On 19 July, Amazon's announcement that e-book sales surpassed hardcover sales for the past three consecutive months was a major milestone in the history of e-books. Digital reading is becoming increasingly popular. E-readers offer portability and access to large collections. They help manage and store an overwhelming amount of electronic information, but what are some of the side-effects of this rapidly spreading technolust for e-books? With any new technology numerous problems arise.
Agreeing on a universal e-book format is just one hot topic. The plethora of e-book formats has been referred to as the ‘Tower of eBabel.’ Makers of e-reader devices, e-publishers, and consumers are clashing in a conflict of interest over format standards. Many distributors in the e-book industry are using encrypted proprietary formats and strict Digital Rights Management (DRM) in an attempt to deter piracy and control their share of the market.
Developing software to circumvent this problem is one work-around, although not foolproof. Calibre, a free, open source e-book management tool converts formats, but still has limitations since conversion is not possible with DRM restrictions.
The variety of e-book formats currently on the market pose incompatibility issues and limit access to specific devices. For major players like the Kindle and iPad, brand loyalty doesn't seem to be a problem just yet. Consumer demand will be the ultimate judge. In the meantime, writers and e-publishers will have to conform to e-book formats required by their distributors.
One particular format called ePub is drawing much attention as an industry-wide standard supported by the International Digital Publishing Forum. The ePub format can be read on various platforms and devices. Plus, it uses the Adobe Content Server as an option for DRM. Sony and Barnes & Noble have adopted this format for their devices.
In an effort to tap into this expanding new market Google plans on partnering with independent bookstores to sell e-books. What will distinguish 'Google Editions' from competitors is that you can connect to your purchases through the web from any device. Google’s director of strategic partnerships, Tom Turvey, said in an interview with the New York Times, “I don’t think anyone who has bought an e-reader in the last several years has really intended to only buy their digital books from one provider for life.”
Acknowledging that e-book dyslexia exists and is a serious problem is the first step. Treatments have not been so successful, but Google may be onto something. Ultimately, the struggle to find better support for this ailment and a cure continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment