E-Books are going to be more and more popular as time goes by

[From Rusty] E-Books are going to be more and more popular as time goes by, but only for those of us who use tech on a regular basis. Unfortunately, if the ebook forecasts are such that it becomes both affordable and super popular, then the price of paper copies is going to rise as well. Why? Because the printers have to print a certain number of copies to pay for the ink, paper, machines, and labor, not to mention the overhead. And the Author's share is normally a percentage of total print books sold. Not a super large percentage either. Besides, with truly good books, as determined by how many times they are downloaded, you can create a 'collectors edition' and charge a premium. I would pay $100.00 for a NICE set of Harry Potter 1-7. Some folks would pay more for a premium binding, paper and ink package that could become an heirloom. If the set came with a CD or an SD card with the books formatted with HTML, that would be what's called 'value added'. Personally, I would pay 5 bucks for what comes out in 25 dollar hardback, because it doesn't take more than 2.50 per copy to sell the book on an SD card. And download pricing should be even less. Paperbacks that are selling in bookstores for 7.95 and on line for 9.95 are a ripoff on line. on line pricing should stick around 10 percent of hard copy. Thats for popular fiction, best sellers, and cookbooks and such.

Ideally, the new e-ink and tablet sized readers will take off, and replace our kids backpacks with Mini-SD cards they can keep in a carrying case or pouch on their belts/suspenders/bracelets/hair thingies (yes, I'm a grandpa, not a fashion guru). I see so many little kids with backpacks that weigh 30 and 40 pounds, plus carrying more books that won't fit inside. This makes no sense in our day and age. A tablet sized slate, that can be marked on and change the book by changing the SD card. Kids can keep up with one gadget, especially if it is a multifunction, communicator, and educator friendly device.

I've been reading ebooks on my Vx and M515, and while the color and backlight are nice, I did enjoy the 2 day battery life on the old Vx. I found the Baen site right off, along with Blackmask, Mobipocket reader, MemoWare, and my personal favorite, Docs to Go. Recently started working with Sunrise XP/Plucker on the palm. Very nice. Also found a way to get Lit files into Plucker or Docs. ABC Amber Lit Converter. Warning, if you want to convert a whole folder, set it as a wintask and run it overnight, because you won't be able to do much while it is running. Checkout Processtext.com for details.

You won't find a firmer believer in the power of the written or typed word. And two of my grandkids have just discovered writings they like, so I know they will be reading more than just Harry Potter. One likes Tom Clancy and the other is into Nancy Drew. I've got one already into David Drake, and another into romance novels (hey, she's reading!!!) The last two still need some time. one sings and one is only 2, although she wants ME to read to HER.