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07 April 2007, 08:59
Google Working To Make iPod/iTunes for Books
Google -
library online. The end result of the Google Book Search, the company
hopes to see a future where they are not merely referring customers to Amazon,
but instead offering them the ability to download books directly. According to
the Times Online, Google hopes to 'do for books what the iPod did for music.'
From the article: "One of Google's partners, Evan Schnittman of Oxford
University Press, said he foresaw a number of categories becoming popular
downloads: 'Do you really want to go on holiday carrying four novels and a guide
book?' The book initiative would be part of Google's Book Search service and its
partnership with publishers, which will make books searchable online with
publishers' approval. At present, only a sample of each book is available online."
My opinion:
Today's tech just makes for a not very pleasing alternative to a paper-based
book. And who want a book that withholds its content because the battery has
gone dead? I am glad Google is working to digitize books that have not yet been
digitized. And more text online makes a more showcases for Google ads. But I do
not see digital book tech being there any time soon. The technology of
paper-based books is just too difficult to exceed while pleasing the regular
reader.
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