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A U S T R A L I A N E - B O O K N E W S L E T T E R <<< for local and international digital book news - to subscribe see information at base>>>
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Conferences, Events, Forums, Talks etc
*OZeCulture Conference 2003
The third annual OZeCulture conference of culture, new media and ebusiness,
with an associated trade fair, will take place at the Brisbane Powerhouse,
Queensland from 29 - 31 July 2003.
OZeCulture 2003 will feature Australian
and international speakers on a broad range of topics related to the creation
of art using digital media and to the use of digital media and the Internet
to promote and distribute cultural products and services.
http://www.ozeculture.com
*The eBook Experience exhibition:Fri. May 30th - Sun. June 1st 2003 at BookExpo America (BEA).
Presented by the Open eBook Forum (OeBF)
and Book Expo America (BEA). Featured hands-on displays of the latest digital
reading devices, software, services and e-book titles in a coordinated series
of exhibits. Product demonstrations abounded, & there were also speakers
at special sessions including: Amanda Kimmel, Director of New Media at Random
House; Steve Potash, CEO, OverDrive, Inc.; and Rick Weingarten of the American
Library Ass'n. And if you thought it was impossible to autograph an e-book,
top authors were on hand to prove you wrong.
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com
*OeBF (Open eBook Forum) Annual Meeting
Thurs. May 29th 2003, Los Angeles USA.
http://www.openebook.org
The Future of the Book conference
"From Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age, the International Conference
on The Future of the Book" was held from 22 - 24 April 2003 at the Convention
Centre, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Some themes explored involving significant
discussion of digital books were: An Enduring Information Architecture?;
New Technologies of the Book; Transforming the Book Business;
and Changing the Work of the Writer.
Keynote conference speakers included Jan Fullerton, Director-General of the National Library of Australia, on "The Future of the Book from a Library Perspective"; Ricard Cassals from Spain on "How to improve the bottom line results on book production"; Laurie Gerber on "The Future of Translation", Greg Bain, Deputy General Manager of the University of Queensland Press, on "POD inside a bookshop - C-2-C in action". Patrick Callioni of the National Office for the Information Economy; Jason Epstein (creator of Anchor Books & trailblazer of the trade paperback); Göran Roos, Chairman of Intellectual Capital Services; and Michael Fraser of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) were other major speakers.
Will the book thrive as a cultural and commercial
artefact, & will the information architecture of the book, embodying as it
does thousands of years' experience with recorded knowledge, prove critical
to the success of the new media? Check out the conference papers at:
http://www.book-conference.com
3rd ePubLondon Pillar Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, London 13 - 14 March 2003. In conjunction with the 33rd annual London Book Fair.
" Real strategies to generate real revenues
from e-publishing" was a draw'em in theme. Actual topics included old favourites
such as Putting the "e" in publishing processes; The role
of metadata and standards in e-publishing, & Digital rights management,
while Key Markets in EPublishing was also a focus. Mike Shatzkin ,
Founder & CEO of The Idea Logical Company Inc. spoke on the vital "Future
of Internet Bookselling", while Jonathan Glasspool , Product Director, Electronic
Media Division Bloomsbury Plc addressed "Getting content into the pipeline
". Legal eagles perked up their pinstripes to Adrian Laing's "Legal impacts
of digitally inspired change in the supply chain". Coffee and afternoon tea
were supplied, but in the cooler London climate there was no bonanza of free
ice cream.
ePubLondon03
"Information Online 2003" conference, Conference Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia 21-23 Jan. 2003
Mary Peterson spoke on"Adapting to New Technologies: PDAs and Wireless" while Donald Hawkins, Director of Intranet Development and Editor-in-Chief of Info. Science Abstracts for Information Today, Inc. spoke on "Electronic Books: Not Dead Yet". Got it in one, Donny!
Distractions were plentiful, e.g. the wine
was good, romances blossomed, and in keeping with the Sydney summer weather
a huge container of free ice creams was enjoyed by many. This columnist admits
to scoffing two. There was also some serious talk amidst all the hedonism,
& so you can be earnest too & read the papers at:
http://conferences.alia.org.au/online2003/conferencepapers.html
They Have the Q
Aussie e-company eInfo Solutions scored quite a "Q" earlier this year when they obtained a Chinese Q Reader device. The Q Reader has been much spoken of but never seen outside of mainland Cathay, as there was no plan to market the device outside of China. However the manufacturers have indicated their willingness to custom-build for Australia, if there is sufficient interest shown within the market here.
According to Mike Ottoy of einfo the device will retail here for around $A800. We're pleased to release the long-awaited specifications of this paperback book-sized device, which is in the tradition of the Rocket eBook, CyReader & MyFriend devices rather than the smaller handhelds. And that's a size we believe ultimately more suitable for at least the educational market.
The Q-Reader is Linux-based & has 32 MB of inbuilt memory. That may be extended with a CF (CompactFlash) card, & the slot is SMART card compatible. As a larger handheld the "Q" has full rather than PDA Web access capabilities, & also features both way e-mail as well as the usual basic PDA functions.
Powered by a Arm 74 MHz processor, the "Q" has a 480 x 320 pixel monochrome touch screen. It boasts an inbuilt MP3 stereo player with earphone for audio files. The 56k modem is also inbuilt, bringing the full device weight to about 350g. There's an infrared port & USB data transfer, and the batteries are Lithium-Ion; running for up to 10 hours per charge if you use the backlight, more of course if not.
For further information contact Mike Ottoy at einfo Solutions on 08 8415 5170.
The Q Reader
Digital Agenda Review
The Australian Government has engaged law firm Phillips Fox to conduct the promised 3 year review of the Digital Agenda Act. This Act took effect in March 2001, making changes to the Copyright Act including extending library & and educational use provisions to digital material. It also included clauses concerning technological protection measures and digital rights management (DRM) systems. For further info. see the Government's media release at: http://www.ag.gov.au
Antechinus is an online bookstore and publisher of works by Australian writers." We are based in Western Australia. I am trying to establish this service to help writers to get published. I hope that it will be very much a community based project with competitions and links to as many similar organisations as possible." David Leigh. Find a link to Antechinus under Electronic Publishers at www.artmedia.com.au/links1.htm
The Nitty & the Gritty: Summary of Consumer Survey on Electronic Books now released:
(A survey sponsored by The Open eBook Forum & conducted by Dr Harold Henke Ph.D. DR Henke is Principal Consultant, Chartula (www.chartula.com) & the author of Electronic Books and ePublishing, and An Empirical Design for eBooks).
This recent survey (conducted Oct. 2002 in New York City) attempted to determine consumer preferences as regards electronic and paper books. The 263 book-loving participants were asked 35 questions in 5 areas: demographic information; computer usage; reading and purchasing habits; knowledge and experience with e-books; and acceptance of e-books.
The survey was not demographically neutral - 86% of participants had earned a bachelor degree or higher, 81% reported they owned a computer and 41% owned a handheld organizer, laptop, or PDA. And 85% accessed the Internet daily. But they were also paper book lovers, reading an average 27 printed books each in a 12 month period, of which they bought 22.
So how did they feel about e-books? Umm. Well, 82% reported they were at least familiar with the term, and 61% had read an article about them. Moreover 62% of the participants said they would like to be able to read them at their local libraries. Only 31% had read one on their computer though, and a scant 15% had actually purchased an e-book. The mantra of "it's early days yet" clearly still applies to the general book-loving public.
What would predispose them to buy an e-book? Most desired features were the portability of e-books & their audio, bookmark & dictionary potentialities. Featuring over 50% of "Strongly agree or Agree" responses to this question were also: if type were enlargeable (56%); if as many titles were available as paper books (59%); if they could buy an e-book at their favorite place to buy books (59%); if they could buy an e-book from an Internet website (66%); if the e-book could be read on any computer (70%).
Surprisingly, there was no correlation between either computer usage or computer skill levels on the one hand and e-book involvement on the other. However people who had read an article on e-books were more likely to have read or purchased one than those who had not. This seems to indicate that education & publicity will be a key factor in the future success of e-books. Promote or Perish.
For a review of the survey & an in-depth discussion by U.S. e-book industry leaders see Consumer Acceptance of E-Books Grows, by Warren Chiara, available online at www.booktechmag.com.
French Fries OK with Franklin
Franklin Electronic Publishers has further invested in MobiPocket, now
holding over 25% of the French e-publishing software developer. MobiPocket
supplies a well-regarded cross-platform e-book reader for PDAs. The deal will
allow Franklin to offer more than 8000 titles for its e-reader devices, which
have not sold well to date.
Åke Nygren of Sweden is running a
blog about e-books called www.ebooknews.org.
Apart from e-book links he publishes e-book related news in Swedish, English
& Spanish ( & possibly other languages too in the future).
Modem users, this is a big
page so be patient with the download.
Educated Electronic Book, anyone?
The UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
is a committee of UK further and higher education funding bodies, & is
dedicated to helping institutions exploit the opportunities of information
and communications technology. Of course great-sounding mission statements
are easy to come by, but what are they actually doing about it? Well for one
thing, earlier this year JISC closed a tender for undertaking a study which
will recommend practical means for promoting the uptake of electronic books
within higher and further education in the UK.
The Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) at the Oxford Text Archive were selected to carry out the study.
This study will assist JISC's E-Books Working Group, which liaises with librarians, publishers, professional bodies and academics to promote e-books within institutions and integrate them into teaching, learning and research. Which is no pushover, so while the report will focus on short-term, practical measures it may also consider longer term issues. Terms of reference of the study cover assessing the demand for e-books, their distribution, and how to promote them in the relevant education sectors. And the best of British luck to them all. The report is expected to be fully completed by 30th September 2003
Rosetta Rejoices in Prominent Author Offerings
after Smooch-In with Random
David -v- Goliath e-publisher Rosetta Books, which specialises in backlist
titles, is now demonstrating the results of its deal with giant publisher
Random House after the two settled their lawsuits to collaborate instead.
Rosetta has now licensed 51 titles by prominent Random House authors. The latter include Douglas Adams, Margaret Atwood, John Cheever, John Updike, Pat Conroy, Jonathan Harr and P.D. James, while the books will be sold in Adobe e-Reader, MS Reader ,Mobipocket and Palm Digital formats. RosettaBooks CEO and founder Arthur Klebanoff is also reported negotiating with other New York-based publishing houses, & is hoping to release many further titles in e-editions soon.
Random House II - Another Unlikely Alliance
E-bookstore Fictionwise have been leading promoters of the concept of selling unencrypted e-books rather than their security-conscious counterparts. They claim to experience very little pirating (illegal copying) of books sold this way, and declare that many customers are much happier with the concept, as it means copies sold are not hostage to the continuation of support for a particular proprietary scheme.
Most major publishers have taken the opposite point of view. Currently however publishing giant Random House is paddling in Fictionwise's pool, by releasing three titles from its Del Rey imprint through Fictionwise in unencrypted form.
The venture is a special promotion, and the titles are not being released in print versions. Time will tell whether this unlikely scenario is just a one-off, or the beginning of a new era for a business where an obsession with security has sometimes (as in the case of Gemstar) led on to ruination.
For Scholars: First volume of 16th Century Marvel Now on the Web
"On the Fabric of the Human Body", by Flemish anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius (aka "the father of anatomy") is one off the world's great treasures of Renaissance bookmaking. It was written in Latin in 1543. Vesalius, who was considered in his time to be a scientific "enfant terrible," revolutionized medicine and science by insisting that truth could be established only by direct observation.
Vesalius' work provided a detailed account of the human body, and included 272 intricate anatomical woodcut drawings and diagrams, A new translation of the complete annotated text of the first book of the atlas, representing about one quarter of the " Fabrica", has now been published online by Northwestern University researchers. It took 10 years of work by Northwestern professors Daniel Garrison & Malcolm Hast.
"What makes this Web presentation unique is the linkage of text and images," says Garrison. "The images can be enlarged and viewed next to the text for each specific anatomical feature." The text is also searchable, & is presented in XHTML for browser viewing.
Eventually all seven books of the original
anatomical atlas and substantive revisions in the 1555 edition will be translated
and presented on the Web.
http://vesalius.northwestern.edu
U.S. e-Book Sales up More than Ten-Fold
The Association of American Publishers reports that e-book sales topped
$US3.3 million in January 2003, compared to $211,000 in January 2002. So much
for the doomsayers.
http://www.publishers.org/press/releases.cfm?PressReleaseArticleID=138
OeBF to Count the Numbers Too
Speaking of which, e-book statistics are by
no means comprehensive at present. That's one reason why the Open eBook Forum
(OeBF) announced on May 30 2003 an industry-wide programme to collect and
publish e-book and e-document sales and publishing statistics on a quarterly
basis. If you're an e- publisher or retailer who would like to participate
in this programme, you can registe rto do so at: http://www.openebook.org/statsregistration.asp
U.S. Book World Fights Bush Patriot Act & Big Brother for the Freedom to Read
Thirty-two U.S. book companies, associations and groups have issued a statement in support of House of Representatives Resolution 1157, which would repeal section 215 of the Patriot Act
Under the Patriot Act U.S. federal investigators may search bookstore or library records using a secret subpoena which may not be discussed let alone challenged - indeed the Act threatens booksellers and librarians with serious penalties if they even tell anyone about the investigation, or seek any relevant legal counsel. These provisions are perhaps the most draconian challenge to the rights of free enquiry and legal representation to be passed into law in a modern democracy in peacetime.
Part of the statement read "Bookstore customers and library patrons must feel free to seek out books...without fear that the government is looking over their shoulder. Without the assurance that their reading choices will remain private, they will be reluctant to fully exercise their right to read freely."
Signatories include the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, the National Association of College Stores, as well as all U.S. regional booksellers associations.
But can he read the writing on the wall?
ID Theft - The EEKS Book
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a new e-book about ID Theft called "When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name." A free copy of this e-book is available at: http://www.creditreportfacts.com/idtheft
SIG Habit Taking Hold
The Open eBook Forum (ww.openebook.org) announced on May 20, 2003 the creation of a Library Special Interest Group (SIG). The group is chaired by Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer at Baker & Taylor, Pamela Smith, & co-chaired by Loree Potash, Marketing Director at OverDrive (yes, definitely related to Steve). It was formed "to enable publishers, eBook resellers, DRM, software and hardware companies to communicate directly with librarians to better appreciate the opportunities and challenges of service for libraries and their patrons".
The group meets on a weekly basis via conference calls, and maintains communication through an email list. Initial membership includes ABC-CLIO, Adobe, the American Library Association, Blackwell’s, eBrary, Gale, HarperCollins, Howard County Library, netLibrary, Library System of Lancaster County, University of Rochester Library, Fictionwise.com, Simon & Schuster, North Carolina State University Libraries, Follett, Mind Like Water, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County, University of Chicago Press, California Digital Library, & Queens Borough Public Library.
In addition, we're told, the OeBF will in conjunction with the American Library Association (ALA) develop a comprehensive survey called eBook Usage in Libraries. One of the first goals of the Library SIG will be to develop the survey methodology, oversee the distribution of the survey and analyze and publish the results
Participation in the SIG group is currently open to the public and further information can be found on the Open eBook Forum (OeBF) website at: http://www.openebook.org/oebf_groups/library.htm
The Victoria University of Wellington Library (as in New Zealand, not to be confused with Victoria University, Melbourne) is conducting a project on "The Impact of Digital Information Resources on the Roles of Collection Managers". There is a survey associated with the project, and senior librarians responsible for collection management in tertiary sector libraries and research libraries in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States are being asked to complete it.
The project brief says that "The intention
of the research is to give collection managers in academic and research libraries
a better understanding of the changing nature of their role in the overall
structure of information services, and a practice-based appreciation of where
collection management effectively sits within the ranges of services existing
in their libraries. This understanding will permit collection managers to
have a more accurate professional self-awareness, thereby leading to more
effective and efficient services within libraries."
http://alexandria.fca.vuw.ac.nz/research/cmsurvey
Foxy Blackwell's to be Wiley Distributor
Blackwell's is to distribute Wiley InterScience Online Books and Reference Works to libraries (They already deal in Wiley's print content).
Creative Commons Offers Communitarian Copyright Creative Commons is a nonprofit group based at the law school of Stanford University, California. It draws inspiration from the open-source software movement, and is dedicated to making scholarly material, music, literature, film, and science widely available to the public.
The group has now devised a set of " model licenses" significantly different from the usual conditions of copyright law. They permit the creators of original material to offer more liberal conditions for the use of their work. Examples are: free distribution provided the creator is given credit, distribution for noncommercial use only, & permission to copy but not to make derivative works. The licences offer academics or others whose main interest is the wider distribution of their work ready formulas for doing so without losing all control, or being commercially exploited without their consent.
Creative Commons public "conservancy" project is also a worthwhile enterprise that merits examination, & is of particular interest to librarians.
The licences themselves are of course available
free, from:
Creative Commons Licences
AdobeReader 6.0 - the New Force in PDF.
Adobe's free Acrobat Reader is perhaps the most widely installed piece of software on the planet, apart from the Windows operating system. So it is a big deal when they replace Acrobat with a "new & better" version. Moreover the new Reader replaces their e-book software as well.
The new Adobe Reader 6.0 provides for "a host of rich features" such as the ability to play back a variety of embedded multimedia content, and to use Adobe PDF forms created with fillable form fields, Then you can "activate search and accessibility capabilities built into PDF files", display Adobe Photoshop Album slide shows and electronic cards, and export images for online photo processing.
But is it any better in its basic function? Well, there's more accurate rendition of fonts & graphical features, and better thumbnail displays too. It does take longer to launch, but individual .pdf files open faster, according to feedback so far. Most people seem to like the" improved" user interface too, although some Mac users think it not up to Mac standards, & others are annoyed by the advertisement feature (Adbar). Of course it is free software - unless you want to buy the Professional version costing $US449.
Bigger & better does come with some drawbacks. For example one trial user complained that running this reader took up 45MB of RAM, compared with 27MB for Acrobat Reader v.5.1 This could be a problem on some lower-powered laptops. Note also that the Mac version requires Mac OS X 10.2.2 or higher. There is no Linux version so far.
You can download Adobe Reader 6.0 almost everywhere -in fact if you can avoid doing so it will be a miracle, as it will most likely reach up & grab for you.
Warning: Be aware that installing Adobe Reader 6.0 will delete Adobe Acrobat Reader, so if you want to keep that software just in case, save a copy somewhere else first.
The e-Book Angle
Adobe Reader 6.0 as e-book reader software is designed to supercede both Adobe
Acrobat Reader (latest version 5.1) & Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader (version
2.2.). Remember, as mentioned above, that installing the new version will
delete Adobe Acrobat Reader, so if you want to keep that software just in
case, save a copy elsewhere first before installing the newbie. The latter
won't replace your Acrobat eBook Reader on your system, but don't rush to
uninstall that, for reasons explained below.
All e-books you obtain after installing Adobe Reader 6.0 will download automatically to that software, not to Acrobat eBook Reader. However you can keep Acrobat eBook Reader installed without conflict with Adobe Reader, for use with your earlier Adobe e-books. Or - in most cases - you can "migrate" older e-books to the new Reader if you so choose.
But there are exceptions to that rule, hence we advise you keep the eBook Reader at least untill you know where you stand. The Adobe company will no longer provide or support the Acrobat eBook Reader now - but hey, Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 95 quite some time ago, yet some people hardly noticed (though Windows 95 in turn does not support this new Reader).
A big advantage of the new Reader is to provide for embedded multimedia in .pdf e-books. Features include the ability to play back QuickTime video (both Mac & Windows versions), Macromedia Flash, Real (Audio), MP3 files and Windows Media-formatted content (Windows only). There's also provision for viewing document layers in Adobe PDF files created with layers preserved. So this is really a leap forward for "enhanced" e-literature from a major player. And for the burgeoning wireless PDA world you can now print Adobe PDF files from wireless devices at locations offering the EFI PrintMe Network.
For some handy installation notes as an e-book reader see http://www.powells.com/ebookstore/adobe_migration.html
Wordsmith is a full-featured word processor specially created for the Palm OS. This software package also includes an e-book reader, and an enhanced memo pad. It can synchronize documents between multiple computers, & costs US$29.95. A trial shareware version exists. http://www.bluenomad.com/ws/prod_wordsmith_details.html
Or if you want to use Word, Excel or PowerPoint
files on any Palm, Visor or Clie handheld, software does exist to make this
possible. It's called "Documents To Go", & costs US$49.95 for the standard
edition, or US$89.95 for the Professional edition.
NB: This software is included free in some new Palm OS models.
Documents To Go is available from: http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo
Second generation Pocket PCs support much improved voice recognition programs. Busy folk, people who compute too much & others with arthritic or ailing hands will appreciate the ability to access and modify data by voice. See reviews on three such programs at: http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=151106&s=32472738
Language Teacher software for Pocket PC, Windows, EPOC & Linux. For Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian , Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek , Hebrew, Hindi. Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese & Yiddish. http://ectaco.com
for when tiny isn't small enough…
*Postage stamp-sized SD (Secure Digital) memory cards were a wonder when first reported. But yep, now someone's gone even further. The Mini SD card just released is reported to be 0.3 cubic inches big -err, minute -in volume. So don't drop it, as finding it again could be quite a trial. It's being released in 16, 32, and 64MB versions, with 128 and 256MB editions due out late in the year. Surprisingly, you won't pay a premium for the extra teeniness. Whatever happened to the industry's more is less and less is more mantra?
*Meanwhile Panasonic has introduced a huge 1 GB SD card, which has a data transfer rate of 20 MB per second. The new card is scheduled for release in the northern hemisphere autumn (3rd-4th quarter of 2003) . Read all about it at: http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=501353&s=32472738
*Convergence is the theme again with storage card makers Sandisk introducing new CF (CompactFlash) and SD (Secure Digital) cards that include both flash memory and Wi-Fi (802.11) wireless technology. These dual function cards will be available in 128 MB capacity at $US129.95 and 256MB at $US149.95 respectively. The CF dual-function card has been around for a couple of months, while the SD variety is expected June-ish.
PALM
New Tungsten W One Rather than the Other
Convergence devices confuse many people. For instance, what's the difference between a PDA with phone capability and a phone which is also a PDA? Actually, quite a bit sometimes. Palm's new Tungsten W is the former rather than the latter.
Biggest difference with this model is that as a phone it has no built-in speaker or microphone, you have to use an earpiece for calls instead. Which not all phone users will appreciate. It also lacks many of the fancier features of the more expensive mobile phones. You do get text messaging, a vibration alert alternative and Palm's Web Pro browser however.
As a PDA it's in a higher class. There's Jot handwriting recognition software, which works better than the Graffiti variety. For thumb typing a five-way control button is another improvement. The rating specs are variable though & by no means all cutting edge . You get Palm 4.1.1 OS, only a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball processor but a bright 320 x 320 pixel 65,000 colour display, which will display your colour e-texts quite nicely. You still only get 16MB of storage built-in, but both MMC & SD card slots are present for adding in more memory. Such cards are expensive though (sigh).
The Tungsten W will set you back around 1,200 Aussie dollars. If the $A keeps rising though, expect a better price soon. You'd hope so, for the U.S. price is only $US549.
.
Tungsten W PDA/Phone
Palm Tungsten C
Getting confused about the Tungsten models? To confuse you further, Palm's new Tungsten C has deserted the Motorola tradition in favour of Intel's faster 400MHz ARM XScale processor - which is unprecedented processing power in a Palm. The Tungsten C also offers integrated 802.11b ( Wi-Fi) wireless network support, and business applications such as VersaMail 2.5 for email, and DataViz Documents To Go for managing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint-compatible documents. Plus the Palm Web browser, and you can view MPEG video in the Kinoma Player and Producer software.
The Tungsten C is ahead of the rest of Palm's game in several areas. It runs Palm OS 5.2.1,& also has a surprising 64MB of memory (Palm has recently announced that Palm OS 5 & above will support up to 128MB memory, compared with the old 16MB limitation). Other goodies include Palm Photo View 1.0, new data security features (e.g. 128-bit SSL encryption), and colour themes for the young at heart. It runs on a rechargeable lithium ion/polymer battery which will allegedly last a week per charge unless you connect to the Web & go all multimedia, in which case a day will drain it flat.
Price? $US499 in America, and they're asking $A999 here in Oz.
Palm Tungsten C
Update on the Palm Zire
Officially the local RRP is $A239. However we've seen it as low as $199, that's at OW
and now (roll of drums please) presenting the ...
Palm Zire 71
Remember that the Tungsten range is supposed to be aimed at business customers, while the Zire-class Palms are meant for personal shoppers. And certainly the first Palm Zire hit a sweet spot, with its amazing U.S. price of $US99. Well now there's a second Zire model, the Zire 71. But this one has reached up-market in features and performance, so of course the price is upped too. To $US299 in the States and $A599 here in Oz.
For that extra the Zire 71 has gone all multi-media. With this sweetheart you get an on-board camera & attendant software -but don't expect the camera to perform well in other than excellent conditions. As well you can listen to MP3s or Real Audio files through a built-in speaker or stereo headphone jack. Videos can be played too -with sound! - & QuickTime is included. Then there's Graffiti 2 handwriting recognition, Palm Photos and the usual much more. However inbuilt memory is only 16MB (13MB actually available), which is kind of laughable with such multimedia pretensions. So you'd need to resort to add-in SD cards to use it to the full. Like the Tungsten C, the Zire 71 has a rechargeable lithium ion/polymer battery -but this one's not as good.
To read your e-books the Zire 71 packs the Palm Reader, plus Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS as well. It gets better, for on the accompanying CD there's Audible Player software for audio books etc. too, (although you'll need a subscription to partake of that brand of tied audio content).
Overall the Zire 71 remains fairly low-powered for its punch, with a 144-MHz OMAP310 processor which nonetheless has a good rap so far. This model does represent a compromise to keep the price down, & serious mobile multimedia devotees will want much higher specifications in another model. But that won't come nearly as cheaply. For the dabbler, this one is looking good.
Palm Zire 71
Palm Price Cuts
Meanwhile in the USA the price of Palm's first Tungsten model the Tungsten T handheld has dropped $US100, from $US499 at release in October 2002 to $US399. Similarly the Palm M515 has fallen from $US399 to $US299 and the Palm M130 from $US279 to $US199. Combined with the resurgent Oz dollar, Palms are becoming more affordable Down Under. But cheaper still will be most welcome.
For Palm-using Medical Professionals,
especially in the Mobile Health Care Field
PubMed on Tap is a trial PDA version of PubMed. (For the uninitiated, that means it's an application to facilitate retrieval of MEDLINE citations using a PDA through a wireless LAN and the Internet). The originators (the U.S National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biomedical Communications) are currently seeking input from users.
Does this Palm OS beta software provide concise, relevant information with a minimum amount of effort from the user? If you would like to help them find out, you can get more information and register to use this trial product at: http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/pmot/eval.php .
*Last but not least, Palm OS 6 is already under development. In fact this next version of the Palm operating system for handhelds will be available to licensees at the end of 2003. Which, considering that Palm OS 5 models are only just out, shows that the operating system cycle is getting a mite fast for most folk to comprehend. Better integration between the operating system and wireless telephone and data networks is said to be a key feature of the new OS.
Oh, and two companies making new Palm OS devices will be Tapwave with the Helix handheld, due out late this year, and a New Zealand electronics company, Aceeca, with a Meazura device. Just so you know, the Helix will have a strong games orientation, unusual in a Palm OS, & the Meazura, due out any time now, is a "rugged device" which can be ordered as a customised version & is of most interest to industry.
PocketPC
So many models! Just too many to look at here. No Virginia, we're not talking
Sports Illustrated's special edition, this site is PC. So for Pocket PCers
here are some handy sites to compare the now legion Pocket PC types available:
PDA Review Spot
You select your manufacturer, then your model here to find specs, best
price & ratings. There are also links to good reviews from many top sites.
Concise & to the point.
http://www.pdareviewspot.com
Dave's PDA Place
An interactive PDA Compare page allows you to choose as many models
as you want & then generate a comparison chart for features such as processor,
memory, expansion slots, size, battery type, and price. There's also Side
by Side Compare for when you've narrowed it down to just two devices
. If you want to go even fancier, PDA
Recommend will let you assign values to particular features to produce
a list weighted to your very own preferences. (Not so much a site as an interactive
e-guidebook?) But there's more - e.g. FAQ & news. This guy Dave is so
good it's hard to believe he works for Bill Gates. Especially as Palm OS and
even Linux PDA's also get a mention. Good one, Davo.
http://www.davespda.com
and don't forget Pocket PC magazine's Buyer's Guide, which is no slouch either.
Locally, ZDNET Australia covers a wider field than we're concerned with, but is certainly worth a look at for its PDA reviews:
Meanwhile we'll just relent to mention a couple of prospective fave models....
Toshiba has launched three new Pocket PCs: the e750, the e755 and the e350. All three have transflective displays. The e750 and e755 have 96MB of RAM, 400MHz XScale processors, built-in WiFi, and 3.8 inch screens. The e350 has a 300MHz XScale processor, 64 MB RAM, and a 3.5 inch screen. So there.
Meanwhile Texas Instruments are working on a PocketPC/phone called "WANDA" for Wireless Any Network Digital Assistant. It'll do Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GSM/GPRS, allowing for simultaneous wireless voice and data connectivity. If you can walk, talk, read & listen all at the same time, this one is for you. Chew gum as well & you can apply for a medal from Brain.com.
For those cowboys 'n gals who are real hard on their PocketPCs, Intermec have brought out a new tough guy model. The new, "ruggedized " Intermec 760 Color Pocket PC also supports either Global Packet Ready Service (GPRS) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) telecom connectivity, along with integrated Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth. If the cowfolk are really store herders and warehouse riders, then the 760 Color model also offers optional integrated 1D and 2D bar code readers, and allows for signature capture. Zane Grey novels not included.
Toshiba e350 PocketPC
iPAQ H1910
Okay, so you're not a failed CEO on a fabulous severance bonus, and you want a PocketPC that's actually affordable . Well that used to be a contradiction in terms, but now there's an iPAQ that's getting a lot closer. So if you must go Microsoft for your portable e-reader, & you have a sugar person you don't care to actually bankrupt, the HP iPAQ H1910 might be the one to ask for.
This lightest of the PocketPC range (only 120g) runs with a mid-range 250MHz Intel PXA250 processor, & boasts 64MB memory, although the top-heavy PocketPC 2002 software & other goodies installed reduce this to an effective 48MB. You get lite versions of Word, Excel, Explorer & Media Player, and slots allow SD or MMC memory cards to be added.
Besides reading your e-books you can listen to stereo MP3 and WMA audio files using an included "earbud" (2.5mm jack). The TFT 65,000 colour screen is certainly acceptable, in fact a well-lit strong point. Best of all, RRP is only $A699, which is way cheap in its field.
HP iPAQ H1910
Wireless Keyboard
A number of wireless keyboards are now available for various PDAs. In fact Palm's new Tungsten C actually includes an integrated QWERTY thumb keyboard gratis. But here's one you can buy for some PocketPCs.
Saitek's " Universal Wireless Keyboard" - the name may be stretching it - has 67 keys (including 10 that are programmable). It also allows for international characters and symbols. You can use it with iPAQ H3600-3900 series, HP Jornada 540/560 series, Casio Cassiopeia E-125, and the Toshiba e310. The keyboard works with both Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002 OS. Price is $US59.95 in the States. For more info. see: www.saitek.com
Saitek Wireless Keyboard
Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 Linux
At the moment Linux is hitting a rough spot, due to the sueing bug getting out of hand with various people whose fingers in the Unix pie are developing a rich taste for $ signs. Nevertheless we predict that devotees will be unruffled - well, provided the Courts don't diss Linux altogether. So we'll still happily mention Sharp's new Linux PDA, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 Linux OS.
With a 400MHz processor & 96MB of storage (to which may be added Secure Digital and CompactFlash cards) no one can call this entry a lightweight. It's a big fella too, some 13.7cm by 7.4cm by 2.3cm in size and weighing a hefty 220g. The SL-5600 has the catchy new five-way navigation button, while recharging the lithium-ion battery takes only about an hour.
As an included web browser you get Opera. Other feature besides the usual bundle are ImagePad, for displaying and editing picture & running slide shows, and a trio called Hancom's Mobile Word, Sheet, and Presenter (think Linux versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). The Media Player does excellent work with MP3s & yet can botch MPEG video, they tell me. There's no WiFi, but there is infrared.
Biggest gripe so far is that the 3.5-inch screen, which allows 320x240 pixel display with 65 thousand colours, is dimmer than desirable. Hopefully the next model will attend to that complaint.
Oh, how much will it cost? In the States US$499, here they aren't telling yet.
Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 Linux
2002 top five PDA vendors Market share
1. Palm 36.5%
2. HP 13.5%
3. Sony 11.0%
4. Handspring 5.8%.
5. Toshiba 3.7%
Source: Gartner Dataquest, compiled by DigiTimes, February 2003.
Tablet PCs
Word is that these are selling quite well,
though not many to book readers at those prices. The market so far has been
captured by HP, Acer, Fujitsu and Toshiba (in that order), with health care
workers, traveling salespeople and warehouse managers leading the early adopters
charge. Read more at:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,109828,tk,mcx,00.asp
Convergence takes on a new meaning with NEC's VersaPro Tiny Tablet PC. Yep, it's almost another book-sized device with its 10.4-inch TFT display, & only about half an inch thick. Nothing small about the 933-MHz Ultra Low Voltage Pentium III-M Intel processor though. Likewise for the 256MB SDRAM memory and 20GB hard drive, which together drive up the price to a hefty $US 2,000 or so. Power schmower, wouldn't a bit less "shock & awe" & a lighter price tag arouse more interest, though? how about a VersaPro Lite?
*Okay, so you're barely up to speed on Wi-Fi & now there's Super Wi-Fi already? What is it with progress, can't they slow it down to a respectable pace these days? It doesn't look like it, so you need some more lowdown fast.
Super Wi-Fi (802.11g). 802.11g is the name given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to a new high-speed wireless local-area networking specification. The "g" is in fact an improvement to 802.11b (Wi-Fi). 802.11g promises speeds "up to" 54 mbps, about five times as fast as Wi-Fi under ideal conditions.
However, although theoretically much faster than Wi-Fi 802.11g's range is about 10 percent less. Like its predecessor Wi-Fi, Super Wi-Fi operates on 2.4GHz radio frequency, and so Wi-Fi & Super Wi-Fi equipment and connections are compatible with each other, although if you mix and match data will be transmitted at the speed of the lowest rated of the two elements, natch.
Many are confused by a third standard, 802.11a,, which came out after the "b" standard, & is also known by some fiendish folk as WiFi5. This first appeared in 2001, & is potentially as fast as Super Wi-Fi ("g"), i.e. "up to" 54 megabits per second. Be warned though that 802.11a uses the 5GHz radio frequency band, and isn't compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g-enabled devices, so be careful.
NB: Problems of frequency compatibility will likely be solved in future by the use of dual-band network cards supporting both "g" and "a" standards. Because 802.11g and 802.11b are already compatible, such a card will allow access to all three wireless standards. Praise be.
*Wi Be Insecure? We've warned before
about the security - or lack of it - with Wi-Fi. Business - and mobile terrorists
unfortunately -will be overjoyed to learn that lots of companies are now rushing
up to remedy this defect. Some examples: Pointsec Mobile Technologies have
released Pointsec for Pocket PC 2.0, which is encryption software for Pocket
PCs & removable storage cards. Renesas Technology meanwhile have a Secure
MMC (MultiMediaCard) with encryption, digital rights management, and a "tamper-resistant
module for data storage" (whatever that is). The helpful folk at PC World
can tell you even more at:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110303,tk,mcx,00.asp
*On the face of it, nothing could seem more unnecessary than a Wi-Fi phone. So why are Motorola and Nextel developing them? Well, if you are at home or work & within reach of your Wi-Fi node, maybe you could call someone using your ISP connection & not a telecom company. Which might prove a lot cheaper for a lengthy long-distance call. Depending, of course, on the durn access fee. And as the first such phones will be way more expensive, pioneers will have to be, waal, richer for starters (expect over $A1,000 at current rates of exchange).
So getting back to e-books, what's the deal
with plain old Wi-Fi? From an e-book point of view, If you want a really slow
& expensive way to read on the Web,Wi-Fi access could be your baby.
.* While mulling over that one, remember that it's a much better deal if someone else is paying. So we note here that McDonalds in America are taking a leaf from the Starbuck's e-book, & trialling a free hour of wireless Net access with purchase of an Extra Value meal in selected stores. Unexplained is how it could take you an hour to eat at McDonalds.
* Upmarket of Maccas (called Mickey Ds in the States), the large Marriott hotel chain has rolled out high-speed wireless access in not only guest rooms but also hotel lobbies, meeting rooms, restaurants, and other public spaces at 400 hotels in Germany, the U.K., and the United States.
Bend Me, Shape Me, Any Way You Want Me…
Scientists affiliated with the E Ink camp have created an ultra-thin screen that can be bent, twisted and even rolled up -though not spindled or mutilated - and still display crisp text. Screen resolution achieved so far is similar to that of a typical laptop computer.
E Ink Corp.& rivals have for some time been working to develop electronic "paper" for e-newspapers and e-books, and the breakthrough is a major step towards that goal. The screen material is about as thick as three human hairs. A film of the fabled e-ink - actually electrically charged black and white particles with reversible polarity, all floating in a sort of clear fluid - overlays a circuit layer "printed" on stainless steel foil. However the experimental variety is still mains connected, so there's a way to go yet. Colour & video potentiality are also yet to come.
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you have an e-book story you feel is worth mentioning,
please email it to:
***Bruce’s AUSTRALIAN
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This page last updated 3 June 2003
