Re: Re: Amazon Kindle

At 11:57 AM -0600 11/27/07, Elizabeth Burton wrote:
>ASIN is just the way Amazon inventories--the "SIN" stands for
>"standard identification number." It's no different from the stock
>numbers any retailer assigns to inventory for purposes of efficiency.

I agree. I knew that already.

You probably know that ISBN stands for "International Standard Book Number."

The ISBN is, in a way just a SIN that is industry wide. This is why Amazon uses the ISBN for its ASIN on print books. They generate their own number only when the ISBN doesn't exist.

This is why its confusing when they don't accept and use the publishers ISBN for books converted to the Kindle format.


>It's a lot easier to keep track of inventory using a standard coding
>system than to do so using the thousands of ISBNs currently in use.

No, its not. Virtually every book retail software system relies on the ISBN for the identifying number for each product. In many cases, adding a book to their inventory system is as simple as entering the ISBN and clicking on the "lookup" button or equivalent, which then pulls the data from an Internet-based database. In other cases, the store gets a regular file sent to them that includes new items available at their wholesaler (usually Ingram Books). They don't have to type in any information if they have an ISBN.

On the other hand, if the book doesn't have an ISBN, the store personnel have to jump through the hoops in the software to create a new number for the product. And then they have to key in all the information for the title (author, price, subtitle, source, ordering number at the source, subject categories, etc., etc., etc.)

So, NOT having an ISBN actually makes it more difficult for most retailers.

One of the functions of the ISBN is to make it easier to identify and communicate about a particular book across the industry. If we don't maintain some industry-wide system, we have a much more complicated job.

As it is with ebooks, I don't have an easy way to find out what's available. There isn't an "ebooks in print" or retailers that simply carry EVERYTHING, so you can't find out that a book exists (For the general public, Amazon, b&n.com and others serve as a general database this for print books, but not for ebooks).


Obviously, since Amazon is only handling this one format, they don't feel like they need to use industry information. BUT, I think this is unfortunate, short-term thinking. In the long run everyone, including Amazon, will be better off if we have a standard number -- making it easier to find ebooks.


>
>The Kindle format is a variant of standard HTML. I give it a week
>before some enterprising geek has a program available to do direct
>conversions.


I hope you're right. I'm uncomfortable with large companies controlling a format.


>But, as Sandy said, all you need offer is unecrypted Mobi.
>
>Let's give the behemoth credit for knowing how to run a business. I'm
>quite sure Amazon had people monitoring the ebook community for long
>months, and they aren't stupid enough to ignore the fact that most of
>the avid ebook readers hate a machine that won't let them load their
>own stuff. The offer they have to convert for people for a dime is, I
>suspect, mainly aimed at the technologically challenged who don't want
>to handle it themselves.


I never said Amazon wasn't smart at running a business. Amazon's creation itself shows a kind of brilliance, timing and serendipity that few companies ever see in their existence.

Again, I hope you are right. I'm just a little uncomfortable with the fact that the system is built around such a proprietary connection. Yes I know that users can add their own content (once they figure out how to convert it to the right format). It just seems like the system is heavily biased toward Amazon.

Of course, they built the device, so they have every right to do that. I'd just prefer an open system.


<snip>

>
>The encryption part is a necessity if they hope to have the mainstream
>publishers come on board.

I agree. While I think that the current DRM software is clearly screwed up, I do think that there are good reasons in some cases for having some protection on some books. As you say, it is at least necessary to assuage the worries of more traditional companies.

<snip>


>
>So far, the only mistake Amazon made was designing the thing so you
>basically have to have it in the cover to read without accidentally
>turning pages.


Well, I don't think this is the only mistake. But the mistakes will probably take time to become apparent. And even then, these mistakes won't necessarily keep the Kindle from being a success.

<snip>

>
>Personally, I'll wait for the next generation, where I'd imagine most
>if not all of the major criticisms of the overall design will have
>been addressed and where they may even have managed to come up with a
>color screen. Hopefully, they'll also do an iPhone and lower the
>price. But as readers go, I don't see that much not to like, and as a
>publisher I foresee this as being a way to persuade a fair share of
>the "I hate ebook" holdouts to change their tune.
>
>L
>Elizabeth Burton, Executive Editor
>Zumaya Publications LLC
><http://www.zumayapublications.com>http://www.zumayapublications.com
>Opening doors to the creative mind
>

To me the thing that seems most likely to drive the Kindle's success is the ease of the system for adding books directly to the Kindle. I think that system is going to attract a lot of new ebook content that wasn't previously available.

We'll see if that's enough.

Kent


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