Upcoming Publications: November/December 2007
- Thread starter Rosalind
- Start date
And KRAD has explained several times that it's not quite as simple as just running with the existing electronic format.
Also, the eBook division at Simon & Schuster is small, and when higher money-spinning hardcopy items have impossible deadlines looming, eBook duties would get left in the "In tray", I would think.
I don't know how hard it is to add in the DRM, but if you have the right software, it is not difficult at all to make an average ebook. Look at all the ebooks I made from the Probe source whch was a Word document. I wasn't hard to do. But then again, I didn't have to deal with DRM.
^I never said it was hard. But you did it in your free time, as a hobby, and if it contains errors we don't require refunds.
It is time-consuming, especially if your division's budget does not permit overtime, or if your team of paid workers is being utilized elsewhere in the company on larger/more urgent/more profitable/higher turnover projects.
It is time-consuming, especially if your division's budget does not permit overtime, or if your team of paid workers is being utilized elsewhere in the company on larger/more urgent/more profitable/higher turnover projects.
In fact, it shouldn't take more than TWO MINUTES to make an eBook itself. When you're ready for print, you're exporting the layout data into a print-pdf. If you don't change the size of font, it doesn't long to make a screen-pdf or the so-called "eBook".
What probably takes a little longer is putting them in the right places, adding secutity measures to it, adding the cover in a lower solution.
E-book reader software for your PC is free. Are you talking about a handheld reader device like a Palm or whatever?
What is going on with The Oppressor's Wrong? I didn't see Adobe reader on there. This sucks cause I was hoping to continue the Slings and Arrows series.
He's wrong?
^Agreed. Adobe Reader was not built with ebooks in mind. For the PC I find the Microsoft Reader (*.lit) the most comfortable to read from. The most book-like. I don't much like endorsing anything made by MS but they built a decent ebook reader.
As for losing access to DRM protected titles, this can be a problem with any software system. I don't much like the MS .NET Passport system. You are allowed to activate six machines. In three years I have used up five of these between activating both a desktop and a laptop and then seeing each through re-installations of the OS. Once I have used up these activations I imagine I'll lose access to all the DRM protected work I purchaced under this Passport.
I am very much looking forward to beginning the Slings and Arrows titles. Here's hoping we see more ebook mini-series like this one and last year's Mere Anarchy.
As for losing access to DRM protected titles, this can be a problem with any software system. I don't much like the MS .NET Passport system. You are allowed to activate six machines. In three years I have used up five of these between activating both a desktop and a laptop and then seeing each through re-installations of the OS. Once I have used up these activations I imagine I'll lose access to all the DRM protected work I purchaced under this Passport.
I am very much looking forward to beginning the Slings and Arrows titles. Here's hoping we see more ebook mini-series like this one and last year's Mere Anarchy.
Ok, for those of you that apparently don't like Adobe Reader, got a question for you. Have you ever actually made a file into a pdf format before through Adobe? That's why I like it because I have used it before on my files cause I'm a graphic designer and I know that program more, just like Photoshop and Illustrator. Just saying a point to it. But hey, thats your preference I suppose.
I have a crafted handful of .pdf documents at work. Training documents, troubleshooting guides,
etc. I love it for stuff like that, particularly if one needs to include images. I understand how it would appeal to a graphic designer.
There's nothing really wrong with Adobe Reader, but I don't find it comfortable for reading hundreds of pages of text. For me the chief advantage of MS Reader is that text reflows with font point-size changes, as JWolf mentions. Adobe documents function a bit more like image slide shows in this respect, even where the doc is all text. As always, YMMV.
etc. I love it for stuff like that, particularly if one needs to include images. I understand how it would appeal to a graphic designer.
There's nothing really wrong with Adobe Reader, but I don't find it comfortable for reading hundreds of pages of text. For me the chief advantage of MS Reader is that text reflows with font point-size changes, as JWolf mentions. Adobe documents function a bit more like image slide shows in this respect, even where the doc is all text. As always, YMMV.
PDF is great for something you want to be printed. It can then be printed and the format on the printed page kept. That's what Acrobat was created for. It was not created to be an ebook format. PDF is a fixed format. It does not flow. You cannot change the font size. Also, if you need Acrobat 8 on your system for whatever reason, then everything you've purchased in DRM laden PDF won't work as Acrobat 7 is the last version to deal with those sorts of PDF. So why would you buy DRM laden PDF knowing that someday you won't ever be able to read them again? I know I'm sorta repeating myself, but I hope I'm saying it now in way that everyone will read and say "Oh shit you are right, I will someday lose all my books, no more PDF".