The history of the e-book spans a longer period than many people would realise. Most people would assume that the internet came before the e-book. However, this is not the case. The first ever e-book was the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was typed up by the founder of Project Gutenberg, Michael S Hart, in 1971 whereas the internet was not created until 1974. Even then, it was not the internet we know today. In order to chronicle a history of e-books up to the present day the following issues must be addressed. What were the initial forms of e-books like; what kind of formats are used in electronic publishing; what sorts of devices are used to read electronically; what is digital rights management, and how does it apply to the e-book; and what impact has the e-book had on the way books are price and on publishing business models.
As mentioned above, the first e-book was an electronic version of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. This development was the first step towards the now world famous Project Gutenberg which was launched in 1971 by Michael S. Hart. Hart’s goal was “To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks” (www.gutenberg.org: Mission Statement). His original aim was to digitise 10,000 texts, this was achieved in October 2003, but he acknowledged that if is sufficient funding could be sourced he would aim for a million or more (Lebert 2009:7). If we look at the current form of e-book, then it may seem counterintuitive that the first e-book came before the development of the internet. However, that is the case, Project Gutenberg was launched in 1971 and the internet was not created until 1974 and even then it was not widespread or anything like the present day internet we know and take for ...
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Books today are everywhere. We find them in many households, libraries and schools all around the globe. We find many different types of books; from stories to educational textbooks, we regard them today as sources of knowledge and amusement. But it wasn’t the case before 1455. That year, one of the greatest inventions in human history was revealed to the world; Gutenberg’s printing press. This press allowed printing in massive quantity, spreading books all around Europe and the rest of the world at a fast rate. The printing press had many positive consequences on society. At first, it standardized grammar and spelling, and then introduced the mass production of books. It finally inspired future printing technologies around the world.
This source considers the issue of converting to digital books, specifically as it pertains to the effect that this change would have on the global environment. Although the research does recognize that there are disadvantages to not having a physical copy of a book and to abandoning certain platforms that do not transfer well to a digital form, overall, these researchers conclude that publishers should move towards digital products not only for the sake of cheaper long-run costs, but also for the good that going paperless can do for the environment. By displaying a series of graphs, as well as including multiple data sets, the text explains how e-books compare with printed texts; then, analysis of these facts is also included to show the reader the authors’ point.
To start off, the main difference between books and modern technology of information is the connection between the audience and author. Winterson says, "The general reader need not sit down and ponder the runes behind the words, but if he or she wants the pleasure out of a book that cannot be got out of anything else, that reader has forged a link with the writer" (Winterson,34). Accordingly, books create a special bond between the reader and the writer that cannot be had between modern technologies and its audiences. Nowadays, large corporations such as Amazon have created ways to preserve the bond between the writer and the reader through digital books. However, the bond given from the feeling of ink running through one's hand and the feeling of ecstasy when one glides through an important text with a highlighter does not compare to the technology offered through digital books.
We now find ourselves on the breadth of a new revolution, and a new era. The development of electronic books, or eBooks, has changed the way people all over the world read, whether it is for study or entertainment. It is now possible to carry an entire library of 3500 (Carnoy) books or more in the palm of your hand. While the resource of electronic books has countless benefits, there are still many who prefer the comfort of tradition.
Moon, B. (n.d.). Sony and Apple Spat Over App Store E-Books May Hit Kindle. Welcome to Portable Electronics at About.com. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://portables.about.com/od/ebookreasers/a/Sony-App-Rejection.htm
eBook technology is not easily defined. It has been described by Gall in his article “Dispelling Five Myths” as ...
This project examines the pros and cons of e-books and print books and whether or not one is better than the other, or the other way around, which includes many topics of which are better for education or free reading. The point is not trying to prove that one should be gotten rid of, but for the point of which has been proven to be more effective in such areas. Over the course of this paper, I will discuss the multiple pros and cons of print books vs. E-books, and while I take the side of print books, one should make their own decision on the topic. The purpose of E-books is to be a better/more electronic sort of book, that allows one to have thousands of books at their fingertips, with some for a cost and others for free. They are also able to be used in the dark while not disturbing others that are sleeping.
The U.S book industry can be divided into two eras; the time before and after the online bookstores. This case is one of the classic battles between a pure online bookstore and a traditional brick and mortar retailer trying to leverage its resources and capabilities online. Amazon, once an online book store, now has expanded its business into different products and service offerings and markets and captured a significant market share. On the other hand Barnes & Noble, which had tried hard through the 1990s to consolidate the traditional bookselling space with its superstore format, stood miles behind Amazon.
Wilson, T. D. (1997). Electronic publishing and the future of the book. Information Research, 3(2). Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://informationr.net/ir/3--2/paper39.html
Geographically the American top ten markets of books were New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angles etc. According to the book industry experts there are various factors that have been accelerating the book sales (Jaworski et al., 2001). Most prominently a large number of books are being sold on stand-alone superstores at fully discounted prices such as Borders, Bookstar, Barnes & Nobles etc. An imperative need for the establishment of superstores was actually realized in the 1970s when some bookstores such as Tattered Cover in Denver started to develop the gathering places in their neighbourhood (Rangaswamy et al., 2004). Moreover, there are also plenty of major bo...
With technology progressing from drones fulfilling shipments to electronic books becoming cheaper, major companies such as Apple and Amazon have had a big impact on not only the tech industry but the publishing industry as well. Companies are outputting resources like IBook’s and the Kindle bookstore to take full advantage of the transition to digital publishing. As a result of this we have greener, more budget friendly books, and outdated traditional copies of text. With the introduction to these resources it is making the lives of students and the mass market more convenient. Students are now able to purchase books on one device that won’t weigh their bags down on a daily basis. Companies have created bookstores that can be accessed from devices that we use every day, resulting in paperless copies of books that are substantially cheaper than the traditional hard copy. E-books are replacing physical books and textbooks rapidly, and as a result they are becoming more widely and readily available for students.
However, iIn spite of the current pre-eminence of e-books, it may be argued that they are not likely to replace print books anytime soon or possibly at all. Both formats have their advantages and drawbacks, which makes for one of them difficult to replace the other. Moreover, they serve differents needs and purposes. E-books are famous for their portability. Hundreds of e-books can be stored on a single device. Thus e-books don’t take shelving space and are convenient to take on travel, while even a few paper books are bulky and quite heavy to carry around. Numerous e-books are in open access, while paper books are not routinely available free of charge. E-books may be acquired and accessed immediately online, a feature I enjoy especially and treasure most: many a time I was able to buy and read an e-book at home within minutes of learning of its existence. Needless to say, e-books are considerably easier to cite and quote than print books, since the copy-paste feature spares us the trouble of retyping the quoted text. Another important advantage of digital books is their specialized software, which makes reading much easier: search and reference tools, changeable font size and day/night mode, dictionaries. Last but not least, e-books conserv...
Yet despite its innovations, e-publishing is still a young medium, and possibly it is far too new of an outlet to truly be one in which an up-and-coming author should rely. And yet, it is indeed a medium with many pros and cons over traditional publishing.
First of all, buying an e-book is cheaper than a printed book. As a student who is studying in college, I know students have to buy text books for all the classes. According to an article from website, “average price of best-selling e-books is $5-$11, and most text-books’ price is around $200 which are selling in bookstore even rental books should cost 50% of the new books’ price.” We can immediately know that e-books are much cheaper than printed
Getting educated is one of the most important things in life when it comes to getting a good future. By developing good knowledge of schooling, it helps establish and maintain new information as needed throughout the real world. As books are one the essential tools in learning, eBooks are being used in a everyday lifestyle. Traveling to get away places from city life, helps give reading a comforting feel. Students that use print books are eventually going to use ebooks in the future. By educating students with ebooks, it is more efficient than carrying textbooks; ebooks is more convenient and reliable to read, write and store notes. Print books are being replaced by eBooks, it helps on keeping files together and it makes notes