The Times of London is reporting that the Taiwanese computer company, Asus, renowned for its affordable netbooks, is about to enter the e-book race with a lower-priced unit than the popular Kindle.

According to the Times, Asus will release two models, with the lowest priced at about 100 pounds. It isn't clear if Asus will link the technology to a publishing distribution system or to other content --- the Kindle is, of course, an extension of Amazon.com and has deals with several print organizations.

But what is a major development is the format of the Asus unit: full-colour and hinged to emulate the reading experience. One of those two screens can be used as a keyboard.

With Sony readying a new unit at less than $200, and Plastic Logic in the wings, the race is going to heat up in the months to come. Still, recent research from Forrester indicates mass appeal depends very much on a much lower price point, no more than $100 and as little as $50.
 
 

Jeff Jarvis has put his new book into a precis. The PowerPoint is here.

 
 


The publishing giant Random House is offering a widget to book lovers in the U.K. to browse hundreds of titles --- up to 5,000 by the end of the year --- in the hopes they'll eventually click to buy something. In essence it'll be like having a library on your personal page, something to flip through at your leisure, then purchase when you decide to take the next step and fully read the book.
Widgets are touted as a major opportunity for content creators. Given the Web's direction toward personal pages, social media maturity and curated content, Random House won't be the last to spread its holdings this way.

 
 

Living in Vancouver grants access to some very interesting people, and someone you see in contemplation at the coffee house regularly is Eckhart Tolle, the live-in-the-moment spiritual leader.
His most visible fan is television's richest woman, Oprah Winfrey, who selected his latest book, A New Earth, as her Oprah Book Club selection in February. She has co-developed a teaching program with Tolle at her site, and all was set for the Monday launch.
But ancient teachings met 21st century technological ceilings.
As Information Week magazine points out, Oprah has had to apologize for the crashed server. Most media would love her problem.
But it is reminiscent of what other old media have found with new media. You have to be mindful of how much traffic you send somewhere. Difficulties ensue when too many people live in the moment.

 
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