A beautiful day here in NY – 50 degrees and I for one like being deluded into thinking it is Spring.
Some interesting bits of publishing/media/data management news I came across today:
*Apple is supposedly introducing a new product on Jan 27th. Presumably this will be the “tablet” which will also likely serve as the “sexy” e-reader. I had use of a Sony e-reader for some time and it was decidedly unsexy, although I loved having it.
I have not been tempted to purchase my own e-reader yet, I’ve been waiting to see what Apple does (full disclosure I am blogging from my macbook) I’ve always thought they’d solve all the clunky issues I have with what is available today. I remember thinking an mp3 player was nifty and wanted one immediately for running but didn’t really fall in love with the medium until the ipod.
I can’t wait to see what this will turn out to be, and how much of a game changer it will be to readers. My friends, outside of the publishing industry, are either ambivalent to the e-reader or ink and paper enthusiasts. I think if the device is sexy and priced low enough it will create more interest among the more casual readers. And turn them into bigger book consumers, maybe.
*Nick Bilton blogging for the NYT suggested Conan should forgo the tv and broadcast online. I think its a great idea. I do watch stuff on TV, erm, stuff I recorded to the DVR, I also watch quite a bit streaming on my computer and the only time I’ve watched Conan recently was in fact on HULU.
*I just read a blog post regarding Google Metadata at ALA (American Library Association.) Amazing how many data sources are supplying the records for cataloging.
It’s actually mind boggling all the crunching of data that goes on every day behind the scenes to make so many of the things we take for granted to function.