My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite. —Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Back when books were things, it was easier to measure success or failure based on quantifiable metrics like print runs, sales, years in print, citations. Paper books →
Considering Amazon’s new “front door,” its e-reader Kindle, as a stocking stuffer, I think about the $400 price tag and ask “What is it?” and “Is it worth it?” and “Why does it matter?” In fact, it is not just another proprietary e-reader. And unlike the BlackBerry, it is not a handheld device trying to →
Just as Amazon is positioning its new $400 e-reader as a tempting stocking stuffer, news arrives about a drop in the U.S. literacy rate. The Boston Globe reports this morning that U.S. fourth graders are losing ground in literacy, for the first time lagging behind Russia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, according to an international study recently completed →
This week’s Newsweek devoted its cover story to Kindle, a new product recently released from Amazon, a $400 e-reader to follow in the footsteps of similar devices such as Sony’s Reader Digital Book and the Rocketbook, promising clear readability thanks to sharp e-ink contrasts, interactive functionality similar to that found in the old Voyager Expanded Books, and, →
A publisher recently sought out our advice about “the value question” of offshore production opportunities. He is being courted by a company offering online publishing services at significantly less than the going stateside rate. His local vendor has built up trust with his staff and familiarity with his publications; this value is easy to appreciate →
On arriving in Frankfurt, Germany, for our 20th Frankfurt Book Fair, culture shock first manifested itself in the pocketbook. A $50 Travelers Check cashed in at the on-site bank returned 26 euros, enough for lunch and a postcard. Our apartment’s landlady requested cash up front. We haven’t experienced the dollar’s loss in value quite so much →
We have participated actively in the fair since 1992, when OBS brought the first Internet link to the Frankfurt Book Fair, and over the years have delivered papers and online projects there as well: “A Penny for your Thoughts: Copyright into Cogniright” “Internet Publishing in a Borderless Environment: Bookworms into Butterflies” We planned, built and →
We have participated actively in the fair since 1992, when OBS brought the first Internet link to the Frankfurt Book Fair, and over the years have delivered papers and online projects there as well: “A Penny for your Thoughts: Copyright into Cogniright” “Internet Publishing in a Borderless Environment: Bookworms into Butterflies” We planned, built and →
Joseph E. Garland, author of over 20 books, and a venerable “old soldier” from the US 45th Infantry Division, is 85 years old today. Since meeting Joe 15 years ago, OBS has republished one of his books, The Gloucester Guide, and today continues to serve as “catalyst” in getting his WWII platoon’s story,Unknown Soldiers, published, whether →
At the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Meeting in San Diego, the new international Editorial Board of “Young’s Effects Online” convenes for the first time, with distinguished doctors and scientists from around the world—India, Germany, Sweden, and the United States — collaborating on this lifesaving resource. “Young’s Effects” serves as a dashboard to some 50 years of →