Visualise a classroom of the future. The teacher walks in and says: "Okay students, today we will be studying the ancient Mohenjodaro civilisation. Please open your ebooks to page 10." Difficult to believe? Probably. However, But if you have been following the current trend of books being published in an electronic format, the possibility of the above in the very near future cannot be ruled out.
The question is: are people ready to accept ebooks as an alternative to paperback? Will it replace the novel or hardcover book as we know it, or serve as a supplement? Lovers of books will probably agree that the smell of a new book, the thrill of just turning the pages, cannot be replaced by an electronic device. So where exactly are these ebooks headed and who are the people who will be reading them?
Let's start off with its potential; one can't deny it's immensity, both in the commercial and educational sense.
Imagine starting on a long journey. Instead of packing up a sackful of novels, just slip in a sleek ebook device with 10 of your favourite titles downloaded. Convenient, easy to read and, of course, lightweight. Or maybe kids going to school in the morning, their bags packed with an ebook holding all text books they require downloaded on it for the day.
Interested? This brings us to that important question -- what exactly is an ebook? It's actually the text of a book, magazine, journal or manual enhanced by computer technology and formatted for reading and viewing, with easy-to-use search capabilities. You can make notes and highlights and it is also enhanced with multimedia, including pictures and animation. A dynamic electronic book with the latest information that can be downloaded to your computer, laptop, Palm PDA or dedicated portable eBook device.
Question two: how does one read an ebook? What you need is special software called an ebook reader. There are several available for download, and these are usually free. What you will have to pay for is the book you want downloaded to your hard drive. The other way is to read the book with a portable dedicated device - the most well-known among them being the latest offerings from RCA - Rocket eBook 1100 and 1200 (http://www.rca.com/content/viewdetail/0,1407,EI45055,00.html?).
Glassbook's (http://www.glassbook.com) high fidelity ebook reader software promise to deliver, to the consumer, a true evolution of the book reading experience, including rich typography, colour images and ease of use. The Glassbook Plus Reader has an integrated dictionary that is especially useful while reading complex material.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.adobe.com) is another popular software used for ebooks (PDF format). Adobe is currently working on the Adobe CoolType technology designed to deliver an on screen reading experience clearer and easier on the eyes.
Versaware (http://www.versaware.com) has developed Versabooks, already transforming the way millions of people access information. They support searches of multiple texts, making research easier than ever before. To provide the ultimate flexibility, Versabooks are accessed online and / or stored to the computer hard drive, which means that users can get their Versabooks from wherever they are. They can be highlighted and annotated, and are packed with multimedia. Versaware also custom-designs Versabooks to publishers' specifications. Want to start your own online library of Versabooks? Go straight to eBookCity.com.
So, when did eBooks first come into the limelight? Thanks to the digitalisation of sound and its widespread distribution over the Internet, printed word and images could hardly be far behind. However, Stephen Cole, founder of ebooks.com (http://www.ebooks.com), in an interview with digitalworm.com (http://www.digitalworm.com) is quoted as saying that the two pivotal moments were probably the 1998 launch of Nuvomedia's Rocket eBook and the second, the exposure Stephen King gave the electronic book through the release of his bestseller, 'Riding the Bullet'. This book was reportedly downloaded 500,000 times by ebook consumers.
When Stephen King offered to download the first chapter of his ebook, 'The Plant', directly from his website, he may not have foreseen the magnitude of the step he was taking -- cutting off middlemen from the process, namely, the publishers. However, interest in his offering soon dwindled, according to a report at www.bookseller.com.
Despite this, publishers and distributors have now recognised that they cannot afford to ignore the current e-publishing trend, even though they are still uncertain about how exactly they can take advantage of it. In the US, Random House (http://www.randomhouse.com) has already set up its own ebook imprint @Random and recently unveiled a list of e-publications available for download that will be published as e-books.
Academic and professional specialists, Blackwell Publishers (http://www.blackwell.com) have been making its entire journals list available electronically, free of charge, alongside its print subscription to institutions, for over a year now. Penguin Press (http://www.penguin.com) is also not far behind, and has already digitalised its Classic Library. The first e-penguins will soon be available in the US.
This brings us to that all important issue of whether or not one can print an ebook. Due to the copyright issues involved, well, you can't print or copy an ebook. You can only download and read it. For more information on digital rights issues that have arisen due to the publishing and distribution of content over the Internet, there's a lot of valuable info at the Adobe site (http://www.adobe.com/epaper/features/drm/main.html).
What about paying for an ebook? The rules remain the same. You will have to pay for it before you download. However, many websites offer their ebooks for free, though these cover lesser known authors and titles. Needless to say, the latest bestsellers and novels will come at a price, though this will still be a lot lesser than what they cost on paper.
For more information on readers, copyright issues, and current happenings in the world of ebooks, watch this space tomorrow. Until then, I'm off to download the 'War and Peace' ebook!
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