Adventure Ausrama Blog

The new computer aimed at "poor" Indian students will not be successful. It is like the current craze for eBooks - why buy a machine that is built mainly for reading copies of the written page when you can buy a normal computer for a little bit more? eBooks and the student computer will end up in the bin in time. Few students will be able to buy the new eBerry laptop because it is too expensive. It comes with a package of student related software. The manufacturer says it will be fun to use a "virtual classroom". Yes, it can also fun playing games on your computer after doing your homework. Another problem is that the eBerry locks you into homework mode. Only teachers and parents will have the password to access the Internet per se . At $811 it is an incredibly high price for third world consumers. Openwiis in the Netherlands offers a much cheaper alternative. It provides computers to children in developing countries and it doesn't seek a profit. People ...

Electronic publishing will not improve income for authors. There isn't much hope that the Australian Society of Authors will get its way. The ASA wants 35 per cent return for ebooks. With an expectation of $10 for a new novel that is $3.33. That is a much more than traditional paper publishers pay. Trying to manipulate the electronic medium for more profit is not on. Book publishers have been paying only 10 per cent of the sale price for years. Demand is only high now because many old favorites are available for free. Most consumers are prepared to pay only cents for new work. The same thing will happen as happened with music. Some will buy books then distribute them online for free. When Internet book publishing matures consumers will pay only what they pay now to get a song from iTunes - $0.99. Publishing firms are selling more new books in ebook format than paper, but this is the honeymoon period. As sells mushroom, profit margins and price will crash. Don't forget the dange...