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Fuzz posted:Except ePub is like the free open source format, so it doesn't really have any DRM? No matter how you split it, Amazon is being a bunch of tools by not swapping to EPUB, since it's basically the new standard... it's like arguing about PNGs (EPUB) vs TGAs (mobi), or plain TXT files vs WordPerfect's old retardo TXT file format that no one uses anymore. (WPT) This is COMPLETELY false. Both formats are open source and were both approved at different times as open formats. And both formats have DRM OPTIONAL, with all big stores in either format using DRM. And no, EPUB has basically no new features versus MobiPocket. And why would you even compare bare text (around since what, 1954? as a computer file format) to WordPerfect's markup-added document format which preserved bold and underline and all that? Additionally targa graphics and PNG have completely separate uses. Sporadic posted:Agreed. It reminds me of AAC/MP3. Amazon is in the same position as Apple. They never have to change because they are the top of the pile. If Apple had only used MP3 and everybody else wanted to use the newer AAC, I guess.
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Apr 20, 2011 20:26
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ePUB isn't the standard; if it were it'd have a much higher share of the eBook market in comparison to MOBI. As was mentioned before, Apple's format strategy is the best comparison to the situation.
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Apr 20, 2011 20:39
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Doctor Meat posted:I am sure they will mature over the next few years, but right now even major metropolitan libraries have an extremely poor selection of ebooks and most of the ones anyone would want are constantly checked out. At first I was disappointed that the kindle didn't do library loans like the nook, but I quickly discovered that private lending sites vastly eclipse libraries in their selection and wait times. I finally found an ebook that I wanted to borrow from the local library and there were 34 people on the waiting list ahead of me for that book. EDIT: On the up side, this is pushing me to read a lot of classics that I never got around to, since I can get them for free from Project Gutenberg.
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Apr 20, 2011 20:42
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epicstop posted:ePUB isn't the standard; if it were it'd have a much higher share of the eBook market in comparison to MOBI. As was mentioned before, Apple's format strategy is the best comparison to the situation. It's a standard in the way that, say ISA slots are a standard or old parallel ports or Thunderbolt. None of them are majority uses now but they are standardized. However, Mobipocket is a standard in that same way.
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Apr 20, 2011 20:47
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bull3964 posted:No, don't expect it to get better. Expect it to get worse. Only one publisher has done this so far, and it's far from certain that others are going to follow suit. A lot of libraries have already announced they are going to buy fewer HarperCollins ebooks, so maybe they'll change their mind. Or maybe I'm just wanting this to be true so bad that I actually believe it.
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Apr 20, 2011 20:50
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In the Kindle 3.1 software, is there an easy way to delete a bunch of bookmarks in any particular book without going to each bookmark and deleting them individually?
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Apr 20, 2011 20:58
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Mnemosyne posted:I finally found an ebook that I wanted to borrow from the local library and there were 34 people on the waiting list ahead of me for that book. The trick is to find 5 or 6 books you want to read, and put yourself on the waiting list for all of them.
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Apr 20, 2011 21:09
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Florida Betty posted:Only one publisher has done this so far, and it's far from certain that others are going to follow suit. A lot of libraries have already announced they are going to buy fewer HarperCollins ebooks, so maybe they'll change their mind. No, that's true. And HarperCollins has said that the 26 checkout limit isn't set in stone. They made a bad decision and didn't bother to include libraries in the discussion before making it and the outcry was huge. I doubt any other publisher will pull that kind of stunt. Not saying no one else will impose limits, but I think they'll create a dialog about it first. That was the thing librarians were pissed about. As for libraries having poor selection--again, talk to a librarian!!! Tell them that you'd like to see more copies purchased or a great variety or just go in with a list of ebooks you want. Without input, we're just guessing. And if they're not looking at usage stats, they don't know how many books they need. This is really new to us. We need input. Maybe my library is doing things in a totally wacky way, but there are at most 2-3 holds on items that are out (so I'm told). From talking to patrons, they might request something but then they'll find something available while they wait and they're happy to do it. It seems like they just want to *read* and aren't set on reading only certain titles. I've had people bubbling over with delight while telling me about the authors or topics they've discovered while looking for an ebook. Of course, if you library has a small selection you're SOL. Which is why you need to talk to someone about that.
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Apr 20, 2011 21:19
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Devi posted:Don't get too excited yet. I'm worried about the wording of the announcement. It almost sounds like libraries will have to buy Kindle format books instead of Kindles being able to open the formats already offered by Overdrive. Good news. quote:Today Amazon and OverDrive announced the Kindle Library Lending program, which will enable Kindle customers to borrow and enjoy eBooks from our library, school, and college partners in the United States. The program is scheduled for launch later this year, and will significantly increase the value of the investments that libraries have made in OverDrive-powered eBook catalogs. http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/04/20/kindle-library-lending-and-overdrive-what-it-means-for-libraries-and-schools/
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Apr 20, 2011 21:52
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Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough.
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Apr 20, 2011 23:03
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They bought all those books, they can do whatever they want with them within the bounds of copyright law and there isn't a law against lending your stuff to others.
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Apr 20, 2011 23:16
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Centipeed posted:Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough. Do you work for the publishing industry or something?
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Apr 20, 2011 23:31
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Centipeed posted:Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough. Do you burn your books when you're done with them?
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Apr 20, 2011 23:34
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Centipeed posted:Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough. Books are cheap enough? What does that mean? Were they thousands of dollars back in the 19th century? Most people can't afford to buy every book they want to read. Libraries aren't just a big membership club like Costco that people join by virtue of paying taxes. I don't recall the "we should be living in a free utopia" argument coming up at any time while I was getting my master's in library and information science.
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Apr 20, 2011 23:51
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fordan posted:There is no ebook format war. So if I have a bunch of random vvv Yes, that's what I meant 
RICKON WALNUTSBANE fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Apr 21, 2011 |
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Apr 21, 2011 00:00
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Foaming Chicken posted:So if I have a bunch of random chf and pdf files, would my best bet be the Kindle? Or is it a matter of how willing I am to work out converting them. CHF? Did you mean CHM? Anyway yes you're much better off converting them, even tho converting PDF is a bitch and a half it's still better than working with PDF directly.
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Apr 21, 2011 00:04
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fishmech posted:CHF? Did you mean CHM? Anyway yes you're much better off converting them, even tho converting PDF is a bitch and a half it's still better than working with PDF directly. Okay then, I guess what I'm asking is which devices work with personally created files.
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Apr 21, 2011 00:11
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Foaming Chicken posted:Okay then, I guess what I'm asking is which devices work with personally created files. None of them do CHM, all of them do PDF but it's going to be painful. They all read plain text files, and Amazon will convert .doc, .htm, .rtf and .pdf for you (pdf conversion can be unreliable) and any device can have Calibre convert those and other formats for them.
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Apr 21, 2011 00:30
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Foaming Chicken posted:So if I have a bunch of random mystes fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Apr 21, 2011 |
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Apr 21, 2011 03:33
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Centipeed posted:Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough. Books are only "cheap enough" if you don't read much. If you're the kind of person who only reads one book every other month, or even a book a month, you're probably fine with buying books. We're only 2/3rds of the way through this month, and I should finish my 5th book (read this month) tonight. That's not even counting the two cookbooks that I currently have checked out from the library. I can't afford to support that kind of habit. This also isn't taking into account reference books, which can be really, really expensive. EDIT: What I don't get is that some counties in Maryland actually rent regular new-release DVDs for free. And my county rents out video games for free. EDIT 2: I also remembered that my county's libraries rent out engraving tools for free. I really wish they would spend this money on books instead. Mnemosyne fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Apr 21, 2011 |
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Apr 21, 2011 03:35
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Mnemosyne posted:EDIT: What I don't get is that some counties in Maryland actually rent regular new-release DVDs for free. And my county rents out video games for free. I have a hard time getting outraged over this like some people, since I figure libraries are about exposing people to media and culture and not just literature. If stocking Star Wars novels is ok, then so are DVDs.
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Apr 21, 2011 04:10
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Most libraries around here that rent out DVDs picked up stock from closing video rental places as donations.
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Apr 21, 2011 04:19
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fishmech posted:Most libraries around here that rent out DVDs picked up stock from closing video rental places as donations. I was wondering why my library's dvd selection seemingly quadrupled in the last year.
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Apr 21, 2011 05:34
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Vertigus posted:I have a hard time getting outraged over this like some people, since I figure libraries are about exposing people to media and culture and not just literature. If stocking Star Wars novels is ok, then so are DVDs. Most of the counties in my state charge a fee for video rental, which makes me not mind it as much, since it's making money for the library (or at least paying for itself). It's just that a lot of our libraries are physically very small, and first they took out a bunch of shelves to make room for more computers, then they took out shelves to make room for DVDs. Now there's 3-4 shelves which have been cleared of novels so they can be used exclusively for manga, and they've been pushing this video game thing for the past year or so, and they need a shelf for those too. I kind of worry that they're running out of room for real books. This is where I'm hoping ebooks are going to be a great thing for libraries; they aren't going to need to find physical space for them. Almost two years ago, Masterpiece Theatre broadcast the new adaptation of Little Dorrit, which made me interested in reading it. I went to the library to find that not a single branch in the entire county had a copy, and it's not that they were all checked out, they literally did not own even one copy. It's loving Charles Dickens, how does a library decide that every branch needs 4 shelves of manga but the entire county system doesn't need a complete set of Dickens novels split between 17 branches? Ranting about this makes me feel like I'm really old. 
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Apr 21, 2011 05:38
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Mnemosyne posted:Most of the counties in my state charge a fee for video rental, which makes me not mind it as much, since it's making money for the library (or at least paying for itself). It's just that a lot of our libraries are physically very small, and first they took out a bunch of shelves to make room for more computers, then they took out shelves to make room for DVDs. Now there's 3-4 shelves which have been cleared of novels so they can be used exclusively for manga, and they've been pushing this video game thing for the past year or so, and they need a shelf for those too. I kind of worry that they're running out of room for real books. I don't see how the latest issue of Naruto or whatever is less deserving of library space than Generic Recent Romance/Thriller Novel #4059 is. It's certainly odd there was no Dickens but I rather doubt they threw them out and used to have them. Plus obviously that's the kind of stuff people want to read and take out if they're putting so much of it in.
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Apr 21, 2011 06:34
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Mnemosyne posted:how does a library decide that every branch needs 4 shelves of manga but the entire county system doesn't need a complete set of Dickens novels split between 17 branches? 1. It's all based on patron demand. I guarantee you the manga is read and ciruclated more in any given month than the Dickens is. 2. One of the big trends in libraries now is "patron driven acquisition." I will virtually guarantee you your library website has someplace you can request a book. If you request Little Dorrit, I'd bet  it appears on the library shelf in 2 weeks.
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Apr 21, 2011 07:24
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Centipeed posted:Can someone explain to me how library lending is defensible these days? I'm obviously glad that the public has free access to books from a central source, but aside from the "We should be living in a free utopia" argument, I don't know how libraries can be defended now that books are cheap enough. Yeah, gently caress poor people! They're all so poor, with no money! They don't deserve to read, they can just wallow in filth like they deserve! :aynrand: brylcreem fucked around with this message at 08:48 on Apr 21, 2011 |
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Apr 21, 2011 08:45
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brylcreem posted:Yeah, gently caress poor people! They're all so poor, with no money! They don't deserve to read, they can just wallow in filth like they deserve! It's not even poor people; I can't imagine having written my MA thesis without access to libraries. I'd have spent like $500 on Baudrillard alone.
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Apr 21, 2011 08:55
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Why keep going with one of the most important institutions human civilization has ever created? Haven't you heard we have capitalism now?
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Apr 21, 2011 12:35
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withak posted:They bought all those books, they can do whatever they want with them within the bounds of copyright law and there isn't a law against lending your stuff to others. For some terrible reason, I hadn't thought of this at all. I guess I assumed that public institutions couldn't lend books in the same way as private people could, unless they had permission? Anyway, I certainly wasn't criticising libraries - as I said in my original post I'm happy they exist. I was just trying to consider them from the publisher's perspective, and apparently failing. Edit: Basically my thinking was: If you had to walk into a publishing house and propose the idea of a library, how would you do it? But Withak has quite rightly pointed out that you don't NEED to propose the idea to the publishing house - you just buy the books and lend them as you wish.
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Apr 21, 2011 13:20
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mystes posted:I think there are programs that will dump chm into html and you could probably run calibre on the output. It's pretty dumb that people are using a lame decade-old proprietary Microsoft help file format for ebooks though. Calibre can handle chm directly.
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Apr 21, 2011 13:41
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Centipeed posted:For some terrible reason, I hadn't thought of this at all. I guess I assumed that public institutions couldn't lend books in the same way as private people could, unless they had permission? Yes, libraries would probably be hard to get started if there was no precedent and the big corporate publishing system was already in place. Fortunately, libraries are much, much older than publishing houses, so the latter has to work around the former, not the other way around.
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Apr 21, 2011 14:03
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Centipeed posted:For some terrible reason, I hadn't thought of this at all. I guess I assumed that public institutions couldn't lend books in the same way as private people could, unless they had permission? In Denmark authors get money from the state in compensation for their books being available for lending. http://www.bibliotekspenge.dk/oversigt/2010 The top author gets 795,411.49 DKK ~ 150,000 dollars a year. Read about it in Danish!
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Apr 21, 2011 14:41
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brylcreem posted:In Denmark authors get money from the state in compensation for their books being available for lending. But if libraries are perfectly within their rights to lend books that they own at no cost, then why do authors get compensated? Or are the rules concerning this sort of thing different in Denmark?
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Apr 21, 2011 14:55
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Centipeed posted:But if libraries are perfectly within their rights to lend books that they own at no cost, then why do authors get compensated? Centipeed posted:Or are the rules concerning this sort of thing different in Denmark? Apparently.
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Apr 21, 2011 15:44
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How wonky is Kindle's web interface? I'm going to pick one up next week, just need to decide between wifi or 3G. I figure if it's not an enormous pain in the rear end to do simple things like check e-mail and Facebook, I'll spring for the 3G, otherwise the wifi would be fine.
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Apr 21, 2011 17:16
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It's probably the worst internet browsing experience you can have.
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Apr 21, 2011 17:39
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It's like using a web browser from 1995. Basic html, no fancy layout or javascript. Functional if it is the only option, but not something you want to use regularly.
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Apr 21, 2011 17:42
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BobTheCow posted:How wonky is Kindle's web interface? I'm going to pick one up next week, just need to decide between wifi or 3G. I figure if it's not an enormous pain in the rear end to do simple things like check e-mail and Facebook, I'll spring for the 3G, otherwise the wifi would be fine. It's not as bad as people say when you turn the screen sideways. You can do simple things like check email, facebook/twitter, read news sites on it.
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Apr 21, 2011 18:01
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Mu Zeta posted:It's probably the worst internet browsing experience you can have. You clearly have never used a Blackberry. I would use my Kindle for internet every time before I waded into the hellhole that is the Blackberry's browser.
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Apr 21, 2011 18:29
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