Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

Claradonna · 09-12-2008, 05:55 PM

When Google had the book project, and then changed it to preview only, why didn't they establish an ebook purchasing system?

Google now links to other bookstores, and now there are also some external ebook sites that have a limited selection.

Google has the capacity for photocopying those thousands of books they did,

Why doesn't Google have an ebook store?

Brutha · 09-13-2008, 06:03 PM

Google doesn't own the ebooks that they have in their book project. As a result they can't sell them.

dannielo · 09-13-2008, 06:59 PM

Probably the publishers wouldn't agree, even if Google proposed a deal. That's why they don't even make themselves the pdf version of their books.

Not sure why, but probably it will impact the hard version sales.

Claradonna · 09-13-2008, 09:58 PM

But Amazon has kindle, and ebooks would be an even wider-reaching format.

Apollia · 09-14-2008, 05:39 AM

Google Books has a lot of books that are so old they're uncopyrighted. They probably could sell those if they wanted to.

I like Google Books but it's not as useful as it could be. I'm glad they finally began to permit people to browse the copy-and-pasteable plain text versions of some books, but you can't download them in plain text, and in my experience, you can't extract the text from the PDF versions they offer - the only plain text that can be extracted from the PDFs is Google's annoying usage guidelines.

So, I still prefer Project Gutenberg. The use of most of Project Gutenberg's books is apparently so unrestricted you could even make your own printed versions (or better-formatted ebooks), instead of having to wait and hope that Google releases them for sale as an ebook or anything else.

Best wishes,
Apollia

dannielo · 09-14-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claradonna

But Amazon has kindle, and ebooks would be an even wider-reaching format.

Yes, but they are in a proprietary format that can be tracked and controlled.

Google didn't invest yet in that type of technology (both software AND hardware needed)
They are not as known in the book industry as Amazon, and probably the sales would be low anyway.
But who knows, maybe in the future..

Claradonna · 09-14-2008, 06:48 PM

Interesting though, Amazon has the online reader, an ebook format, for books that have already been purchased.

Most major publishers have ebooks on this site eBooks.com

Just wondering why Google didn't get there first, and make a totally comprehensive library and store.

Claradonna · 10-31-2008, 06:32 AM

Google will have an online bookstore now.

NYTimes - Google Books

Horray!!!

09-12-2008, 05:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
Claradonna Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 81	Google books or ebooks When Google had the book project, and then changed it to preview only, why didn't they establish an ebook purchasing system? Google now links to other bookstores, and now there are also some external ebook sites that have a limited selection. Google has the capacity for photocopying those thousands of books they did, Why doesn't Google have an ebook store?

09-14-2008, 05:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
Apollia Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: USA Posts: 323	Google Books has a lot of books that are so old they're uncopyrighted. They probably could sell those if they wanted to. I like Google Books but it's not as useful as it could be. I'm glad they finally began to permit people to browse the copy-and-pasteable plain text versions of some books, but you can't download them in plain text, and in my experience, you can't extract the text from the PDF versions they offer - the only plain text that can be extracted from the PDFs is Google's annoying usage guidelines. So, I still prefer Project Gutenberg. The use of most of Project Gutenberg's books is apparently so unrestricted you could even make your own printed versions (or better-formatted ebooks), instead of having to wait and hope that Google releases them for sale as an ebook or anything else. Best wishes, Apollia Last edited by Apollia; 09-14-2008 at 06:05 AM. Reason: Added a bit

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
How to photoread webpages and ebooks?	machoman	Personal Effectiveness	0	08-08-2008 09:21 AM
eBooks/informational products	ConquerSelf	Business & Financial	8	06-04-2008 06:58 AM
2 free weightloss ebooks	shiggityjoe	Health & Fitness	0	05-15-2008 04:29 AM
2 Free Fitness Ebooks	shiggityjoe	Health & Fitness	0	03-30-2008 04:20 PM

09-13-2008, 06:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Brutha Family Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 8,749	Google doesn't own the ebooks that they have in their book project. As a result they can't sell them.

09-13-2008, 06:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
dannielo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 175	Probably the publishers wouldn't agree, even if Google proposed a deal. That's why they don't even make themselves the pdf version of their books. Not sure why, but probably it will impact the hard version sales.

09-13-2008, 09:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
Claradonna Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 81	But Amazon has kindle, and ebooks would be an even wider-reaching format.

09-14-2008, 06:48 PM	#7 (permalink)
Claradonna Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 81	Interesting though, Amazon has the online reader, an ebook format, for books that have already been purchased. Most major publishers have ebooks on this site eBooks.com Just wondering why Google didn't get there first, and make a totally comprehensive library and store.

10-31-2008, 06:32 AM	#8 (permalink)
Claradonna Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 81	Google will have an online bookstore now. NYTimes - Google Books Horray!!!

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums