 Sunday, December 08, 2002
Frank McPherson was kind enough to send me a link to the new KnowBetter.com Ebook Lending Library.
"Since we began serving the ebook commuity in 1999, we've listened to thousands of e-readers and would-be e-readers share their complaints about what's wrong with the current state of the industry. The #1 complaint we've received is that ebook content is too expensive....
We've created the KnowBetter eBook Lending Library to help overcome the high cost of content. We're calling it our "Grand Experiment" because we're putting our money where ebook readers' mouths are. We're bypassing the chicken-and-egg dilemma by taking the plunge and buying a full collection of ebooks that you can borrow and read on your computer or PDA. Currently, we've got over 1,100 titles and will continue to add to that number.
The KnowBetter Lending Library is a first-of-its-kind service that allows you to check out ebooks, much as you would from a regular library. The only difference is you don't have to return the ebook. It's checked back in automatically (i.e., no overdue fines)....
Our service isn't tied to a particular ebook device or platform. Instead, it uses the free Mobipocket ebook reader software which can run on your desktop, laptop, Palm, Pocket PC, or other PDA (Read more about Mobipocket)....
Right now, for just $19.95, you can borrow and read our ebooks for an entire year! So, for less than the typical cost of a single new hardcover book, you can have full access to our ever-expanding collection of titles... 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Depending on how much you read, our library could save you hundreds of dollars each year. Even if you only read a couple of books a year, our library can still save you money.
Try out the service free to see if you like it. Then, when you're ready, pay your dues (we all gotta' do it sometime) of just $19.95 for an entire year and get access to our full collection."
I have a lot of questions about how this service works (circulation and expiration for starters), but my mind is still fuzzy from the lingering cold and accompanying medication. In fact, I think I'm going back to sleep again. See you tomorrow (I hope).
Library-usability.org is a great idea, but I wish it had an RSS feed in order to make it more usable in my news aggregator. ;-)
"library-usability.org is dedicated to the idea that libraries are critical to our communities. But to help people meet their needs, libraries must be usable in every facet of their service. Usability is about more than just software. It's about helping people accomplish their goals, and library usability asks: what can we do to help people in the way we operate, in the way we publish, in the way we deliver service, and in the way we use technology? " [via Library Stuff]
In Japan, Cell Phone-Cameras Click with the Public
"Mobile phones with built-in digital cameras are taking Japan by storm and, amid a proliferation of new uses, bolstering Japan's reputation as the most advanced and creative cell-phone market in the world. It is a phenomenon likely to be repeated in the United States, where picture phones are just starting to appear in advertisements....
Finding new uses for the pictures has become something of a treasure hunt here. Buyers at Tokyo's world famous Tsukiji fish market's auction beam shots of $15,000 frozen tuna to sushi chefs across Japan before placing their bids. The Osaka police now get dozens of cell-phone photos a month from concerned citizens of crime scenes, stolen cars and suspects. And video microscope firm Scalar Corp. offers free attachments so customers can send skin and scalp photographs to beauty centers for an automated analysis.
Perhaps inevitably, the new technology has been tapped for matters of the heart. People are using the pictures as digital alibis, sending previously taken shots of themselves at work to a husband or wife back home, when in reality they're off having an affair.
'One problem is making sure you're wearing the same clothes when you get home that you wore in the picture,' says Atsushi Baba, a systems engineer.
Matchmakers have embraced the technology as 'ingles wanted' Web sites proliferate, allowing people to study cell-phone photos online before deciding to take the next step. Magazine articles help the self-conscious with tips on how to look your best in a thumbnail frame....
Men and women tend to use phone-equipped cameras differently, some say. Men take more shots of scenery, their cars, their girlfriends, with a particular emphasis on external objects, says Naoki Nakayama, editor of "J-Phone Sha-mail Hearts" magazine. Women, meanwhile, tend to take more pictures of themselves, their hairstyles, how they look in new clothes, with emphasis on the internal and the psychological, he adds." [LA Times, via Smart Mobs]
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