sick of authors blogging from ignorance...

Those ranting against amazon's price-fixing (not the dropping of the macmillan titles, which was stupid, but the $9.99 price point that amazon wanted rather than letting the publishers have full control over the prices) are totally missing one key point: if amazon can't offer a cost difference between what they offer and what iTunes offers, then the fight between kindle and ipad will be strictly on the technology, and THEY WILL LOSE.

As PotC clearly stated:

"You know, I could beat you in a fair fight."

"Well, then, that doesn't exactly give me an incentive to fight fair."

Amazon has money, and some good developers, but if technically its device is behind the ipad, then it can only compete by lowering prices on the whole user experience. If the kindle and the ipad and all these others were ubiquitous, that would be one thing, but at this early stage, just like moving console game machines, until there is a killer title that sets the REAL price point, then controlling the costs of the games and keeping them low was how you entered the market until you had a comparable share, then you let the publishers go back to the standard price point.

the publishing industry is looking only at their books and making price models comparable to paper. this is *backwards thinking*. This ignores the hardware itself which is too much of both the user experience, and more importantly, the company's ability to even move the titles in the first place. the publishers in the bigger picture don't care about ebooks because they still have a market without them.

but to amazon, bn, and apple, they are having to play this out just like atari, coleco, mattell (intellivision), the zillions of 6502 platforms of the 80s, and the modern console world of xbox, ps2/3, and wii. until you have a killer app, a killer title, or some serious value-add, you don't move consoles where other consoles already exist if your total user experience price point (for the first year or so) is comparable to what is already in the market.

so amazon is competing against paper and it is competing against the ipad which has SERIOUS value-add: color, a 2 year history of 3rd party apps, and The Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field. they only way to compete against that platform is to show a lower price for the user experience, and given that the kindle itself still has a minimum price point to make up for the r&d, that means cheaper titles.

this is what the publishing world, "the authors" don't get. They look at this like xbox/wii/ps3 AFTER the 3 years of competition and undercutting and who's got the killer app fights that got to this 30-30-30 world we have today, that got to the point of ubiquity. they think an ebook is an ebook because to them, it is. they see a game title run at the same price on all 3 platforms and think that's how they should control it.

they totally are ignoring history. the platform wars for ebooks are *just starting*. the devices aren't done, the market isn't anywhere close to having a set of ubiquitous platforms. controlling the prices is one key form of competition, especially where unlike SEGA in the early years, you can't really get away with exclusivity licensing contracts because the publisher always has that other outlet: paper.

authors know words. publishers know editing, books, and paper.

neither of them know a damn thing about the e-gadget world, and i'm getting sick of their rantings from ignorance.

and so, it has come to this...

Supreme Court Allows Corporations To Run For Political Office | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

WASHINGTON—In a landmark decision that overturned decades of legal precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday to remove all restrictions that had previously barred corporations from holding public office. "This is an unfair, ill-advised, and tragic mistake," Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said before boarding a flight to Arizona in response to primary poll numbers that show him trailing the Phoenix-based company PetSmart by a double-digit margin. "Despite the deep discounts and exciting promotions that they may be able to offer, these huge, soulless entities are not capable of truly serving the American people's—or their pet's—needs." Corporate attack ads have already begun to hit the airwaves in New York, where a new Pepsi commercial set to a catchy modern remix of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" blasts incumbent governor David Paterson as "unrefreshing" and urges New Yorkers to "taste the choice of a new generation this Nov. 2."

Max Headroom says watch Network 23 to cast your vote for Mayor next Tuesday!

Onion gets a second good one today...

Colts, Saints Blinded By Natural Sunlight Upon Arrival At Stadium | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

MIAMI—Members of both Super Bowl teams, who played the majority of their regular season and playoff games in domed stadiums, squinted in pain and sought refuge from the sun Thursday after walking onto the field at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. "What is that thing? It's not gonna be on during the game, is it?" said Saints running back Pierre Thomas, who experienced lingering spots in his vision after his attempts to look directly at the unfamiliar object.