Software vs. artifact

Are ebooks software or artifact? Establishing their essence is absolutely necessary for there to be legal interpretation. So where do you come down? Myself, it’s easy. Artifact. I like the observation that software is function and ebooks are culture. But it’s not that simple, especially as ebooks become more interactive (involve more function). This is a hot topic in Europe right now, especially after a ruling by a German court, as reported by The Digital Reader, that because ebooks are not software (right) you can’t resell them (wrong). You see in Europe you CAN resell software, so if ebooks aren’t software, then you CAN’T resell them. Now does that really make sense? No. So expect the court ruling to change. Which brings us back to the real argument: can ebooks that are interactive be considered (static) culture? I hope so.

Saving ourselves

Nearly everyone has a favorite book, or a book that for some possibly transitional period of their life, led the way. That's why books are different from other commodities -- they actually save people's (spiritual) lives. So what about all those books that have done this for generations past. Are all of them inappropriate, useless, not applicable? Probably not. Thus backlists of currently out-of-print books can be valuable. But would someone just want an ebook of a lifesaver book, probably not. That's where ebooks and print books go together like peas and carrots. Get the ebook and then order a printed copy. Read Publisher's Weekly's fascinating look at out-of-print books revisiting as ebooks. Basically about half the out-of-print books studied had come back as ebooks. That's a good start at saving ourselves. Quoting: "Looking through PW’s archives at the top 25 bestselling books of both 1992 and 1982 in fiction and nonfiction (100 titles total), we found 56 books that had Kindle e-book editions."

Heady time

There is some discussion in some quarters now -- apropos schoolbooks -- as to whether ebooks are, in fact, books or software. Very interesting discussion and impossible to resolve right now. But what is more germane to me is whether or not ebooks that an individual consumer might download on his ereader is a book, or software. And that is quite easily resolved. In the case of one reader and one ebook, the answer is: that's a book. Not software. Perhaps if the book is heavily enhanced with audio, video and interactivity one might have an easier time arguing that the ebook is actually software. But if only one person is purchasing the creation it is then not a service but a product. In the generic sense, that person and only that person will utilize the creation, so whether that creation is a unified product or a multifarious service, it appears as one product: a book. Whew this is getting heady.

Darwin ebook

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." That's according to Charles Darwin. Applying this concept to the ebook revolution, one might immediately jump on the bandwagon. But evolution does not work from a whiteboard like that. It utilizes given props -- such as printed books -- and changes them only so slightly into ebooks. Only over time does the evolution culminate. Sometime in the far future, the nature of a book will have changed. Mutated. Become a new species. But only then. Not now.

Readers choosing

Salon Magazine has a fascinating article on the ebook/print book faceoff. The article by Laura Miller makes many points including: "New self-publishing enterprises are a godsend for traditional publishers because they can take much of the uncertainty out of signing a new author." Inherent in that observation may be a scenario by which many authors are "somewhat" successful at publishing their book electronically, so that a few can rise to the surface and be snatched up by New York publishing companies, like E.L. James ("50 Shades of Grey"), Amanda Hocking and now Hugh Howie ("Wool). The article points out that the growth of ebooks has slowed, and that three times as many people say they prefer print books to electronic books. The one reality the article overlooks is the reality of acceptance that the two media are here to stay -- together -- and there should be no nostalgia for one (print) or euphoria for the other (electronic). Once the two are wedded, so that you buy both the ebook and the print book rights together, reader choice will finally have arrived so that after the book has been consumed the reader can choose the incarnation he or she desires in perpetuity.

A book-less library

You knew it was going to be recommended eventually: a bookless library. And now it has. According to Education Week, Nelson Wolff, a judge in Bexar County, Texas, where San Antonio is located, and Sergio Rodriguez, commissioner for the county's first precinct, have proposed a plan to create a library called BiblioTech that offers electronic media exclusively. This doesn't mean the books will all be ebooks, but close. The Bexar County Commissioners Court will consider proposals for e-book providers -- the plan is for BiblioTech to deal with integrated library systems vendors like Polaris Library Systems and 3M rather than with publishers or e-book retailers like Amazon. The court will also consider a project budget, construction services and the creation of a seven-member advisory board. BiblioTech intends to start with 100 e-readers that can be loaned out, 50 pre-loaded e-readers for children, 50 computer stations, 25 laptops and 25 tablets, with additional accommodations planned for the visually impaired. But it may not be long before libraries with books seem as unusual as garages with horses. "When you go into a public library today, people are gathered around computer terminals," Wolff observed. Here's the link: http://www.informationweek.com/education/online-learning/a-digital-public-library-without-paper-b/240146262?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Government