostering book culture, a role detailed by librarian Katie Dunneback at the recent Tools of Change for Publishing conference.

Sarah Houghton-Jan, Assistant Director for the San Rafael Public Library, CA, and a blogger who has long voiced dissatisfaction with the ebook status quo, responded to the news:

quote:
Consumer market eBook vendors like Barnes & Noble and Amazon don't let publishers get away with the amount of nonsense that we get stuck with through library eBook vendors. I fault the publishers for not realizing what a huge mistake they are making by not realizing that new formats are opportunities--not threats to be quashed. I fault the library eBook vendors for not standing firm and saying "no" to asinine demands. And I fault the library profession for, to date, not standing up for the rights of our users. Our job is to fight for the user, and we have done a poor job of doing that during the digital content surge.

By contrast, Christopher Platt, Acting Director, Collections and Circulating Operations, The New York Public Library, said that he could see the move as "a great first step and an interesting development." Nevertheless, he said he would prefer an industry-wide solution rather than deals unique to a specific publisher. "We naturally gravitate to publishers that are easy to work with."

Additional publisher anxieties
The OverDrive letter also spells out concerns from publishers over geographic and territorial rights, and lending practices tied to card issuance, seemingly a sign of companies new to dealing with libraries in terms of electronic content (database publishers have long dealt in FTE or residents served).

OverDrive likewise says publishers are concerned about the size of consortia and shared collections, and "seek to ensure that sufficient copies of their content are being licensed to service demand of the library's service area, while at the same time balance the interests of publisher's retail partners who are focused on unit sales."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889452-264/harpercollins_caps_loans_on_ebook.html.csp

# ? Feb 25, 2011 21:03

ahobday: Apr 19, 2007

quote:

Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the 26 circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of factors, including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on circulating copies.

Using paper books as a guide for how you make eBooks available is ridiculous.

Edit: There needs to be a major eBook publisher that authors can go to, get a higher cut, have the books sold at a lower price, and which treats the customer better. Like Steam for eBooks.

# ? Feb 25, 2011 22:07

The Aphasian: Mar 8, 2007; Psychotropic Hops

Centipeed posted:

Using paper books as a guide for how you make eBooks available is ridiculous.

Edit: There needs to be a major eBook publisher that authors can go to, get a higher cut, have the books sold at a lower price, and which treats the customer better. Like Steam for eBooks.

Amazon gives authors 70% royalties as long as the price of the ebook is between $2.99 and $9.99. I heard originally that it would also have to be 20% or more below the lowest price of a physical copy, but I can't find that on their site now.

http://forums.kindledirectpublishing.com/kdpforums/entry.jspa?externalID=393

# ? Feb 25, 2011 22:25

maxnmona: Mar 16, 2005; if you start with drums, you have to end with dynamite.

Centipeed posted:

Using paper books as a guide for how you make eBooks available is ridiculous.

Edit: There needs to be a major eBook publisher that authors can go to, get a higher cut, have the books sold at a lower price, and which treats the customer better. Like Steam for eBooks.

There is. It's calling publishing the book yourself and then selling it on the major ebook stores, which is really easy.

# ? Feb 25, 2011 22:29

Shnooks: Mar 24, 2007; I'M BEING BORN D:

Just to make sure it isn't me or is fixable...

I've noticed a few times in a few different books I've been reading that foreign words are sometimes just not written out. Like, for example, in Les Miserable, Digne is written D----. In my collection of short stories by Ryuuosuke Akutagawa, a few of the Japanese names were written like that too.

It's not like accent marks don't show up and that's why it's not working. It's really loving weird and getting on my nerves now

# ? Feb 25, 2011 22:55

ahobday: Apr 19, 2007

maxnmona posted:

There is. It's calling publishing the book yourself and then selling it on the major ebook stores, which is really easy.

Well then all of the authors I read need to start doing this and selling their books for $5 :colbert:

# ? Feb 25, 2011 23:34

Kreeblah: May 17, 2004; INSERT QUACK TO CONTINUE; Taco Defender

quote:

OverDrive likewise says publishers are concerned about the size of consortia and shared collections, and "seek to ensure that sufficient copies of their content are being licensed to service demand of the library's service area, while at the same time balance the interests of publisher's retail partners who are focused on unit sales."

So, instead of blaming pirates for lower than desired book sales, now publishers are blaming libraries. :downsbravo:

# ? Feb 26, 2011 05:14

SeaGoatSupreme: Dec 26, 2009; Ask me about fixed-gear bikes (aka "fixies")

They've gotta blame someone for not having that golden swimming pool yet.

# ? Feb 26, 2011 06:28

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

And that's one reason why I decided from the start to just ignore online "libraries" altogether.

# ? Feb 26, 2011 06:32

Florida Betty: Sep 24, 2004

Kreeblah posted:

So, instead of blaming pirates for lower than desired book sales, now publishers are blaming libraries.

If libraries were some kind of a new idea, you know publishers would never allow them to exist at all.

# ? Feb 26, 2011 06:54

Vertigus: Jan 8, 2011

Florida Betty posted:

If libraries were some kind of a new idea, you know publishers would never allow them to exist at all.

"You mean...they buy a single copy of our book, then let hundreds of people read it for free? Hundreds of possible customers? What kind of commie helltopia is this?"

# ? Feb 26, 2011 07:49

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

fishmech posted:

And that's one reason why I decided from the start to just ignore online "libraries" altogether.

Except, possibly, one: http://www.archive.org/account/login.createaccount.php

And of course, you don't need to have a 'card' to share in most things.

# ? Feb 26, 2011 11:09

MrPhaethon: Aug 22, 2005; wyrd oft nereð unfægne eorl þonne his ellen deah

Shnooks posted:

Just to make sure it isn't me or is fixable...

I've noticed a few times in a few different books I've been reading that foreign words are sometimes just not written out. Like, for example, in Les Miserable, Digne is written D----. In my collection of short stories by Ryuuosuke Akutagawa, a few of the Japanese names were written like that too.

It's not like accent marks don't show up and that's why it's not working. It's really loving weird and getting on my nerves now

In Les Mis, that's just one style of publishing the book. Witness: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/135/135-h/135-h.htm#2HCH0003

# ? Feb 26, 2011 11:46

WattsvilleBlues: Jan 25, 2005; Every demon wants his pound of flesh

I'm having trouble using Calibre 0.7.47. The book I've got has a much too wide left margin - about 1.5cm. I want to reduce this to about 0.5cm. I've tried reducing the Left margin in Page Setup to 0pt and 0.5pt but it doesn't seem to affect the margin at all. I'm outputting in Kindle MOBI format. Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Preferences, check Ignore margins in the Output Options - Mobi Output. Sorted. I wish I weren't so anally retentive about my ebooks being perfectly laid out. But I'm like that with lots of stuff in life - spelling and grammar mostly. Nothing send's me further into blind rage than poor speling and apostrophies' thrown around like there going out off fashion.

(Sic.)

WattsvilleBlues fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Feb 26, 2011

# ? Feb 26, 2011 21:10

ahobday: Apr 19, 2007

WattsvilleBlues posted:

I'm having trouble using Calibre 0.7.47. The book I've got has a much too wide left margin - about 1.5cm. I want to reduce this to about 0.5cm. I've tried reducing the Left margin in Page Setup to 0pt and 0.5pt but it doesn't seem to affect the margin at all. I'm outputting in Kindle MOBI format. Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Preferences, check Ignore margins in the Output Options - Mobi Output. Sorted. I wish I weren't so anally retentive about my ebooks being perfectly laid out. But I'm like that with lots of stuff in life - spelling and grammar mostly. Nothing send's me further into blind rage than poor speling and apostrophies' thrown around like there going out off fashion.

(Sic.)

The problem with this is it can ignore left hand margins that are meant to be in there, can't it?

Like inset quotes or text before a chapter?

Edit: Just tested this on one of the books I was getting a left hand margin on after converting, and it fixed it beautifully. Inset quote attributions and such remain inset, as well.

Thanks for pointing this out.

ahobday fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Feb 26, 2011

# ? Feb 26, 2011 22:31

El Hefe: Oct 31, 2006; You coulda had a V8/
Instead of a tre-eight slug to yo' cranium/
I got six and I'm aimin' 'em/
Will I bust or keep you guessin'

WattsvilleBlues posted:

I'm having trouble using Calibre 0.7.47. The book I've got has a much too wide left margin - about 1.5cm. I want to reduce this to about 0.5cm. I've tried reducing the Left margin in Page Setup to 0pt and 0.5pt but it doesn't seem to affect the margin at all. I'm outputting in Kindle MOBI format. Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Preferences, check Ignore margins in the Output Options - Mobi Output. Sorted. I wish I weren't so anally retentive about my ebooks being perfectly laid out. But I'm like that with lots of stuff in life - spelling and grammar mostly. Nothing send's me further into blind rage than poor speling and apostrophies' thrown around like there going out off fashion.

(Sic.)

wow thanks for this I had a few books with this problem and didn't know how to fix them

# ? Feb 26, 2011 23:53

Shnooks: Mar 24, 2007; I'M BEING BORN D:

MrPhaethon posted:

In Les Mis, that's just one style of publishing the book. Witness: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/135/135-h/135-h.htm#2HCH0003

Bahhh, why would they do that?!

# ? Feb 27, 2011 00:45

MrPhaethon: Aug 22, 2005; wyrd oft nereð unfægne eorl þonne his ellen deah

Shnooks posted:

Bahhh, why would they do that?!

When I first read the book (out of my school library) it had that, as well. It's a pretension, I think, to pretend that the book was real and to give the town anonymity. I don't believe Hugo did it in the original though? Not sure.

# ? Feb 27, 2011 02:44

ConanThe3rd: Mar 27, 2009

Now geting slightly frustarted:

Wanted to get Harry Potter on Kindle (Because I've largely ignored it up until now)
it's not there because apparently JK Rowling thinks ereaders are the devil.

Tried to get Carl Segan's Cosmos, nope.

And now the His Dark Materials books. Yes, but only in America.

I love international copyright law, it's like sitting on an electric whisk and pressing on at the best of times and doing the same on an electric blender at worst.

ConanThe3rd fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Feb 27, 2011

# ? Feb 27, 2011 08:31

cool new Metroid game: Oct 7, 2009; hail satan

Amazon are sending me a new Kindle. :woop:

I may have twisted the truth a little bit as I wasn't sure if the basic one year warranty covered spillages. Knowing my luck it doesn't and I'll get hit with a bill when they take the damaged Kindle apart and see all the lovely orange juice remains in the e-ink. :downs:

# ? Feb 27, 2011 16:18

Virigoth: Apr 28, 2009; Corona rules everything around me
C.R.E.A.M. get the virus
In the ICU y'all......

LooseChanj posted:

Ereaders are in a bit of a unique category though, you can drop a book 3-4' onto concrete and not need to replace it. You can also spill cups of coffee on them and mostly just cause cosmetic damage. I'm not saying the thing has to stand up to a nuclear blast, but people might expect a little more durability than what the kindle delivers. A lot of laptops are built to withstand abuse as a matter of course that would send a kindle to the scrap bin.

I dropped mine down two flights of stairs yesterday in the amazon lighted case....no dings and still works fine

# ? Feb 27, 2011 22:39

vyst: Aug 25, 2009

If you're in the market for a Nook Color you can get one for $199 off ebay (B&N official account)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barnes-%26-Noble-Nook-Color-Wi-Fi-eReader-w-$50-Coupon/290535929095?afepn=5335869999&campid=5335869999&PID=1225267

Use eBay coupon code* CBARNESDD at Checkout for $50 off

# ? Feb 28, 2011 18:11

Baggins: Feb 21, 2007; Like a Great Wind!

Ordered a Kindle a few days ago and got it today. What a great little thing it is.

Currently busy loading it with stuff I have from other sources as well as buying a few off Amazon and I can easily see this hurting far too much in the credit card.

Having problems getting it to connect to my WiFi though. Every other device I have works just fine and I've been changing settings in the router without much luck either. The wierd thing is that it connects just fine if I use the same settings but use my phone as a WiFi hotspot in stead. (HTC Desire).

Any clue? This happens with both WPA and WPA2. It connected fine once, but numerous restarts of the Kindle and my router yields nada result.

E: Nevermind. Must've been a gremlin in the router. drat cat disconnected the power while I was out and it works fine now. How bizarre...

Baggins fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Feb 28, 2011

# ? Feb 28, 2011 18:20

Duckman2008: Jan 6, 2010; TFW you see Flyers goaltending.; Grimey Drawer

vyst posted:

If you're in the market for a Nook Color you can get one for $199 off ebay (B&N official account)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barnes-%26-Noble-Nook-Color-Wi-Fi-eReader-w-$50-Coupon/290535929095?afepn=5335869999&campid=5335869999&PID=1225267

Use eBay coupon code* CBARNESDD at Checkout for $50 off

This almost has me regret buying my Kindle 3G. Almost. If i wasn't in a relationship I would just spend the $200 and convert it to a Tablet, but I'm pretty sure my girlfriend would kill me for overspending.

# ? Feb 28, 2011 21:01

z0331: Oct 2, 2003; Holtby thy name

My month old Kindle seems to no longer connect to the 3G network.

I'm in Japan and it worked just fine for the first few weeks, but for the past few days it won't connect - it just leaves the network strength bars grayed-out.

I have the non-lighted case which I know has caused people problems. I had one random reboot so far so I thought maybe that was it, but I've restarted my Kindle after taking it out of the case and still nothing.

Has anyone else had issues like this?

# ? Mar 1, 2011 05:55

Cray: Dec 3, 2010

Try going to the settings page and typing 311 (that is, alt+e, alt+q, alt+q or whatever). It will display a list of available 3G networks. Try selecting them one by one until you find one that works.

By default it's set to "choose automatically", which doesn't work for me at all (in Europe). If you can't connect to anything then it might be a problem with the device.

# ? Mar 1, 2011 08:27

Ara: Oct 18, 2003

z0331 posted:

My month old Kindle seems to no longer connect to the 3G network.

I'm in Japan and it worked just fine for the first few weeks, but for the past few days it won't connect - it just leaves the network strength bars grayed-out.

I have the non-lighted case which I know has caused people problems. I had one random reboot so far so I thought maybe that was it, but I've restarted my Kindle after taking it out of the case and still nothing.

Has anyone else had issues like this?

Just so you know it's not an issue with the carrier, I'm in Tokyo and my 3G works fine.

# ? Mar 1, 2011 09:57

z0331: Oct 2, 2003; Holtby thy name

Cray posted:

Try going to the settings page and typing 311 (that is, alt+e, alt+q, alt+q or whatever). It will display a list of available 3G networks. Try selecting them one by one until you find one that works.

By default it's set to "choose automatically", which doesn't work for me at all (in Europe). If you can't connect to anything then it might be a problem with the device.

I was in the process of doing this and then suddenly it connected. :confused:

Guess maybe signal is just weak around here. Thanks for the tip, though. I probably should read the manual more thoroughly.

# ? Mar 1, 2011 13:43

Nibbles!: Jun 26, 2008; TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP

make australia great again as well please

ConanThe3rd posted:

Now geting slightly frustarted:

Wanted to get Harry Potter on Kindle (Because I've largely ignored it up until now)
it's not there because apparently JK Rowling thinks ereaders are the devil.

Tried to get Carl Segan's Cosmos, nope.

And now the His Dark Materials books. Yes, but only in America.

I love international copyright law, it's like sitting on an electric whisk and pressing on at the best of times and doing the same on an electric blender at worst.

Yeah, it can be annoying. I'll look at books on my account (Australian) then switch to US one for comparison. Most of the time it'll be a $2-$4 difference, which I can live with, but occasionally it'll be $10-$20. Other times a book wont be available at all, switch to the US account, and it's there.

One thing I do find odd though is if a book isn't available in Australia, occasionally it wont be available to a US account either. On the US account though they'll be an option on the left to tell this publisher you'd like to read this book on the Kindle.
Don't get that at all in Australia. I know we're not a huge market but you'd think it'd just carry over to international publishers.

# ? Mar 1, 2011 15:15

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

This is why I have absolutely no sympathy for publishers being ruined:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...&pf_rd_i=468294

http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Besieged-Book-Chaoswar-Saga/dp/0061468398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299142108&sr=8-1

A US kindle version that costs 300% of a hardcover version? Nice.

# ? Mar 3, 2011 09:57

9-Volt Assault: Jan 27, 2007; Beter twee tetten in de hand dan tien op de vlucht.

Murodese posted:

This is why I have absolutely no sympathy for publishers being ruined:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...&pf_rd_i=468294

http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Besieged-Book-Chaoswar-Saga/dp/0061468398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299142108&sr=8-1

A US kindle version that costs 300% of a hardcover version? Nice.

they must have changed the prices, because i see 13,79 dollar for the kindle version and 15,83 for the hardcover.

# ? Mar 3, 2011 11:11

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

(UK)
Kindle Edition �8.49

(US)
Kindle Edition $29.38 -- --
Expand Hardcover $15.83 $15.83 --

:v:

# ? Mar 3, 2011 11:39

torgeaux: Dec 31, 2004; I serve...

Murodese posted:

(UK)
Kindle Edition �8.49

(US)
Kindle Edition $29.38 -- --
Expand Hardcover $15.83 $15.83 --

Those aren't the prices I'm seeing.

# ? Mar 3, 2011 11:47

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

I think it's giving me the US price for the hardcover and the AU price for the e-book. Even so, considering the AUD is currently worth more than the USD, :smith:

I ended up just getting it from the UK store anyway.

# ? Mar 3, 2011 13:14

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

So I just got a nook color, it reads PDFs just fine, but is there any way (in Adobe or the Nook) to take a screen shot (of the cover of the PDF) and use it as the visual preview, or edit the displayed name of the PDF?

Also, has anyone found or written a comprehensive list of shortcuts and cool tips not in the owner's manual (not rooting it into an Android tablet, but keeping it's nookness)

# ? Mar 4, 2011 03:42

Ingram: Oct 18, 2006; "Do you know how rare it is to find a girl who genuinely honest-to-god absolutely loves it up the arse?"

Murodese posted:

I think it's giving me the US price for the hardcover and the AU price for the e-book. Even so, considering the AUD is currently worth more than the USD,

I ended up just getting it from the UK store anyway.

What do you do to buy from the UK Kindle store? I'm assuming you're a fellow Aussie?

# ? Mar 4, 2011 04:02

edgar_: Sep 4, 2003; kampen mot gud og hvite krist er i gang; Grimey Drawer

hope and vaseline posted:

This is my biggest complaint with the nook... line spacing, margins, and base font size are all unadjustable without tweaking the epub file itself. I end up having to strip the DRM off books I've bought because of annoying margins and whatnot.

Looks like I'm going to have to do the same thing with my Kindle. The paragraph spacing is sometimes massively huge, and there's no way to tweak it. It's really quite annoying, so I have to track down a way to strip the DRM then rip it to my HD and remove the paragraph spacing. :sigh:

# ? Mar 4, 2011 04:10

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 18:30

thedouche: Mar 20, 2007; Greetings from thedouche

tendrilsfor20 posted:

So I just got a nook color, it reads PDFs just fine, but is there any way (in Adobe or the Nook) to take a screen shot (of the cover of the PDF) and use it as the visual preview, or edit the displayed name of the PDF?

Also, has anyone found or written a comprehensive list of shortcuts and cool tips not in the owner's manual (not rooting it into an Android tablet, but keeping it's nookness)

Holy poo poo man, I did a humorous double take when I saw you posting in a non-Xbox related thread.

# ? Mar 4, 2011 05:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The eReader Megathread: Yes, all publishers hate Canada

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