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To: Mannie who wrote (3552)	8/8/2000 11:03:07 AM
From: Mannie	Respond to of 6516

Microsoft, Barnes & Noble unveil new products to reboot e-book market Tuesday, August 8, 2000 By DAN RICHMAN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Two of the strongest backers of digital books, Microsoft Corp. and barnesandnoble.com, today will try to jump-start that business, which is growing more slowly than expected. Unveiling an inventory of several hundred titles this morning, Internet bookseller barnesandnoble.com will instantly become the single largest source of e-books digitized in Microsoft's Reader format, said barnesandnoble spokesman Gus Carlson. The Reader titles available today, which include some bestsellers, will increase in number weekly, he said. At a New York media event by the two companies, Microsoft will also debut the free, downloadable PC version of Reader. Until now Reader could be used only on devices with liquid crystal displays, such as personal digital assistants and dedicated book readers. Microsoft closed up 88 cents at $70. Barnes & Noble Inc. closed down 50 cents at $18.38. Microsoft's Reader, which runs only under Windows, is a digital delivery system that includes a means to help protect copyrights. It also includes ClearType, which increases the sharpness of letters on screen. Microsoft Reader has several rivals, two of which -- NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook and Glassbook Inc.'s Glassbook Reader -- are already featured on barnesandnoble.com's site. Some 4,000 titles are already available in one or both of those formats. But sales over the past two years "have not been significant," Carlson said. In contrast, with today's announcement, "you've got big brands investing time, money and people, so it's an added confidence booster in a conservative realm, and there's power to create a market," Carlson said. "There is enormous potential." He wouldn't disclose sales projections. The e-books will sell for about the same price as paperbacks, though prices are expected to decline sharply as sales increase because e-books cost nothing to duplicate. Microsoft will take a small commission on the sale of each Reader-formatted book. E-books allow searching text for specific words, bookmarking and highlighting easily, using built-in dictionaries, and changing the size or style of type. Numerous e-books can be stored on a single device. Momentum in the e-books market has been built by the roaring success of downloadable works from Stephen King and Michael Crichton, by major players like Random House and Time Warner creating digital divisions, and by advancements in technology, Carlson said. "All these are converging to make e-books a compelling experience," he said. But so far, e-books haven't come near meeting boosters' predictions. "E-books have been a failure so far, to judge from adoption rates," said William Wong, vice president of analysts Josephthal & Co. in New York. But "with someone like Microsoft driving it, we could see some traction." P-I reporter Dan Richman can be reached at 206-448-8032 or danrichman@seattle-pi.com TOOLS