For my last blog post I wanted to write about something that I have recently found very interesting. Recently, the New York Times has created a lot of articles in relation this idea of e-book "napsterization". I think this relates to our class as it is a new and currently upcoming form of electronic media -- the Kindle and Electronic Books.
Will Books Be Napsterized?
Cellphone Apps Challenge the Rise of E-Readers
These two articles, along with many others recently published with the New York Times, describe the complications that may arise with electronic books, from piracy with the Kindle and online books, as well as the difference in using e-books on the Kindle or the iPhone.
Thankfully, they suspect that with the holiday season coming, hopefully *fingers crossed* the Kindle will be a big present this season and will boost the revenue of the device. They are also currently developing an e-book reader for the Blackberry so the application can be used with purchased electronic books so you can read on-the-go. We see everything technology wise becoming more and more accessible for the average moving person so that no matter where you are, you have access to things with your iPhone, Blackberry, or even cell-phone!
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With the popularity of e-books and e-readers rising, it is interesting then to think about copyright laws and how they will most likely evolve. In "Communication and Cyberspace," Kleinman suggests that "the public price [of digital content] must be calculated on the basis of a series of incremental costs that can far exceed the one time cost we pay for the printed version of the information."
ReplyDeleteWhat Kleinman is saying is that there is a different cost bracket for different uses of digital material on the web. For example, "an online source may be charged several times for a number of different uses ranging from the charge to access the information, to download it, to display and manipulate it, to distribute and share it."
If the nature of the material changes and the reader gains more ability to manipulate the content, there needs to be a different charge based on potential; more or less than a tangible book.
Barnes and Noble has created its answer to the Kindle recently with its “Nook.” The really interesting thing about this product is that it allows users to share books with each other. Each digital title is allowed to be lent to a set number of friends. It seems like this could be a big competitor to the Kindle for this reason. It also adds a pretty cool color screen at the bottom of the device so that the user can scroll through book covers.
ReplyDeleteno one is quite sure how the economics of cyberspace will work themselves out...
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