Google Editions, service of digital books sale of the company, will inaugurate in June of 2010. The information was given by Amanda Edmonds, director of strategic partnerships of Google, in the TOC conference, in Frankfurt.

According to her, one of the strong points of the program is that, once bought, the e-book is going to a “cloud library”, that can be accessed by any equipment – laptops, smartphones or e-readers – with access to the web. “All of the books will be at a same library, it doesn’t matter where you have bought it or where he/she wants to read it”, affirmed Amanda. And once the book has been accessed in an apparel, it will be possible to read it offline.

For the director, a very complex range of options “exists for the consumer today. Our concept is that that should be free: the consumer should not be forced to choose one apparel, one software or one store.”

Google Editions foresees three models of businesses: the consumer can buy an e-book he saw in Google Books or in a online store partner or directly in the site of the publisher. The payment will be divided among the publisher, Google and the store (if that’s the case).

According to the director, Google “definitively” is interested in doing partnerships with the electronic readers’ manufacturers, the e-readers, but increased that she “doubts” that Kindle wants to join Google in that one.

Via: Memoclick.

Some writers think that traditional publishing is the best way to validate authors. On the other hand, there are some who believe that prestige and reputation, more than resources and machinery, have put traditional publishing houses on the top rung of the publishing business hierarchy. 

What is generally perceived as the alternative to traditional publishing is the non-traditional way that is often referred to as ‘self-publishing.’ Non-traditional publishing is generally defined as ‘vanity press.’

Vanity press or ‘subsidy press’ is ‘a publishing company that applies its ISBN to a book and charges the author for the cost of production. The author receives only a few copies of the book, and is promised royalties on those copies that might be sold by the subsidy press.’ Vanity press is another term for subsidy press.

The term ‘self-publishing’ is perceived to be misleading. An ordinary author, if he wants to be a ‘published author,’ cannot possibly publish his work by himself. He will still need publishing machinery (production, promotion, marketing, sales, and distribution).  It takes more than personal cash and personally-acquired ISBNs and LCCNs associated with the author to make him a published author. 

Self-publishing or subsidy press or vanity press will always remain an alternative mode of getting oneself published. It will never be mainstream. The concept of the e-book has also not taken off. 

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Via cnet/TOMORROWVILLE/How Publishing Really Works

Dell’s new XPS Baton PC redefines the personal and portable computer. This incredible tubular easy-to-carry concept designed by Tai Chiem has two roll out flexible OLED screens made of a material which stiffens up when current passes through them.

When you roll out the OLED film, a piezoelectric charge solidifies it revealing a bottom screen which can be used as keyboard and the top screen as a monitor. In case you don’t want a laptop, just turn it sideways and it becomes an e-book with a multi-touch screen where you can use a stylus and draw whatever you want. And, if you want to work on a desktop, you can just keep the baton rolled up and connect to the PC via a docking station to boot directly from it. As all this was not enough, its LED touch-screen displays live feeds and has speakers.

Like all great things come in small packages, I love this fabulous concept for its technology, simplicity and style.

Source: GadgetVenue/ RealityWired/ Coroflot