Inside System Storage

Inside System Storage - Volume I is a brand new blook from Tony Pearson. According to his post, the blook "comprises the first twelve months of posts from this Inside System Storage blog, 165 posts in all, from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007." He goes on to list all the ways that he has previously published, then he says:

"But I can say this is my first blook, and as far as I can tell, the first blook from IBM's many bloggers on DeveloperWorks, and the first blook about the IT storage industry. I got the idea when I saw [Lulu Publishing] run a "blook" contest. The Lulu Blooker Prize is the world's first literary prize devoted to "blooks"--books based on blogs or other websites, including webcomics."

Like many bloggers who have blooked, Pearson added content:

"In addition to my blog posts, I provide additional insights and behind-the-scenes commentary. ... I have added a hefty 56-page Glossary of Acronyms and Terms (GOAT) with over 900 storage-related terms defined, which also doubles as an index back to the post (or posts) that use or further explain each term."

I had to chuckle when I got to Pearson's list of who might be interested in his blook. One item stood out - "Authors looking to write a blook themselves, to see how to format and structure a finished product."

New E-book Reader from Amazon

Reader Views recently announced a service which will help you put your book into Kindle format for posting at Amazon. What is Kindle? You might well ask. I had no idea so I followed Reader Views' link to The New York Times and an article entitled "An E-Book Reader That Just May Catch On."

First, let me say that I had no idea there had been so many flops: "Rocket eBook Reader. Gemstar. Everybook. SoftBook. Librius Millennium Reader. The Sony Reader is in stores even now, priced at $350 and making literally dozens of sales."

Reading the Times' description highlights the drawbacks of e-book readers, which boil down to "they're not books."

• The Kindle is a thin, 10-ounce slab of white plastic, tucked into a leatherette cover.
• Its slight left-side thickening is supposed to suggest the feel of a paperback book folded back on your hand.
• The screen uses the same astonishing E Ink technology that Sony’s Reader uses. It looks like black ink on light gray paper: no backlight, no glare, no eyestrain — and no need to turn it off, ever.
• That’s because E Ink draws power only when you turn a page. ... You don’t turn this thing off; you just set it down, like a book.
• The “ink” is so close to the surface of the screen, it looks like it’s been printed there, so reading is satisfying, immersive and natural.

The Times continues: "But the part that will really rock your world is the Kindle’s free wireless cellular broadband service." This enables Amazon to offer instant downloads of books: "The Kindle store offers best-seller lists, Most Popular lists and a Search box. The catalog includes 90,000 books so far, including 101 of the 112 currently listed as New York Times best sellers."

There's lots more excitement which you can read at the Times or at Amazon's blog.