Thursday, July 01, 2010

Waiting for a universal e-book format

For Yahoo News, Christopher Null looks at the complicated world of e-book formats.
To call the e-book world messy would be an understatement. E-books sold on Amazon will only work on the Kindle. Google Books can be downloaded to a variety of e-readers, but not the Kindle. Apple’s iBooks work only on its devices. Want to “share” an e-book? Sorry: Sharing is supported on just a handful of readers, and always with strict restrictions on how long you can lend out a copy.
Unfortunately, despite the demand from publishers and the public, a solution doesn't look likely any time soon.
We have the stodginess of the New York publishing empires, the paranoia of major booksellers like Barnes & Noble, and the oversized egos of Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos to worry about, all at the same time. Getting these guys to agree on one thing would be as easy as parking a whaling vessel in my garage.
Link via @BernieCorbett

(NB We'll be carrying articles on e-book publishing in different formats in the upcoming issue of the Guild's magazine, UK Writer)

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