Tech Blog

[#1]

eBooks are going to be bigger than ever in the coming months, especially since Apple's recently announced its iBooks ebook store. It's pure speculation on my part, but I'm thinking that in the coming months with the launch of the iPad, iBooks will also be available for the iPhone and iPod touch -- only in the US though, as the footnote on the iPad features page denotes.

But, all is not lost. As I discussed months ago, there is one awesome eBook reader available for iPhone and iPod touch -- Stanza, an eReading app that lets you download and purchase eBooks now, today. Just like one of the many apps by main-stream online booksellers.

I'm not going to rehash the previous post, rather today I'm going to profile an eBook publisher that seems to be breaking ranks and offering many high quality popular novels for free -- it's the Baen Free Library.

The story behind the development of the free library is rather detailed, yet interesting:

Why are we doing this? Well, for two reasons.

The first is what you might call a "matter of principle." This all started as a byproduct of an online "virtual brawl" I got into with a number of people, some of them professional SF authors, over the issue of online piracy of copyrighted works and what to do about it.

Read the whole introduction for the details, but to summarize; The Baen Free Library is free because it makes sense.

Stanza + Baen Free Library = Goodness!
Baen also runs webscription.net - an online storefront for the eBooks they sell. But, and this is important, webscription.net is also the front end for the Baen Free Library in Stanza.

Basically, in Stanza, you set up a custom server link to Webscription.net, and you now have full access to the Baen Free Library. If you choose to set up an account, you can also access their paid eBook content. Here's how to do it.

And this same process, with minor customizations, works for almost any independent online retailer -- as well as with the very cool eBook management server software Calibre (which is fodder for a future post).

[#2]

I downloaded Calibre a couple of months ago.  Lately I've been using it more often, although my ebook library is still fledgling--I've got 7 right now!   I'm trying not to go overboard and add, say, the entire Project Gutenberg library. . . .

This term I'm taking a Philosophy of Science Fiction course, and we have to read The Island of Dr. Moreau for this week's discussion.  I saved myself almost $10 by downloading a copy from Project Gutenberg!  As anyone who's ever had to buy textbooks knows, every bit of saved money counts.

I've made the decision not to succumb to the lure of DRMed ebooks, as tempting as a service like Indigo's Kobobooks is.  So thanks for pointing me in the direction of Webscription/Baen Free Library.  It's good to see some places not playing the DRM game.

Also check out Random House's Suvudu, which gives away free non-DRMed ebooks for limited time periods.  At first most were just PDFs, but now they've got a variety of formats--this month's offering is in fact from the Baen Free Library, I see.

[#3]

@tachyondecay, on a recommendation from Twitter (was it yours? I forgot, my bad) I grabbed Calibre. After a minor 'wrap-my-head-around-it' moment, it was installed and running. Awesome application!

I too am finding it hard not to download the G.project books, just to have them available -- 'cause you never know when you want to read Dracula again

Textbooks and popular fiction will be the new battlegrounds for eBooks. It's going to be an interesting year or two as this business model shakes out.

And yeah, DRM eBooks will be a challenge, esp. if you use multiple readers, or upgrade from one to another.

Thanks for the pointer to Suvudu -- I will check it out!

Cheers!

[#4]

Hi Tachyondecay,

I have found some well formatted books on zuluexpress.com  You might download some other classics from this website. 

Have a look.