News about books and ebooks from around the web.Site-surfers, hit the jump for links. RSS readers, scroll down.
On the menu this week: the “world’s largest” ebookstore—what does it mean for us readers? Some news in ebook tech, and some hope for DRM haters. A Shepard Fairey update. Would you rent an ebook? Beach books and bookshelves. And, my new favorite Twitterer (hint at right).
- Barnes and Noble has launched “the world’s largest” ebookstore. Ars Technica has an overview of the new Amazon competitor, and Kindle Review compares it to the Kindle Store. This is certainly a shot across Amazon’s bow. However, B&N overstated the largeness of their store; they actually have fewer non-public domain ebooks than Amazon. However, B&N seems to be putting the emphasis on selling ebooks and not devices (notwithstanding that they have announced a device to go with their store). If they do indeed roll out an ePub format, as they claim, B&N’s combo of $9.99 ebooks and open formatting would beat Amazon at their own game. But right now, you can only read B&N ebooks on your phone or your desktop, and CrunchGear says the B&N desktop ereader is OK, but nothing special. If ePub doesn’t come and B&N books are incompatible with other dedicated devices, then this new ebookstore is just another boat cluttering the water.
- For haters of DRM, there’s hope. The great blog E-Reads points to a study covered in the Times that says illegal downloading is decreasing (thanks to adapting providers, not restrictive DRM). Tech Radar lists 8 companies who once inspired DRM, but have since turned legit. The RIAA says DRM is dead. Wait, no they don’t. (Doesn’t matter what they say, it’s dead, at least for music.) And the only evidence that strong copyright protection works comes from the people who profit off copyrights. And Ars Technica isn’t convinced.
- In ebook tech news, Stanza has released version 1.9, which has the ability to annotate ebooks. A Slate critic pushes for cheaper ebooks. And the Kindle Review has a detailed post up about the state of the ereader (it’s disappointing). Finally, the BeBook mini should be here before September.
- I covered Amazon’s remote-kill kerfuffle last Friday, and Monday, but we’ve got a few last entries in the race. Slate’s Farhad Manjoo takes a look at it, and the consequences of cloud computing. My favorite allusion comes from David Rothman of TeleRead, who compares Amazon’s behavior to that of a fictional dumb drunk who ends up dead. Finally, E-Reads’s take.
- Quick takes: the problems of a Kindle-focused proposal from a tank-thinker who owes TeleRead some credit; Shepard Fairey pled guilty to vandalism (?!) after he was arrested several months ago for copyright infringement—presumably Fairey will be dropping the countersuit; there’s a rumor Amazon might buy Netflix—here’s a thought: ebook rentals; why translations give you more bang for the book; in 2004, a character from Don DeLillo’s White Noise, Jay Murray Siskind, reviewed David Foster Wallace’s Oblivion in the literary journal Modernism/Modernity—somebody just caught the joke; NPR’s list of the 100 best beach books has narrowed down the finalists—you can find their obvious inspiration for the list, C4′s Literary Beach Books series, here; and a great piece in the Guardian about arranging bookshelves.
- Random of the week: Sarah Palin’s Twitter account, AKGovSarahPalin. I’m guessing her username will soon be changed (along with her bio, “Creating New Energy for Alaskans as governor of the 49th state!”), so get while the getting’s good. She’s posted almost 500 slash-happy, abbreaviation-heavy tweets, sometimes 20 or more a day. Where does she find the time? (Oh, yeah.) Among those tweets, you’ll find such gems as “In that speech I’ll share gratefulness for honor of serving& speak to AKs destiny that incl contribution of energy/innovation/security to US.” 140 characters exactly. I wonder if she thinks she’s getting charged by the tweet? In any case, I wish I’d known about this weeks ago.
