Jun 032009
Google may finally give me something that I’ve been requesting for quite a while: the ability to download and read books on my computer. Having conquered the world of search, Google is now setting its sights on Amazon and the e-book market with plans to begin directly selling books by the end of the year. No proprietary device will be required to read books purchased from Google; any Internet-capable device should suffice. This could prompt Amazon to open up its library to other devices, but that might leave a lot of Kindle owners wondering why the hell they spent $400. I don’t care who takes my money, as long as I can read George R.R. Martin’s next book on-line. Those fantasy doorstops are a real pain to keep open on a bookstand.
It’s interesting. Textbook publishers offer ebooks for students with disabilities free of charge, provided they prove to someone at the university (me) that they purchased the print copy of the book. But after they graduate, that service stops – if they want an ebook, they have to buy the book, chop it up, and scan it page by page. Allowing people to purchase ebooks outright, without buying the print copy first, makes so much more sense.
Oh man, that is going to be awesome…
oh man, that’s going to be awesome. I think I have a nerd boner.