Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Gemstar Intl (GMST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (2393)	3/18/2000 11:40:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

By the way, another function of the e-book is one worth considering that I haven't seen mentioned. It deals with the issue that I suspect most people will prefer reading off the printed page when it comes to lengthy works such as full-length books. But having read the book, storage becomes an issue. I can easily see publishers offering a supplemental electronic version of the book at a huge discount if proof can be established that the dead-tree version has already been purchased. (I won't bore you with the ease of prooving that.) The cost of the supplemental e-book version might be as low as $1 or $2. If given that scenario, I think people would be happy to trash their dead-tree version afer the first reading. They would use the supplemental electronic version to make for easy storing. While they might not prefer the electronic version for an entire reading, it would suffice for future reference or occasional glances. I believe that concept is so viable that the publisher that DOESN'T offer the supplemental electronic version at a substantially reduced cost won't be competitive with the publisher that does. --Mike Buckley

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (2393)	3/18/2000 1:51:00 PM
From: FatSam	Respond to of 6516

I agree with your observations and apparently this is exactly what Henry has planned. The following is a link to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle including a few quotes from Henry right after the e-book purchases. Hope this is helpful. sfgate.com

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (2393)	3/18/2000 3:20:00 PM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

Mike: Welcome to the Gem* thread. I have now had three days with my Rocket e-book pro and I can echo many of Rocketman's pros and cons. I can see how future versions could be a little more "touch friendly" on button positions, but overall it is a fine product. I have downloaded about six very inexpensive books from BN. I now have the Stephen King short story, Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and a cookbook. Total cost......$12.00. I took the dog for a walk to a park near our home last night. We have an off-leash area there. It was too dark to do anything except stand around...unless you have your e-book with you. I was standing there playing with it and about ten people wandered up to check it out. It is great to have something like this when you are just standing around...dog gets her exercise, I get a little entertainment. By the way, the cookbook on an e-book is very cool. I just propped up the e-book's cradle next to the stove and read off the recipe while using both hands to handle ingredients. Much easier than a regular, large cookbook. Because you can make the print size quite large, it makes reading from a distance much easier. I have no doubt that by the time my fifteen year old daughter is in college she will carry many of her textbooks on a device like this. Go Henry.

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (2393)	3/18/2000 6:11:00 PM
From: Climber	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

Mike, let's speculate some more. My idea of cool functionality with eBooks -- one that might exploit both Gem's IPR and Steve's point on first-mover advantage -- is to view the IPG not only as a Yahoo-type portal for video, but as an Amazon-type gateway for eBook sales. I can see the GuidePlus screen as being a very interesting interface for book or magazine browsing, whether on the device itself or on TV. For instance, I was stuck in an airport for 4 hours yesterday. Nothing would have eased the wait more than to be able to browse a built-in book stack of titles and reviews, either current best-sellers or some customized library suited to my own tastes, and then download a new title wirelessly. Or conversely, I could have stocked up on reading matter from a far richer catalog -- essentially, everything in print (or out of print, for that matter) in any language on earth, through the IPG on my television -- and I could have downloaded my choices over the cable. Either way, the Guide could make browsing by subject, genre, title, author, review, whatever, as easy as it makes choosing a TV show Why not just order my eBook from Amazon or B&N rather than through the Gem IPG? Well, I could do that, or I could perhaps get the same title from a Gemstar partner / provider who might offer the title for a couple bucks less because an advertiser is subsidizing it. So my copy of Reinhold Messner's latest true-adventure saga might come with IPG-enabled ads from Mountain Hardwear, including a new climbing jacket I've been thinking about. I could view and order wirelessly right from my eBook, or i could use the IPG on my TV to click into a short infomercial featuring Ed Viesturs on K2 using the same jacket. It might not matter that the eBook format is open and non-proprietary. It'll be the first movers, like Nuvomedia/ Softbook, with value-added IPR, e.g. Gemstar, who stand to make the most of it. Thoughts? Where are the holes in this idea? (beware that this is a carpetologist mouthing off about something he knows nothing about) I've come to realize that that's the signal for me to listen up. <g> Climber