Will E Books ever really catch on?
Have you ever tried searching for good e books to download and
read on your PC? Anyone wanting to explore the e book world is
in for a shock. Its an absolute nightmare. There are so many
formats and layouts that will confuse all but the most
experienced e book user and quite honestly - can we really be
bothered with it all?
I spent a good two hours searching through the net on various
sites. What did I find? Mostly commercial sites promising free e
books only to find they want you to register and then you find
out what the catch is. I downloaded several books and there is
no uniform means by which the e book industry operates. Formats
vary from PDF ( I do particularly dislike PDF with its clunky
slow downloads ) to Microsoft Reader and numerous executable
programs, all of which require separate software to open and
read them.
Why oh why doesn't everyone use one of the programs that will
work on any computer and just open. Like a book does. It's not
too much to ask is it? Life is frustrating enough without having
to make things complicated. My own experience of e books has led
me to the conclusion that until the industry gets its act
together and agrees on one format they can keep it.
Many authors were enthusiastic about the potential of the e book
revolution but if you read what has happened the mainstream
writers have now turned against online publishing and e books
for reasons of distribution, copyright and format issues.
If your really bored sometime just take a look around the net
for some good quality free e books to download. I have to admit
that there are a few gems out there but in the main its normally
crap. The type of thing you get is listings and directories of
online e book stores - all claiming to be the biggest and best -
all offering nothing! When they do offer you anything its almost
always associated with ebay, marketing tips, how to run your
business blah blah blah - basically crap.
Well rant I may due to having lost 2 hours of my time which I
can never replace, but deperately low sales of e books and the
lack of any half decent material have almost without doubt
ensured the continued existence of book retailers who were
supposed to be worried about e books and their potential to
change the way we read. Oh well, another good idea down the
toilet!