E Ink is good stuff.  Gone is the eyestrain of staring in to a glowing screen for hours. Gone is the battery sucking LCD display.  E Ink makes sense.

But when E Ink devices are only now starting to dip down to reach the $199 price point (unless you look at used/refurbished devices), Mobile Internet Devices (MIB) like the SmartQ are starting to make a lot more sense.  For almost the same price as an E Ink device, you can buy a device with a bigger screen that’s in color and capable of playing video, as well as supporting a variety of opening systems and third party software.

Sure, being a jack of all trades, such a device is not a master of reading e-books.  But I suspect it’d be good enough.

And for the record, I’d prefer to have a smartphone like the iPhone or Droid and carry my my e-books around in my pocket at all times, but I can’t justify the monthly charges for a fancy data plan.

It’s been three months since I fell off the e-book wagon and sold my PRS-505 Sony E-Book Reader.  I haven’t been pining over any new reader in the meantime either.  The Barnes & Noble Nook missed the boat by failing to take real advantage of its LCD touchscreen (Spring Design knows what it’s all about) or its WiFi connection (it would cost them NOTHING to let me connect to my own WiFi and look up Wikipedia entries and do Google Searches based on text in my books… why not offer that feature when the hardware is there to support it).

I had hopes for the Nook, but now that it’s failed me I’m still left with no affordable reader meeting all four of my simple standards:

• E-ink screen (this one’s easy to find)
• The ability to search within the text of a book (yet again, most devices do this)
• The ability to search on-line resources such as Wikipedia and Google over WiFi (this is the killer)
• Support for the ePub format (still, lots of devices doing this)

The Sony PRS-600 would have been perfect for me if they had included a Wi-Fi receiver and a web browser.  The first version of Amazon’s Kindle, and both versions to come out since have offered all of these features but support for the ePub format.  And frankly, the ePub support is the least impacting feature to me.

I hold out for ePub support because ePub is an open standard; anybody can make an ePub supporting device, and any store can generate ePub content.  If I buy a Kindle (which, especially with refurbished prices under $200, I’m tempted to), any DRM’d content I buy must come from Amazon (unless I buy an e-book elswhere and crack the DRM on it, which I’d rather not have to do when I’m already playing nice and being a paying customer), and won’t be able to be read on a non-Amazon device (with the current exception of PC and iPhone).

I expect we’ll eventually start seeing E Ink devices with open WiFi so I can do research while reading a book, and with everybody jumping on the ePub boat, I expect Amazon to eventually support it too (if not drop DRM entirely like Apple eventually convinced music publishers to do).

In the meantime I’m reading paper books, and getting my news from a computer screen, and that’s all working just fine.

I was searching for an image of a broken Kindle to add to this post when I found this comic, which lead me to read about this The Twilight Zone episode, which lead me to wish I had seen more of the show. Now if only Netflix could stream The Twilight Zone episodes instead of forcing me to devote an entire out-at-a-time DVD slot.

Last week Sony announced that its new PRS-600 e-book reader would be for sale at the end of the month. I initially put my reader (a PRS-505) up for sale on eBay planning to buy the new PRS-600 when it becomes available in a few weeks. But now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I’m not sure I’ll buy a replacement any time soon.

I still like the idea of e-books and e-ink and e-readers, but the publishers, as I’ve complained repeatedly before, need to make some big changes if e-books are going to take off. O’Reilly gets it right: no DRM, multiple formats, and nearly free e-books ($3 or so) when you buy a paper book. But most publishers have to actually RELEASE BOOKS IN E-BOOK FORMAT before these issues can be addressed. Many publishers release e-books months after a book is released, and even then they cost more than the retail hardcover price and don’t come down when a paperback is released. Others simply aren’t even looking at releasing e-books.

And if we MUST have DRM (as certainly many publishers would and will insist on) then lets get some actual good out of it. If I own an e-book, I should be able to transfer it to someone over the Internet, or wirelessly in the same room, either as a sale (where I get to set the price, including free as a gift) or a loan (where I can set the duration before it expires and I regain the ability to read it again or leave that up to the borrower). The fact that DRM’d e-books can’t be re-sold, given away, or loaned is ridiculous.

These publishing problems discouraged me from actually buying any books while I had my e-reader.  Instead, I pirated books (lawyers and other official-type people take note, by “pirate” I mean I dress up in swashbuckling garb while I read free public-domain titles). I didn’t feel too guilty about this. It’s barely different from checking out a book at the library (except that I could keep the e-book files forever and even have access to thousands of titles that our local libraries don’t carry).  There were some e-books I read that I would have possibly purchased, but they weren’t available in e-book format.

On top of these problems that the publishers are responsible for, I kind of realized how much I enjoy paper books. I still have complaints about hardcovers and mass-marker paperbacks, but I can really appreciate the form factor of a trade paperback.  And covers and the other things that come as part of the paper book package can be nice. I went to the library two weeks ago to pick up a book I had requested they order, and it was sure fun having a physical object (with beautiful cover art) to hold in my hand as I skipped down the sidewalk downtown like Mary Tyler Moore, tossing my hat in to the air.  (But it’s also nice not having to even go down to the library, just plucking the book I want from the ether of the Internet.)

I’m not done with e-books, even though I’m going to stop participating for a while.  I still plan to be watching the world of e-books closely, applauding improvements in hardware and software and hoping that publishers will start pulling their heads out of the sand.  Aww, who am I kidding, I’ll probably even have a new e-reader full of swashbuckling tales before the year’s over.  But I’m still shaking my fist in the air and furrowing my brow every time I hear or see more about how absolutely stupid book publishers are being.  Get it together ya knuckleheads.

A local journalist wrote a piece today saying he and his wife disagree about how their daughter should someday learn that Santa Claus isn’t real. He wants her to come to the conclusion on her own time, while his wife doesn’t see a problem with continuing to read a book that will soon lay it all out.

He closes the article, tongue placed slightly in cheek, saying:

So basically, all I really want is a way to be honest, protect my daughter’s sense of Christmas wonder, instill in her the values of faith, kindness and generosity, achieve peace on earth and stay married. Is that so much to ask?

I say he failed his goal of being “honest” with his children when he first introduced or perpetuated the idea that Santa is real. I’ve said this of lying about Santa to people before, and the response is almost always the same. “It’s not LYING! Santa is tradition”, “Believing in Santa and then learning that he’s not real is part of growing up”, “Wow, you’re sure a GRINCH!”

But seriously, just because it’s tradition to lie to our kids doesn’t make it right. Can Santa be fun? Absolutely. But you can still be HONEST with your kids (what a novel idea) and pretend together as a family. “Oh, we’d better put cookies out for Santa. Funny that his favorite kind is the same as Daddy’s.”

Thankfully, my wife and I agree on this. I’ll quote her IM conversation with me (which was a bit stilted and short due to my younger daughter repeatedly stealing the keyboard from her), emphasis mine:

I don’t like the idea of tricking them. But, I do like playing along, in fun… same with Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc. I like going through the motions, the pageantry, the fiction; I want to encour0age pretending, and enjoying worlds of make-believe, and knowing what’s true.

So don’t even THINK about saying we’re no fun or that we’re ruining out children’s childhood. We have other ways of doing that!

I wrote a long post about how I finally saw how it would be worth keeping paper books around the house so when my kids are older they can pick them up at their leisure*. But before I posted it, I realized that I don’t need to sacrifice my dream of a mostly digital library in this goal. By the time my oldest child is ready to read non-picture books on her own, basic eBook readers should be quite affordable. (And, since not everyone knows how to remove DRM from eBooks and I prefer not to enter grey areas of copyright law when I can help it, I also look forward to the hopefully near day when eBooks drop DRM altogether like MP3’s have.)

Turning on their own (affordable and replaceable) Kindle 4 (or Target brand generic eReader), my kids will be able to browse our digital family library like they would browse a wall of bookshelves, even when they’re off at college or otherwise moved out of the house. And I won’t have to worry about a growing collection taking up space in my small, non-permanent** home.

Yes, there’s always the library as well (and my kids aren’t strangers to it even in their current sub-3-year-old stages). But the library often doesn’t have the book one might be looking for.  When I choose to buy an eBook as opposed to ordering it from Amazon, it’s nice to know that in addition to taking up no space and therefore being ultra-portable, soon it should be easy to loan or give that eBook to someone else.

This final paragraph was left over from my first, very different, draft of this post. I’m not sure how to work in in here, but I really like it, so I’ll just tack it on without further ado.  Both of my daughters (ages 3 and 1) LOVE books. They love being read to, and love sitting next to a stack of books and thumbing through the pages of each, making op their own stories (or babblings in the case of the 1-year-old). And I hope they never stop.

*Not that we don’t have lots of physical books right now. We do have five bookshelves, two of which are heavily used and three that are slowly losing trinket space as our number of household books increases. My wife’s collection of books consumes one bookshelf and spills out across part of another, and I cram a few mass-market paperbacks and some trades I’ve been meaning to get rid of to the sides of a shelf or two (my college textbooks stuffed away, molding in a box in the basement), while the rest of our bookHORDE contains books for the kids (which is good, since toddlers and preschoolers should have physical pages to turn and bright covers to look at).

**We are mortals and build houses that don’t last many generations. If I were a lord that lived in a castle, or a vampire, I would enjoy building a vast library wing to pass on to my descendants and protect important works of literature from natural disasters and destructive, weaker minds. Right now, a room full of books would be a pain to move and a burden for my children to deal with when I die.

It’s really annoying to go to the book store and discover that they don’t carry the book you wanted to buy.  Some retailers like B&N let you check their inventory on-line (though it’s not always accurate) but that just saves you a wasted a trip and still forces you to wait for an on-line retailer to ship you what you wanted (meaning you might have to pay extra for shipping charges). eBooks have alleviated this annoyance for me, but not when a book isn’t available in eBook form or it’s contents (such as a picture book or coffee table book) don’t translate well to the small-screen, black & white world of 1st gen eBook devices.

So I’ve been very interested in The Espresso Book Machine since I heard about it some time ago. This “print on demand” machine is capable of taking a PDF and printing and binding a book (“library quality paperbacks… identical to factory made books”) within a matter of minutes. I had to be expensive, so it’s not something just anybody would pick up for personal use.  But purchased as part of a business, think of the possibilities…

• Small bookstores could compete with the big chains and even e-tailers like Amazon
• Books would never go out of print (and out of print books would be back)
• Large print & foreign language would finally be as easy to get as their mainstream versions
• Independent authors can walk in and print affordable copies of their work

The roadblock here, as with everything else in the world of books, is the publishers. On Demand Books, the company licensing the hardware, is already working with LSI (a subsidiary of the world’s largest wholesale distributor of books) to bring copyrighted works to the device’s catalog, but I have yet to find any information on-line about was exactly is currently available. The Boston Globe does say that “85,000 book titles from major publishers like Simon & Schuster and McGraw-Hill [are currently] available to Espresso machines”, but also quotes On Demand Book’s chief executive as saying “it’s taken us longer than we expected to get publishers to share their catalog”.

I would say there should be no question about publishers wanting to make their content available via The Espresso Book Machine, but with the way so many of them are dragging their feet with eBooks, I now consider common sense in the publishing world a rarity.

I really like my Sony eBook reader, but I won’t deny that I sometimes find myself thinking “I’d like to have this book sitting on a shelf” or “this would be a fun book to thumb through randomly” or most commonly “I wish I could set this thing on the floor and not worry about the kids stepping on it or throwing it across the room”.

I have yet to buy an eBook since I received my reader. I’ve stuck to free eBooks such as public domain works (70+ years since the author died) and relatively new books released free in electronic form by publishers (also, THIS HANDSOME FRIEND OF MINE utilizes the questionable practice of downloading pirated eBooks off the Internet because “it’s barely different than checking out a physical book from the library”).

The problem with buying eBooks is that they’re rarely/barely cheaper than a paperback (they’re usually cheaper than a hardcover if you’re buying from the Kindle Store or Sony eBook Store). Why should I pay more for a digital copy that costs nothing to make and barely pennies to send? This is not a problem with the technology, this is 100% a problem with the publishers. I think eBooks should cost around $5.  That’s enough of a savings for more people to say “Ok, I’m giving up some of the convenience/aesthetic of a paper book, but the convenience of an eBook coupled with this great price makes it totally worth it”.

It addition to simply lowering eBook prices (which is undeniably a no-brainer), I really think we need to see bundle prices for buying a paper book and its eBook version together.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Publishers should include a DRM-free eBook version with every paper book they sell.

They won’t do this for some time I’m sure. Why do that when your most loyal, dedicated fans might pay you twice to have the book in two formats?  I think it would be smart for publishers, as it would increase the sale of paper books, which they seem to prefer selling over eBooks despite the increased profit margins and easier (ie. nonexistent) distribution models for them.

I do expect the publishers will get in line eventually and start making the improvements we’re asking for (lower prices, no DRM, bundle discounts for getting paper book and eBook together).  I’m just impatient.

(Photo used with permission of Flickr user danielhermes.)

I’ve had my Sony PRS-505 Reader Digital Book for a week now, and feel like I’m qualified to share some thoughts on it.

First, some pros of E Ink devices in general (these go for Sony’s competitors like the Amazon Kindle as well).

• Minimal Eyestrain – E Ink reflects light just like regular ink, so it generally doesn’t put any more strain on your eyes to read it than a normal paper book would. In fact, an eReader can be even easier on your eyes as you can make any eBook large print with the push of the zoom/font-size button. It can also be read just as easily in bright sunlight, which is something LCD screens can’t match.
• Long, Long Battery Life – E Ink devices can last weeks on a single charge since they essentially only use electricity when what’s displayed on the screen is changed. Leaving a page displayed for days doesn’t drain the battery.
• Not Limited by Bookstore or Library Selection – A book not available locally? No need to wait for Amazon to ship it.
• Classics – Websites like Feedbooks and Manybooks have tens of thousands of public domain and creative commons books available to download for free.
• Multiple Books in One Device – No more worrying about dwindling bookshelf space. Also, take your whole library with you to the park/bus/vacation/gym/etc.

Now for Sony PRS-505 specifics.

(Photo used with permission of Flickr user regularjen.)

PRs-505 Pros:
• Cheaper than Kindle – Even without any discounts or coupons, the PRS-505 can be bought for $90 less than the Kindle 2
• More Book Buying Options – When it comes to DRM’d books, Kindle owners must buy from Amazon. With a Sony Reader, eBooks can be bought not just from Sony’s eBook store, but also from any store that offers Adobe’s Secure ePub or Secure PDF formats, such as Books On Board. This doesn’t mean the Sony has a larger selection of books available (Amazon actually has a slightly larger catalog).
• Smaller Than Kindle 1 or Kindle 2 (yet Same Screen Size) – No keyboard means a smaller device.
  
  (Thanks to Flickr users tevk and symmetricalism for enabling sharing on these photos.)

PRS-505 Cons:

• No Search or Notes – Just because it doesn’t have a keyboard or touchscreen doesn’t mean Sony couldn’t have allowed users to enter text for searches or notes. The 0-9 buttons along the side would have functioned fine (using the T9 method seen on mobile phones) for occasional text entry. I wouldn’t want to write a story with them, but it would be better than no search or note functions at all. (People like my wife and I who do some reading on a computer in addition to reading on the Sony can rest easy knowing that search isn’t needed to find your place. As long as you use ePub files, the page numbers are the same regardless of what device you’re reading on.)
• No Wireless – Amazon comes with free cellular wireless, but says they’ll charge for it in future. The Sony can’t even connect to my home wireless (I really wish it could; don’t care much about the cellular). But the Sony PRS-505 can sync daily news and feeds using programs like Calibre or Feedbooks’ News Stand.
• eBooks Not as Cheap as Amazon – Amazon’s eBooks are usually $3-5 cheaper than the Sony eBook Store. But Sony’s store is still usually cheaper than paper books and regularly cheaper than other non-Amazon eBook stores. Also, Amazon is currently subsidizing their low prices and may raise them soon.
• Small Page Turn Buttons – Unlike Kindle’s paddles/flippers, the PRS-505 has smaller buttons that also require a little pressure. I got used to this very quickly, but for a day or two I’d occasionally find myself wishing I didn’t have to think about the button when I turned a page. On the plus side, the left buttons (great for holding the book with one while the cover’s attached) are very easy to hit.
• Limited Mac and Linux Support – Mac and Linux users can’t buy books from the Sony eBook Store, and while Mac users can use Adobe ePub/PDF for DRM books, Linux users don’t even have that option. Your average Linux user would have no trouble buying an eBook in a Linux supported format and stripping the DRM from it, but it’s still unfortunate to see an established OS shut out like this.

I’m glad that I bought the PRS-505 (especially considering the great deal I got on it). However, regardless of the pros and cons I listed, I’d likely be just as pleased with a Kindle, Sony-700, or one of the other other E Ink devices currently available (seriously, I’m not saying the Sony is best, just that it’s quite good). I was just lucky that I happened to snag a bargain on the device I had a slight preference for.

Last night Conan O’Brien hosted his first episode of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. When I was teenager, my friends and I regularly watched Late Night With Conan O’Brien. Some of his sketches and jokes became long-term parts of our vernacular.

My first car, The Brown Dandy, got its name from a a short set of clips that I found to be particularly funny. I can’t find a video of it anywhere on-line, but the Krunk.org Conan-OBrien Archive has video captures, descriptions, and quotes for the episode :

Conan alludes to a starring role he has in a summer movie. “You mean a cameo you did?”, Andy inquires. “No, a starring role.” Conan shows a trailer for the film:

NARRATOR: “He was a brilliant young fashion designer. His use of color made him destined for greatness. Until an unfortunate accident with some brown dye robbed him of his sight forever and left him with eyes that only see brown. This summer be on the look out… for something brown… something dandy. Conan O’Brien is ‘THE BROWN DANDY.’”

Sepia-tinted footage. Conan, wearing a Zorro mask and carrying a brown cane approaches some clothes. “Ah, brown, beautiful brown.” He senses something and leaps offscreen.

NARRATOR: “You’ll never wear brown again.”

Andy wonders what the Brown Dandy’s superhero powers are. Conan says that he leaps into frame, appreciates things that are brown and then leaps out of scene.

Seems Andy, too, stars in a new summer film. [NOTE: The set-up of this bit is the same as the PSA bit.] He presents a trailer:

NARRATOR: “They came from over a million light years away. He was their chosen one. Do they want him for experimentation? No. Do they want him for repopulating some far off planet? No. Or do they want him for some hellish spectacle in which he is to be the object of their depraved alien lust? Yes! Kidnapped, thrust into an alien world. A hideous display for the galaxy to see. Once in a lifetime an actor finds a role that defines his career. This summer Andy Richter stars in ‘SPACE WHORE.’ Will he survive, will he escape, will he want to? SPACE WHORE. Rated R. Absolutely no one under 17 admitted.”

Andy is kidnapped by bug-eyed aliens, eyelashes, lipstick and a blonde wig are put on him and he’s forced to dance like a stripper for the aliens’ enjoyment. A space ship dangles on a string.

Max claims that he is a big star in India and his new film there is number one. The trailer for it is narrated in Hindi, features stock shots of floods and other disasters with Hindi script and a chroma-keyed shot of an Indian Max with six arms (a shiva) twirling drum sticks.

One more Late Night memory deserves mention here too. In college, Conan and Mr. T’s trip to an apple orchard in upstate New York was enjoyed repeatedly and still remains dear to my heart. Thankfully, a YouTube video does exist for this.

Good luck with The Tonight Show, Mr. C!