I haven't read a book in years. Not since I discovered my public library allows downloading of audiobooks. Much better on the bus, especially with noise-suppressing earphones. And I continue to 'read' while I walk the extra-healthy three-quarters of a mile I've added to my commute. Funny thing is, I often can't recall whether a particular book is one I've read or listened to. So it must scratch the same itch.
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Alan Adler, a lawyer who reps the AAP, has scrutinized the Atiz Web site and tentatively concludes that it focuses on legal uses. His ire is reserved for Google's program to scan collections of libraries, and use the contents in its search indexes; the AAP has filed suit against the Google program.
But while the publishers worry about snippets of copyrighted works appearing in search engines, the real threat will emerge when some company produces the iPod of e-book readers, whether it's some evolution of Amazon's Kindle device or even an Apple production. (Ignore Steve Jobs's recent proclamation that e-readers make no sense because "people don't read anymore." He once said he didn't believe that people would watch video on tiny screens.) Eventually, electronic readers will become commonplace, creating a demand that won't be met by publisher-authorized releases of copy-protected digital books sold at similar prices to the bound volumes in stores. That's when the idea of ripping books might really catch on, presumably with cheaper, cooler scanners. "It will be inevitable," says Booppanon. "And then the book industry will follow what happened with the music industry." Remember—Napster happened in a snap.
© 2008
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