Origami Unicorn

The Frontiers of Ebooks

They have to be, and ought not be, just files compiled from print books. Wired takes a look at the leading edge.

Apple Enters the Self-Publishing Market

It seemed odd not to see Steve Jobs doing the presentation, but today Apple launched its venture into the self-publshing market and set out to produce and sell digital textbooks. Publishers Weekly has a few things to say.

Kindle at the Library as More People Eread

You can borrow some Kindle books at some libraries, with the trend likely to expand. Publishers Weekly reports. The Seattle Times reports locally. And, one in six Americans uses an ereader, with an additonla one in six planning to get one. MarketWatch reports. The holidays may be a landslide of downloading.

Digital: Good, Bad, the Wrong Term

People who read digitally don't have to be told of the advantages but here's one anguished opinion about the decline and fall of the (visible) personal library and another on why "digital" is the wrong term. Of course, at one point almost every innovation was seen as destroying the past. Writing destroyed oral memory. Printing destroyed handwriting...
Stories, history, and news will all survive.

Reading and Selling Digital Content

Apple squeezed those apps that let users buy from within the app. Amazon sent its new browser into the fray. What do all the terms mean and what do they mean for the reading (and selling) experience? FutureBook takes a look.

Amazon Answers Apple

Apple banned shopping from apps; Amazon did a workaround. FutureBook explains. It is curious that Apple does not strive to make its own store more robust, rather than attempt to steer traffic. You catch more customers with honey...

Apple Begins Cracking Down on Apps

Long threatened, but not enforced, Apple has begun requiring all content be purchased through its stores at a thirty percent profit to itself. FutureBook explains. Kobo is apparently the first; Amazon has not yet been touched and is unlikely to accede quietly.

Apple and Bookselling Apps: June 30th

It's the big day when those who choose to buy and read anything other than iBooks on an Apple product find out if the company is dumb enough, and greedy enough to offend a hoard of customers. Futurebook reports.

Apple's 30%

PW considers whether Apple earns the thirty percent it takes from sales in its app store.

March 31st Deadline to Comply with Apple's Demands

Apple has set a deadline of March 31st for developers to comply with its demands that purchases be available through its stores, at, one must add, the usual thirty percent cut for Apple. The Bookseller.com reports. It what could be a clash of the titans, it's not at all clear how Apple and Amazon are going to agree, since sales to iPad users are a major revenue stream for both companies.