Category Archives: On the Web

Penguin posts new ebook buffet

I haven’t tried it yet… but Penguin is now offering (what they call) ‘ebook tasters’. These are files are from upcoming or newly released books, in a digital download form. It seems they are only available in ePub format which means you’ll need an ereader or Adobe Digital Editions installed on your computer. I’m sure all of this is a DRM move, which I’m not sure is a wise thing, if you’re only giving away samples. Wouldn’t you want to make that as hassle free as possible?

What if e-books were first?

Mac Slocum over on the O-Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing  blog offers up a neat twist to the debate of e-books vs. paper books… what if we had all been using e-books for the past few hundred years and paper books were just coming on the market? Would we all laugh at the paperback, or as the new kid on the block, would it capture our attention and spark a movement?

He lists out the benfits of the new unplugged book model: no need to buy batteries, lasts a loooooong time, ultra portable, ultra cheap, etc. All these things almost put the old e-book model to shame, huh?

Slocum calls it the flip test and it sure seems a good way to look at both sides of an equation.

Birmingham Museum of Art Library

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 The Birmingham Museum of Art has opened an online doorway into their art library. If you’ve never been, there are tons of cool books there that aren’t available anywhere else in town. So many of the 35,000 items, you can’t check out.  
As of right now, the site is a bit bare bones and takes a few trial searches to figure your way through the catalog. But it’s a great resource for research or inspiration. Thanks to the powers-that-be that helped make this available! 
{via Emmet O’Neal}