Interesting Links for 21-04-2012

[andrewducker]

• Phone GPUs to overtake consoles by 2014. Phone + HDMI + Bluetooth controllers = console replacement?
  (tags: graphics technology computer_games consoles )
• Has the ereader reached its zenith? Or is it DRM that's preventing creativity?
  (tags: ebooks ereader technology )
• IBM creates high-density, light-weight, lithium-air battery - 500 miles

Comments

[poisonduk]

The problem with e-book readers is that amazon have cornered the market. There's not much additional functionality can be added to an e-book reader. And Amazon have the customer service nuance to kick every other companies butt. I'd actually be interested to here what happens if you call up about a broken Sony or Kobo.

[andrewducker]

Yup, Amazon are spending a fortune on controlling the market, and it's definitely causing problems. Hopefully things will change, but we'll see.

[octopoid_horror]

Also it's a rather new market and there hasn't been much time for innovation to happen.

The market being familiar and somewhat static is the time that innovation is more likely to happen, since it's the point where people will be able to say "okay, it's not a bubble - this is a thing that works and people like, so let's start seeing what we can do."

[steer]

Are they spending a fortune? I mean the kindle is a loss leader but my spending on books has gone up as a result of my kindle. Doubtless like mobile phones they'll find a point when the remaining customers who buy a kindle don't buy that many books. Not there yet though.

You may be 100% right on this but I'd have thought overall they are making from the kindle not losing.

[apostle_of_eris]

People still don't catch on to "internet time". What brand of phone were you using ten years ago today?
Ten years from now, it will be that easy to recall the brand of "reader" you use now.

As for appropriation: fake artists steal; real artists reuse, recycle, and repurpose.

[steer]

Not sure on the "reader" thing. I know how I can free my purchased book collection from kindle should I need to (I also know it's not legal). Most people don't.

The Steam game platform is, for me, the "friendly" face of DRM-made-useful. It remains to be seen whether Kindle is that for readers. Certainly, however, having my book collection quickly available on four different computers (admittedly only via browser in the linux case), my kindle and my phone is super useful.

The point is, I lose not much moving phone brands. I lose lots moving e-reader brands unless I take steps to mitigate that loss (and those steps are both technical and illegal).

[naath]

Not everyone cares about their purchased book collection though - buy, read, never look at again. I own a great many books but rarely re-read any of them. I'm not sure how the market for ebooks breaks down into people who never ever want to loose access to their books (if so, don't use Amazon, they can take the book back) and people who don't care though.

[steer]

Not everyone cares about their purchased book collection though - buy, read, never look at again. I own a great many books but rarely re-read any of them.

That strikes me as quite unusual. Most people I know are pretty "precious" about books. I'd have thought that the proportion of people who buy books but don't care if the books "go away again" once read is very small. I may be completely wrong but I've never come across anyone with that attitude before. I've come across many people who would never ever consider throwing away a book no matter how unlikely they'll reread it.

[steer]

What is randomness? Nobody knows, or at least there’s no consensus.

Ahem... that's because the question is insufficiently specified. It's like saying "nobody knows what mathematics is." However, beyond that quibble it's a reasonable article so thanks for drawing my attention.