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Category Archives: amazon

E-books have a lot more evolution left in them

18 Apr

downloadable-books-ebooks-2The other day, when Canadian e-reader maker Kobo announced the release of its latest device – the Aura HD – I couldn’t help but wonder, “Who cares about e-readers anymore?” With the price, size and weight of tablets coming down dramatically, the single-purpose e-reader seems like something of an anachronism.

Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that. The Globe and Mail had a story that asked much the same question, with an analyst pointing out that there is indeed “almost no upgrade cycle.” In other words, people who have e-ink readers already are either perfectly happy with them and aren’t buying new ones, or they’re switching over to tablets. E-readers are thus either destined for the obsolescence pile, or they’ll be coming out of Kinder eggs soon enough.

That said, the things that actually come on e-readers – e-books – are nowhere near finished evolving and innovating. As The Guardian reports, publisher Faber & Faber is just one of many experimenting with the medium in an effort to take e-books beyond just simple text on an a virtual page and into their “next generation.” Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on April 18, 2013 in amazon, ebooks, kobo

 

Luddites raise tired arguments over used e-books

13 Feb
Used bookstores didn't destroy publishing after all. Who'da thought?

Used bookstores didn’t destroy publishing after all. Who’da thought?

Amazon’s patent on “used” e-books has drawn considerable commentary over the past few days, and it should, given its potential to radically change how digital goods are sold online. It’s this actual point that makes one  particular commentary over on Vice seem especially foolish and out of touch.

A post titled “Used ebooks, the ridiculous idea that could also destroy the publishing industry” argues that Amazon’s entire end game is to cut authors and publishers out of their rightful slices of book sales. A used reseller of goods, after all, doesn’t have to give a penny to the original seller, which in this case is the publisher or author.

“On the grounds that publishers and authors don’t get a cut of physical used books, Amazon could easily seek to justify refusing to pay writers for secondhand transactions,” according to the article. “Used e-books are a paradoxical anachronism, a cannily capitalistic construct whose only aim is to squeeze authors and publishers.” Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2013 in amazon, ebooks

 

Used e-books and games: worlds apart in thinking

08 Feb
Microsoft won't sell nearly as many Halo games if it kills the used market.

Microsoft won’t sell nearly as many Halo games if it kills the used market.

It’s been an ironic – and potentially revolutionary – week for digital goods. It started out with the revival of rumours that Microsoft may be looking to crush the used video game market with the release of its next Xbox console and it ended with the revelation that Amazon has acquired a patent to sell used e-books. These two bits of news couldn’t be further apart, even though they’re essentially dealing with the same thing.

In the case of video games, rumours have been circulating for a while now about both Sony and Microsoft implementing technology into their next-generation consoles – expected this year – that would make it impossible to play used products. It’s no secret that game publishers hate the used market, estimated at about $2 billion in the U.S. alone, because they don’t get a penny of it. Moreover, there’s bitterness over retailers like GameStop, the biggest player in used games, because they devote so much floor space to used games in spite of the huge marketing dollars spent by publishers on new products.

And so the latest rumours peg Microsoft’s next console as requiring an internet connection and a one-time activation code to play games, which would effectively kill off buyers’ ability to resell their games. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2013 in amazon, ebooks, microsoft, sony, video games

 

10 of the biggest tech stories in 2012

28 Dec

The best thing about covering technology is that it’s never dull. As an ever-changing field, the danger for journalists lies not in getting bored with the beat, but in falling behind the rapid developments.

I’d argue this is one area where year-end lists are actually vital; with so much happening on a daily basis, it’s important to step back and take stock of it all. It’s a good opportunity to digest everything that has happened, so that we can figure out what it all means.

In that vein, here are the 10 events or ongoing technology stories that I thought were important in 2012:

10. Apocalypse Not Now

Mayan_Pyramids

This one is more of a science story than a technology trend, but since all tech is rooted in science, it seems very relevant. In 2012, the Mayan-forecasted apocalypse that was supposed to happen on Dec. 21 came and went without so much as a sneeze. That followed two predictions of the Rapture last year by religious nut Harold Camping, who this year apologized for his faulty forecasts. With the discrediting of this sort of nonsense, perhaps further nutjobs will STFU and allow the world to get on with reality. Or at least study the things that may actually wipe us out, as the new Cambridge Project for Existential Risk plans to do.  Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2012 in amazon, apple, copyright, ebooks, Facebook, Google, government, microsoft, robots, samsung

 

10 technologies I’m thankful for

08 Oct

What’s more useful: Google’s Street View or Apple’s Flyover?

It’s Canadian Thanksgiving, which means that many of us here in the Great White North have spent the weekend in food-induced comas. In between bouts of overeating, some of us may also have taken the holiday to heart and reflected on the things we’re grateful for. Since technology is the operative theme in these parts, I spent the weekend thinking about the various gadgets, software and tech-related things that I’m thankful for.

What follows is a top 10 list of technologies – inventions that have made my life better, easier or more productive. I tried not to include the big, obvious things, like the internet, but rather focused on the specifics that have enhanced my particular slice of the world.

10. Amazon: Whenever possible, I buy my stuff on Amazon, mostly because it’s the epitome of how a business should operate: low prices, great service. I also dig the fact that the company is a purposeful disruptor, even this far into its existence. Its ongoing fight with publishers to lower the price of books while at the same time giving authors the power to disintermediate those same publishers makes it an easy company to root for, both as a consumer and as a writer.

9: Xbox 360: I play most of my games on the Xbox 360, mostly because I like its controller better than the PlayStation 3. If measured by the number of hours of pure joy delivered, no other machine or technology even comes close. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2012 in amazon, apple, Google, ipad, iphone, microsoft, piracy, radio, skype, video games

 
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