Sony and the standardisation of the ebook format

Books, Tech

The Financial Times reports that Sony will standardise the format of their ebooks.
That brings up 2 questions for me.

  • Will they update the software on existing readers to allow the new format to be used?
  • Will this mean that for customers outside the US will be able to buy their books from more than one source?

I like the sony ereader but the whole experience of getting books that I actually want has been a frustrating experience. Customers from Ireland are restricted to the Waterstone’s site and the selection of books that I actually want to read there is really small. In addition, the interface on the Waterstones site is bad. I’m not interested in buying physical books from them. If they want my business, they need to have those books in ebook format. Otherwise, I buy from Amazon or physical bookshops.
If I can buy physical books from the Amazon US site, why can’t I buy books from the central Sony store? Sony, Waterstones and publishers in general need to wake up to make this experience as easy and straightforward as Apple can make it.

Party Shot

Photography, Tech

DP Review reports on a cool new product from Sony. The Party-Shot is a device where a (Sony) camera is attached and automatically takes photos in the surrounding area. The idea is that the party-shot is placed somewhere central and then using face-detection and motion sensors, takes appropriate photos. I would love to see this released for other cameras like my current compact, the LX3.

Buy a house, get a wife for free.

Thought Provoking

Amazing story about a property developer combating the downturn in China.

Jin Tai Cheng, a Beijing company, is offering a creative solution for prospective buyers at its “Ecological Bay” Villa project. The company encourages future homeowners to date its sales girls and promises a wedding present of RMB 60,000 to any couple that ends up getting married. The official story is that the company lured the sales ladies with a commitment to pay 8% in sales commissions as well as the opportunity to strike gold by securing a wealthy husband.