From "Counting Heads" by David Marusek
05/31/10 10:49 Filed in: publishing
"Let's
read to her," Mary said and took the library from the
shelf. But it wasn't a library. It was heavy, and the
pages were made of paper. It was a book. The
evangelines sat next to the daybed and examined the
dusty antique. The first two pages were
blank.
The book had been published in 2013, in Boston. That
must have been the old Boston. There were no glyphs,
icons, or illustrations of any kind. The text was
threaded over 240 actual pages. When you touched a
word, it did not pronounce or define itself or
display its links. It just sat there on the paper
like a stain."
I like the astonishment of two pages being blank. Signatures, how they determine our lives sometimes. In a digital book, what need for blank pages?
I like the astonishment of two pages being blank. Signatures, how they determine our lives sometimes. In a digital book, what need for blank pages?
I can't stand the blithe write-off
Jeremy Horwitz doesn't
get it at all:
The iBooks-formatted book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman, for instance, can be stretched to a 3518-page tome or reduced to 223, just shy of the actual book’s 244—mostly because it’s missing the original’s index. And thanks to a magnifying glass icon at the top right of every page, the index is arguably unnecessary: you can search for any word in the book and get a complete, clickable list of its occurrences, plus links to Google and Wikipedia, and an integrated dictionary that can define virtually any word you touch.
One word searches work SO WELL on Google, why not on an ebook?
The iBooks-formatted book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman, for instance, can be stretched to a 3518-page tome or reduced to 223, just shy of the actual book’s 244—mostly because it’s missing the original’s index. And thanks to a magnifying glass icon at the top right of every page, the index is arguably unnecessary: you can search for any word in the book and get a complete, clickable list of its occurrences, plus links to Google and Wikipedia, and an integrated dictionary that can define virtually any word you touch.
One word searches work SO WELL on Google, why not on an ebook?
From the Obsolete Anonymous self help group meeting
05/23/10 10:42 Filed in: publishing
| ebooks
Is Print
Dead?
Print Industry: Look, this isn't about me. All of you guys have become irrelevant. Technology marched on, and you didn't march with it. But that WILL NOT happen to me. There will always be bookstores, and dead tree books. We'll continue to sell hardcovers at luxury prices, and pay artists 6% to 15% royalties on whatever list price WE deem appropriate. And the masses will buy our books BECAUSE WE SAID SO! WE SHALL NEVER BECOME OBSOLETE!!!
Buggy Whip Industry: Amen, brother! That's what I keep trying to tell these people!
CDs: (whispering to LPs) I give him six years, tops.
More here...
Print Industry: Look, this isn't about me. All of you guys have become irrelevant. Technology marched on, and you didn't march with it. But that WILL NOT happen to me. There will always be bookstores, and dead tree books. We'll continue to sell hardcovers at luxury prices, and pay artists 6% to 15% royalties on whatever list price WE deem appropriate. And the masses will buy our books BECAUSE WE SAID SO! WE SHALL NEVER BECOME OBSOLETE!!!
Buggy Whip Industry: Amen, brother! That's what I keep trying to tell these people!
CDs: (whispering to LPs) I give him six years, tops.
More here...
Speed reading - training or going touchfree
05/22/10 10:40 Filed in: reading
This looks
like a fun application. Find out how fast you read,
have it turn the pages for you, and improve your
reading speed all in one. QuickReader.net
And don't forget to consult the index
05/13/10 10:38 Filed in: indexing
Bronte Sisters super action figures with book throwing arms and brontesaurus
05/11/10 10:36 Filed in: silliness
VW ebike
05/04/10 10:33 Filed in: miscellany
As an electric bike enthusiast AND a VW lover, this new VW electric bike that folds up into your trunk on top of your spare tire is just too cool for words!
A beautiful photo gallery
05/03/10 10:32 Filed in: miscellany
From Jordan Matter Photography, a gallery of Paul Taylor and Martha Graham dancers amongst daily life in NY. It's really worth viewing.
