The Future Of Publishing Blog by Thad McIlroy
August 17th, 2009
I avoided writing last week about the news that Microsoft had been awarded a patent of some sort having to do with XML and word-processing. I also avoided delving too deeply into what was behind the granting of the patent because as a sometimes expert-witness in patent litigation I knew I’d have to take a…
August 11th, 2009
I offered what follows to my colleagues at Geist this evening for its Endnotes section. The Endnotes are generally intended to review books, films or occasionally music, and at Geist follow some very strict rules, most importantly, a word count of about 350. This entry more than doubles the count. So if it is accepted, it…
August 10th, 2009
“Do I love books or do I love reading?” is the question posed by Ann Kirshner in her thoughtful and well-written article on The Chronicle of Higher Education web site. Kirshner writes: “When my book group picked Little Dorrit, I found myself asking that question….I decided to read Little Dorrit four ways: paperback, audiobook, Kindle, and…
July 27th, 2009
You’re all in luck. Today’s issue of The New Yorker features a very fine article by the excellent writer Nicholson Baker on the Amazon Kindle. Titled “A New Page: Can the Kindle Really Improve on the Book?”, this article is certainly the best-written I’ve seen yet on this overly- and endlessly-discussed subject, as well as…
July 14th, 2009
There’s an interesting article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal called “Publisher Delays E-Book Amid Debate on Pricing.” Upon first read, or for those not immersed in the issues surrounding the retailing of eBooks on Amazon, it sounds like no big deal. The article starts with: A leading independent publisher is saying no to the e-book…