Thanks rehintz for the post on ebooks and how they are not selling. I don't know where Susan Moldow is getting her prices, but check out the Kindle Store (Canada):
Kindle edition with Audio/Video : $26.22
Kindle edition: $22.39
Hardcover: $17.49
So is it any wonder that the eBooks are not selling? More than books … publishers need disruption. Publishers are like Telcos, they always claim to be threatened whenever a new technology arrives ... they tell us they are going to lose money. Invariably they end up profiting from the new technology.
Moving on … it appears that that the eBook game is getting hotter in the education/textbook segment. Students in the U.S. and Canada pay way too much for their books and publishers would love to kill the used book market (usually they try to do this by coming up with new editions which have marginal changes). Of course the big announcement is from Apple … new version of iBooks … free authoring tool etc. … but there are other more interesting things happening. Nature has apparently come up with a Biology textbook - all digital, interactive … $49 for lifetime access. I wanted to have a look but was told that I need to be a Biology Professor (any old Professor won't do!).
Indiana University is shifting to digital using Courseload … here is what the CEO has to say:
The most exciting development is Creative Commons licensed books from Flatworld Knowledge … free books online … but more importantly, instructors can customize books to their needs … delete chapters, sections and add their own content … they call it 'MIYO' - Make it your own!