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To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/21/2000 12:45:30 PM
From: Thomas Mercer-Hursh	Respond to of 54805

P.S. My "bold prediction" should probably be read as "at least one scenario showing that the present situation is untenable and will change" Isn't a lot of this already happening? It hasn't coalesced yet, but there is a lot of it there. But, some of it is sponsored by the publishers and dead tree distribution channel. Isn't someone like Barnes and Noble rolling out a print-on-demand system, in the bookstore, but no inventory? For a publisher, even one staunchly committed to physical publication, this is a great opportunity for slow movers and out-of-print books that still have some demand.

To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/21/2000 1:46:32 PM
From: jwadsworth	Respond to of 54805

On Wed I posed this Q about the high price of E-books to Henry Yuen, who explained it as a classic chicken/egg issue. As soon as there are enough devices in readers hands to enable the publisher to reduce the size of a run, the costs should come down. The new RCA (Thompson) versions to be introduced next month will be a step toward meeting that challenge. I liked the prototype I saw and believe it could sell big. It all depends on when E-books catch the public fancy. I love my current Rocket E-Book, which I bought when GMST bot the CO's. I'm now on my 10th novel. I have shown it to school teachers and 2 librarians, who liked it right away, especially the option of touching a word and having a dictionary definition pop up while you're reading. The device-specific encryption method seems to be unhackable, and this has not been lost on publishers & authors.

To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/21/2000 2:02:33 PM
From: GGorillaGirl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

GMST / eBooks INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- THOMSON multimedia (NYSE: TMS), the first major consumer electronics company to enter the emerging electronic book market, today announced that it will officially introduce the RCA-brand eBook line of dedicated electronic reading devices at the New York is Book Country book fair, on September 24, 2000 in New York City. Sold under the RCA brand name, the new eBook devices will be the first products introduced at retail with technology licensed from Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMST). Held annually since 1979, New York is Book Country was selected as a launch venue because it celebrates books and reading. The event attracts more than 250,000 people to Fifth Avenue in New York on a Sunday afternoon and counts Children's Services Division of the New York Public Library as a beneficiary. RCA representatives will be on-site to demonstrate the new eBook products in the fair's inaugural New Technology Pavilion. "We want to enhance the art of reading, as digital technology makes possible new capabilities that we believe readers will truly appreciate. RCA is committed to bringing our proven record of developing and marketing products that deliver on consumer's wants and needs to the nascent electronic book category," said Lou Lenzi, Vice President of New Media Services Business Development at Thomson. "We are excited to lend our support to the New York is Book Country event and to give book fair attendees a first look at the two new eBook models from RCA." "The driving force behind New York is Book Country has always been to expose people to the joy of reading," commented Linda C. Exman, President of New York is Book Country, a not-for-profit corporation. "We are thrilled to have these new products at this year's event. 'A book, eBook, any book' is the theme of NYIBC 2000, and we are delighted that Thomson and Gemstar-TV Guide International have chosen to sponsor the New Technology Pavilion with the new eBook products from RCA." Thousands of books, including many hot new bestsellers, will be available for the Gemstar eBook(TM) platform immediately upon introduction. There's also no faster, more convenient way to receive popular magazines and newspapers like Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Money, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times. Over 30 popular magazines and newspapers are currently available for eBook. Both new RCA products, the REB1100 and the REB1200, are portable electronic reading devices that allow users to take thousands of pages of text and graphics along with them at any time. Since the content is digitized, material read on the RCA-brand eBook can be browsed, searched, annotated or bookmarked in ways impossible with a paper book. Both products also feature a backlit, touch-sensitive liquid crystal display that enhances reading in any lighting situation. REB1100: Compact, Lightweight, and Easy-To-Read The RCA REB1100 eBook features a 5.5" (diagonal measurement) monochrome LCD touch-screen with nearly six times the screen resolution of a typical handheld personal digital assistant. In its standard configuration, the REB1100 stores approximately twenty novels, or 8,000 average paperback pages, with 8MB of memory. With a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 40 hours, and weighing just over one pound at 17 ounces, the REB1100 makes it easy to take a library of published material virtually anywhere. While the standard REB1100 will hold up to about twenty novels, the device also features an upgrade slot for a 64MB SmartMedia memory upgrade card to increase storage capacity. An internal modem in the device permits users to access their personal electronic library shelf and new content from any standard telephone line. The REB1100 can also be connected to a computer through a USB port or infrared link. REB1200: Bright, Color Graphics and a Leather Cover The RCA REB1200 eBook features an 8.5" (diagonal measurement) color LCD touch-screen with nearly 12 times the screen resolution of a typical handheld personal digital assistant. Weighing only 33-ounces (just over two pounds), the REB1200 is designed for those readers who prefer to view color-intensive content. In its base configuration, the REB1200 comes with 8MB of memory, the equivalent of approximately 5,000 pages of color content and text. The memory of the REB1200 can also be supplemented with additional Compact Flash memory cards. In addition to a 56K modem, the REB1200 also includes an Ethernet port for fast book downloads over a broadband network, cable modem, or DSL line. Suggested retail prices for both models and details on content availability will be announced at September's New York event. Both products are expected to be available in October. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially form those expected are the following: business conditions and general economic conditions; competitive factors such as pricing and marketing efforts of rival companies; timing of product introductions; ability of contract manufacturers to meet product price objectives and delivery schedules; legislative, regulatory, and industry initiatives that may affect planned or actual product features and marketing methods; and the pace and success of product research and development. For more information on the potential factors that could affect the company's financial results, please review the SEC filings of the company. About THOMSON multimedia With sales of 6.7 billion Euros (U.S. $6.5 billion) in 1999 and more than 55,000 employees in more than 30 countries, THOMSON multimedia (Paris Sicovam: 18453) (NYSE: TMS), is the world's fourth largest producer of consumer electronics. The Group has four principal activities: Displays and Components, Consumer Products, New Media Services, and Patents and Licensing. THOMSON multimedia engineers, manufactures, and markets display components and consumer products such as televisions, VCRs, audio systems, digital decoders, DVD players and professional video equipment under the popular THOMSON and RCA brand names. For more information: www.thomson-multimedia.com SOURCE THOMSON multimedia 08/21/2000 /CONTACT: Dave Arland, 317-587-4450, or arlandd@tce.com , or James Harper, 317-587-4450, harperj@tce.com , both of THOMSON multimedia/ Web site: thomson-multimedia.com (TMS GMST) CO: THOMSON Multimedia; Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. ST: Indiana, New York IN: CPR MLM SU: PDT JJ-LA -- CLM013 -- 4817 08/21/2000 09:38 EDT prnewswire.com

To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/21/2000 3:43:23 PM
From: John Stichnoth	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

Re book publishing, <"They don't act like they know it yet, but their days are numbered."> My neighbor is a published author, and commented to me last year that publishers still require manuscripts to be submitted only in paper form. They won't (wouldn't) even take a floppy once the manuscript was approved. Instead they employ typists to enter text onto their own proprietary systems. They don't (didn't) even have the capability to accept the material electronically. Talk about inefficient. Here's my neighbor's web site, btw. I read her first one. It's fun.

To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/22/2000 9:02:59 PM
From: Rick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

"One niche market that the major houses don't care about is the out-of-print market. Some bright person (hereinafter BP) will address this market with scanning/optical-character-recognition (current) technology and establish a thriving business" It sounds like the old video market. First, there were copies of old black and white movies for $80 each, but pretty soon market pressure pushed the price down to $14.99 for last years hit. If there are various standards, the company that charges $1.00 a book will become king. - Fred

To: erickerickson who wrote (30220)	8/23/2000 1:23:41 AM
From: Snowshoe	Respond to of 54805

Your musing on e-books reminds me of some publishing history. As a paperboy for a small-town paper back in the sixties, I picked up my papers in the back office right next to the press. It was an ancient behemoth with a giant cast iron flywheel and flat type bed. The building reverberated with the woosh-woosh of the press and the metallic tinkling of the Linotypes next to it. It was a thoroughly industrial environment - filthy, dirty, dangerous, noisy and redolent with the smell of printers ink and hot lead. The basement of the building was a museum of even more ancient technology, from a time when newspapers set all their type by hand. And then one day in the sixties they yanked out the old printing technology and replaced it with a modern offset press and darkroom. The old press was bought by the manufacturer and intentionally busted up for scrap to keep it off the market. The reporters' typewriters were replaced with cathode ray terminals and a system that produced camera-ready copy. Head-in-the-sand unions at big city newspapers fought the new printing and computer technology changes with bitter and sometimes violent strikes, but these papers converted in the ensuing 10-15 years. Concurrent with this, most of the afternoon dailies disappeared or merged with rival morning papers. With this history in mind, I'm totally jazzed by the prospect of the e-book becoming popular and accepted. Papermaking is another antiquated, polluting industrial process that the publishing business can do without.