A separate ZDNet article notes that eBook Store's launch offers the publishing industry a chance to head off the piracy problem before it starts. The latest Harry Potter adventure, the Post adds, was available in pirate form within 24 hours of its fabled release. But the magazines themselves are skeptical. Upside made the point that there is no one standard device for e-books, though why that's necessary isn't clear. Kafka writes that e-book devices have a desultory history.
Most people choose to download book text to a PC, rather than read from a handheld device.
There are incompatible formats, and publishers have no clue on how much to charge. Plus, ink on paper resolution is superior to what device screens offer. And of course there's Microsoft, which gives away its Reader for free, gathering revenue from license fees from manufacturers and a transaction fee. Privacy Policy Stock data provided by Stockpoint and its data suppliers.