talmy@rand.org (Shel Talmy) (10/05/90)
Index Number: 10876 I received my demo disk from the Reader Project Inc., the electronic book publishing project from Washington DC, and would like to open a discussion on its merits-pro and con. I should state from the outset that I have no problem with the concept of electronic publishing, and certainly welcome the entry of this company. Any alternative to make more books and reading materials available to the handicapped community should be encouraged, and the company as a commercial venture, should be compensated enough for its efforts to make "adequate" profits and maintain the incentive to expand. But let's examine the price for this service a little more closely before writing the check. We are told by the "Reader Project Inc.", that they will act like any commercial bookstore in your local mall, meaning that they will charge retail hardback prices for their books with occasional "specials" at discount prices, i.e.--this is not Crown Books. Okay, I have no real argument with that. If I want to read a book badly enough, I'm willing to pay for it. But I do strongly object to the price we are being asked to pay for the software provided by Reader Project Inc. which is necessary to read the encoded book format. Yes, I believe that software to insure copyright integrity and payment of royalties is necessary. No, it shouldn't cost the user/buyer $500 or even $300, the beta testers discount price. This price is exhorbitant to say the least. It appears the company is attempting to go into profit even before they "open their doors", metaphorically speaking of course! As I'm assuming that the Reader Project Inc.'s main business is selling books electronically, not program development, I would have thought that no more than $50.00 is a fair price for the software, which also would encourage many more people to participate, instead of a user base limited to those who can pay the freight by themselves, or can secure grants from organizations and charities whose funding would be better placed in buying equipment. Would it be in our collective best interest to let Reader Project Inc. know that a potentially large user base thinks that their prices are too high, or am I out of line? I would welcome reading any comments directed to this newsgroup.