Xerox NextFests Its Erasable Paper

Xerox is showing off its erasable paper at the WIRED NextFest, which is going on right now — the Xerox exhibits page is at http://www.wirednextfest.com/inform/2008/exhibits/erasable_paper.php.

This isn’t E Ink –it’s tree paper. Here’s how Xerox describes it — “Xerox’s erasable paper is coated with chemicals that react to light of a specific wavelength. When the paper is exposed to that wavelength, it creates visible text on the page. Within 24 hours, the paper erases itself and can be used again…”

So you can recycle paper without all that annoying aggregating, sorting, pulping, and re-manufacturing. You can get a little more information about the erasable paper at http://www.xerox.com/innovation/exp_paper.shtml. They need a time-lapse video or something….

Hints for Saving Money on Your Book Habit

The Associated Press had a brief article on the ways readers can save money on their book habits. Several sites are mentioned on here, including PaperbackSwap.com and Bookins.com. One quote caught my eye, though — “A diet of three books a month costs her only about $6, clearly a bargain for an avid reader.” (The quote was about a user of PaperbackSwap.com.) I admit it’s cheap for a book, but go to eBay and do a search for “lot of” in the book category. If you’re patient, you can get lots of books for way cheaper than $2 each, even including shipping. (This is especially good for folks who go through Harlequin Romance like Pez.)

The story also mentions price comparing (between on-and-offline), getting public domain electric copies at Gutenberg (though personally I prefer the completely awesome Manybooks.net) and going to used bookstores and library sales.

Penn State Hands Out Sony Readers

Penn State is trying an experiment. As the university notes on its Web site, it will begin a yearlong pilot program using the Sony Reader. (Sony donated 100 of them to the university libraries.) The readers will be used in the English department, will be available for borrowing in the Course Reserve Reading Room, and will be used in the libraries’ first-year seminar class for developing information literacy skills.

bnet Blogs the Alleged End of the Publishing Industry

Karen Steen at bnet has an article called “The End of Publishing, or Its Rebirth?”, which blogs an article at New York Magazine and cover the advent of a new publishing angle called HarperStudio. Unfortunately some questions remain unanswered: how are returns being reduced? What’s the average advance for a HarperStudio author? Is there personalized publicity, canned PR, or no publicity at all?

KB Toys Gets Into “Super Value”

KB Toys announced on September 16 that they’re offering new three “Super Value” lines — Super Value Video Games, Super Value Family DVDs, and interestingly, Super Value Previously-Played Video Games (one more major retailer gets into the used market.) The Super Value program is described as carrying games (new games) starting at $9.98, while the used line didn’t have prices described. The press release noted only that the used games would offer guarantees. You can get the full press release at Marketwatch.com.

Research and Market Releases Book Stores Retailing Report

The good news is that Research and Markets has released the “2008 Worldwide Book Stores Retailing Industry Report”, which includes information on establishments, employment, and sales totals (with forecasts for 2009), 5-year trends, and coverage of many many countries. The bad news is that the cheapest copy is a PDF for $266. Details at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2c50fe/2008_worldwide_boo .

Nintendo Goes for the “Women Who Rent Handbags” Demographic

Nintendo has teamed up with From Bags to Riches, an online handbag-rental service, to include Nintendo DS systems and games with some rentals. That’s right, rent a Prada bag and get a nice DS to put in it. (The idea is to match the DS color with the bag color, I guess.) And instead of getting a little chihuahua to carry around, you can amuse yourself with Nintendogs.

From the press release: “With the addition of the stylish Nintendo DS, Nintendo brings to fashion accessories what Prada brought to stylish messenger bags.”

You can get more information about the new partnership at the From Bags to Riches Web site: http://www.frombagstoriches.com/rentbag/pc/nintendoDS.asp.

U. Of Michigan Library Gets a Book ATM

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that The University of Michigan is going to install “The Espresso Book Machine.” This machine will allow users to print-on-demand just about any digitized, out-of-copyright book from Michigan’s collection (printing will take 5-7 minutes and the book will cost about ten bucks.) Users will also be able to print out-of-copyright books from other locations. The maker of the machine, On Demand Books, wants to make a network machines installed in libraries and bookstores around the world.

According to the article, however, this is the first machine installed in a university library, so there’s a way to go…

Sexy iRexy

Forbes has an article on the new iRex Technologies e-book reader, the iRex Reader 1000. This new reader apparently sports a 10.2″ (diagonal) E-Ink screen (Kindle’s is 6-inch.) The reader will also accept e-book, PDF, HTML, and Word formats. It also has a stylus and a touch screen. iRex says the basic version of its reader will be $650 — yikes! Additional options could pump it up to $850.

The iRex Reader will still be greyscale, just like Kindle and the Sony Reader. When are we going to get color from E-Ink-based devices? “E-Ink enthusiasts will likely have to wait until 2009 for color E-ink and as late as 2012 for video, says Russ Wilcox, the chief executive of Cambridge, Mass.-based E-Ink, which developed the black and white pigment now used in every paper-like reader.”

You mean I could carry around a Kindle that would allow me both to read a book and watch a podcast of the morning news? I’ll wait. Not very patiently, but I’ll wait….

Overivew of the NEIBA

Publishers Weekly had a brief update on the 35th annual New England Independent Booksellers Association Trade show, which include the little nut that independent booksellers comprise about 10% of the book market. I’m glad; frankly I’m amazed it’s still that high.

Attendees discussed print-on-demand as well as the possibility of selling Sony Readers in their stores (Seems to me Kindle has got to get a bricks-n-mortar retail outlet or get buried. Circuit City’s market cap is now 230 million!)

From the article: “Moderator Roxanne Coady, owner of R.J. Julia in Madison, Conn., noted the need for independents to monetize what they do. ‘Here’s what’s becoming a problem,’ she said, ‘we don’t charge. You can talk with our staff, and there aren’t even tip jars. We see people spending an hour in our store and then leaving and buying the books where it’s cheaper. Is there another way of paying for being that filter?’” Yes ma’am: let the people order the books online THROUGH YOU. Be one of those assistant shopper kinda deals. And put your recommendations online. And hell, put out some tip jars.