Amazon is planning something called Amazon Upgrade, which will allow customers to access purchased books through any web browser. It’s not the portable high-res book reader that I keep pining for, but we’re getting closer. I’d love to be able to read my books from my computer while I’m doing something else in the background, like backing up files or downloading, er, completely legal media files. Of course, Amazon gets to pitch some added value to their products and give people an extra incentive to order books from Amazon exclusively. I’m sure other businesses are planning similar models, including Google (which has recently resumed scanning books into their Google Print service). After a series of hiccups and false starts, books are following music and video into the future. Seems a little backward, doesn’t it?
