Say what you want about Sony, but they just upped the ante for ebooks today by announcing that they will be getting rid of their own proprietary ebook format, and start using the open ePub format exclusively. This means that if you own a Sony Reader, you will be able to buy ebooks from other websites besides Sony’s own ebookstore.

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There are some in the book industry (mostly publishers, a few authors, etc) that do not like Amazon’s $9.99 average price for most Kindle ebooks. They say it will ‘cannibalize’ sales of more profitable hardcovers which sell at a much higher price. While this worry is not new, it has taken on a new sense of urgency since Sony recently announced that they too will sell many of their ebooks for their own ereader at $9.99.

With publishers getting worried about profits, what will happen if they start forcing sites like Amazon and Sony to jack the prices up on their ebooks? Nothing good can come from this.

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Ever since I first dreamed of being a novelist and sitting down to write my first novel in a spiral-bound notebook (never finished it, but I wish I could be that young again), I never gave much thought to the basic tools of writing. If I had a computer, I used a word processor. If I didn’t have access to a computer, I wrote everything out longhand.

Now that I’m all grown up, my tool of choice is usually my trusty Macbook. I use OpenOffice as my word processor of choice because I’m such a huge fan of open source software. And I’ve never given this much thought, until recently.

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When I read yesterday that Amazon had removed several George Orwell titles from their Kindle ebook reader, I can’t say I was surprised. Sad but true. Not too long ago a story surfaced about an Amazon customer who had his account suspended (too many returns, I think) and all the ebooks on his Kindle became disabled. Is this becoming a disturbing trend on Amazon’s part?

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I’d like to think that I’m an environmentally conscious person. I recycle. I don’t litter. I try to use canvas bags at the store instead of plastic (it’s hard to remember to take those canvas bags with me though). And I hope to one day own a ‘hybrid’ car that has almost zero emissions. I’m also a vegetarian, which has to count for something.

There also seems to be a general consensus that ebooks are better for the environment than their print counterparts. I have believed this for a while, and it is one small reason why I have turned into an ebook evangelist. But then I started thinking: Are ebooks really more environmentally friendly? Or am I just believing all the hype? I decided to do some research to find out for myself.

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Ebooks can be more than just files you download onto your ebook reading device. They can come in many different formats and be used for a multitude of purposes (i.e. entertainment, tech manuals, etc). And one of the biggest draws of ebooks, at least for me, is the flexibility one has with distribution methods.

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Self-publishing is getting a whole lot easier for authors who prefer to go the ‘indie’ route and avoid the hassles of trying to get the ever-more-evasive traditional publishing contract. Espresso Book Machines (EBM) are paving the way not only for indie authors, but also indie bookstores as well – who must compete with the likes of Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon.

The EBM is basically a mini-self publisher all wrapped up into one machine. You select the book you want printed, and it prints the entire book (nifty covers included!), binds, trims and spits the newly printed book out for you to enjoy.

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Exciting news for all you iPhone and iPod Touch owners out there – mega bookstore chain Barnes & Noble (B&N) released a free app today, available on the iTunes app store. The app lets you browse books, read editorial/customer reviews, access to exclusive content, and even take a picture of a book’s cover and find out a whole bunch of cool information about it.

Could B&N be gearing up to go even more digital (think: ebooks) later on in the year?

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I’m really excited about the release of the new book by Chris Anderson, from The Long Tail blog, and plan to pre-order my copy soon. For those of you who don’t know, Chris has been leading the way in promoting ‘free’ as a new kind of business model. I advocate it here on this blog as well by encouraging and supporting authors who give away free ebooks to help promote a current title (for example).

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Way to go RIAA! You just won a court case against a single mother for 24 stinking songs. You not only ruined this woman’s life (unless a higher appeals court finds some common sense and overturns the $1.9 million dollar judgement), but you also have managed to pull of the world’s worst PR campaign – sue the hell out of people, with sketchy evidence, for sharing a few songs online.

Of course, I’m referring to the verdict against 32-year old Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who was ‘convicted’ of uploading 24 songs to a popular file sharing website.

I try not to stray too far from books, writing and literature on this blog. But there are implications for the growing ebook industry in this case, and I hope publishers are paying attention.

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