That was my initial thought, but I'm concerned that the publisher does actually add value in terms of having editors and assuring a certain quality level in the books published.
I'd be happy to have an unedited world, where I got to read lots of cheap books and decide which were good and which weren't, but having the publisher still in the loop might keep the quality higher, and therefore reach a larger market.
it automatically loads whatever you want from the world's libraries for free
The year this happens, is the year that writing fiction stops. Think about it. If a rock star loses the revenue he gets from CDs/mp3s to illegal downloading, he at least has revenue from radio stations and concerts.
Unless you pay to read a book, the writer stands NO chance of being paid. Period. If books are free, writers make no money and writers stop writing. No more new books
The company that implements the following plan wins: Charge $3 per book. ~$1 goes to the writer ~$1 goes to the publisher ~$1 goes to the download provider
Your book MUST be DRM protected, but it should be printable, and work on any possible eBook reader.
Since it's cheaper, I, as a consumer win, and the writer/publisher make out because they're paid even though they don't have to produce any physical books. My $0.02.
Look up a little history on Nuke Power plants, and you'll find the same thing. The Navy wanted Nuke power to drive Submarines, so they established Naval Reactors, who used the knowledge they got from designing the Subs to build the first commerical reactor as well. (We recently got a presentation by Admiral Donald here at CMU, he says people still ask him to build their plants, because the NR people know there stuff.)
That doesn't mean that this is a great idea, but the process described by my parent has historical precedent.
The real benefit of facebook, at least as far as I'm concerned, is not the ability to poke or post or message or whatever facebook communication you like best. I use it effectively like a huge address book.
When I'm heading home for the summer, and I think to myself, "Hey, it would be cool to hang out with my old HS buddies. I wonder what they're up to." I can start up facebook, search for them by name, friend them, and get their phone numbers.
I don't have a little address book like my parents did until recently (I know that now they have an excel spreadsheet doing the same job, and I don't have that either.) I have facebook, which is like an address book that I can access from anywhere with the web.
Slashdot Mirror
That was my initial thought, but I'm concerned that the publisher does actually add value in terms of having editors and assuring a certain quality level in the books published. I'd be happy to have an unedited world, where I got to read lots of cheap books and decide which were good and which weren't, but having the publisher still in the loop might keep the quality higher, and therefore reach a larger market.
it automatically loads whatever you want from the world's libraries for free
The year this happens, is the year that writing fiction stops. Think about it. If a rock star loses the revenue he gets from CDs/mp3s to illegal downloading, he at least has revenue from radio stations and concerts.
Unless you pay to read a book, the writer stands NO chance of being paid. Period. If books are free, writers make no money and writers stop writing. No more new books
The company that implements the following plan wins:
Charge $3 per book.
~$1 goes to the writer
~$1 goes to the publisher
~$1 goes to the download provider
Your book MUST be DRM protected, but it should be printable, and work on any possible eBook reader.
Since it's cheaper, I, as a consumer win, and the writer/publisher make out because they're paid even though they don't have to produce any physical books. My $0.02.
Look up a little history on Nuke Power plants, and you'll find the same thing. The Navy wanted Nuke power to drive Submarines, so they established Naval Reactors, who used the knowledge they got from designing the Subs to build the first commerical reactor as well. (We recently got a presentation by Admiral Donald here at CMU, he says people still ask him to build their plants, because the NR people know there stuff.)
That doesn't mean that this is a great idea, but the process described by my parent has historical precedent.
The real benefit of facebook, at least as far as I'm concerned, is not the ability to poke or post or message or whatever facebook communication you like best. I use it effectively like a huge address book.
When I'm heading home for the summer, and I think to myself, "Hey, it would be cool to hang out with my old HS buddies. I wonder what they're up to." I can start up facebook, search for them by name, friend them, and get their phone numbers.
I don't have a little address book like my parents did until recently (I know that now they have an excel spreadsheet doing the same job, and I don't have that either.) I have facebook, which is like an address book that I can access from anywhere with the web.
That's my 2 cents.