Monday, August 28, 2006
Can e-Books Be Produced Offshore? (just kidding)... and More Stuff
Interview of the CEO of Freeloader Press (free downloads of e-textbooks with ads, low-price ad-sponsored texts, etc). Adds to the items I posted the other day.
http://new.bookbusinessmag.com/enews/fullStory.bsp?sid=35175&var=story#35175
Digital textbooks in Fresno
http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2006/08/digitalbooks.htm
Short offshore printing article
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/doc/286873901585568.bsp
New media creates market for print media: shermanstravel.com starts Sherman's Travel magazine
NYT article http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21travel.html
MediaWeek http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/print/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003020165
Agfa cutting 2000 jobs worldwide
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4138730.html
Article claims outlook for book business is bright; bright we're not sure, but mildly positive is something we'll go for from a publishing perspective
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/doc/289022637733709.bsp
I hate it when economists and NYT writers whine. Supposedly, growing prosperity overseas will cause inflation here. They cite China, noting that incomes are rising and the cheap labor that has been seen in goods will disappear. They forget a few things... first, there are still untapped sources of labor around the world, and one day, China will actually contract with them; second, there are many inefficiencies in China's economy that have yet to be attacked by the forces of economics, such as their inefficient use of energy, and the inefficiencies of their own government controls; third, rising demand in growing and developing economies create new markets and new demands for goods and businesses that do not yet exist (you know, kind of like who need needed cell phones, or wireless service just 15 years ago). Stop whining and work on rewarding creativity, entrepreneurship, and freedom instead. I thought rising incomes was a good thing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/business/worldbusiness/28fed.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1156768125-wyC/Y50rTHE7qE2iy0U/VQ
And there's other reports about how wages, etc. have not kept up with economic growth. Hogwash. The way wages are measured is grossly inadequate, and even when compared to GDP, you have to include all income, including benefits. Household wealth is continuing to set new records. It's like the lament about the savings rate when that's always "bad"-- yet it excludes pension plans and asset value gains in pre-existing savings, especially if they are capital gains that will only be realized upon their sale. Considering that the Dow is still not at its Spring 2000 highs, and that the NASDAQ is still not even half of what it was at that time, to have househould wealth continue to rise shows how resilient the true savings (cash+all assets, including homes) of US households are, and actually how well diversified they are.
Another reminder of how media are changing, but the old guard doesn't get it.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={54FB200D-2164-4678-AAA1-C1F1E38721E9}&siteid=mktw&dist=nbc
http://new.bookbusinessmag.com/enews/fullStory.bsp?sid=35175&var=story#35175
Digital textbooks in Fresno
http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2006/08/digitalbooks.htm
Short offshore printing article
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/doc/286873901585568.bsp
New media creates market for print media: shermanstravel.com starts Sherman's Travel magazine
NYT article http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21travel.html
MediaWeek http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/print/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003020165
Agfa cutting 2000 jobs worldwide
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4138730.html
Article claims outlook for book business is bright; bright we're not sure, but mildly positive is something we'll go for from a publishing perspective
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/doc/289022637733709.bsp
I hate it when economists and NYT writers whine. Supposedly, growing prosperity overseas will cause inflation here. They cite China, noting that incomes are rising and the cheap labor that has been seen in goods will disappear. They forget a few things... first, there are still untapped sources of labor around the world, and one day, China will actually contract with them; second, there are many inefficiencies in China's economy that have yet to be attacked by the forces of economics, such as their inefficient use of energy, and the inefficiencies of their own government controls; third, rising demand in growing and developing economies create new markets and new demands for goods and businesses that do not yet exist (you know, kind of like who need needed cell phones, or wireless service just 15 years ago). Stop whining and work on rewarding creativity, entrepreneurship, and freedom instead. I thought rising incomes was a good thing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/business/worldbusiness/28fed.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1156768125-wyC/Y50rTHE7qE2iy0U/VQ
And there's other reports about how wages, etc. have not kept up with economic growth. Hogwash. The way wages are measured is grossly inadequate, and even when compared to GDP, you have to include all income, including benefits. Household wealth is continuing to set new records. It's like the lament about the savings rate when that's always "bad"-- yet it excludes pension plans and asset value gains in pre-existing savings, especially if they are capital gains that will only be realized upon their sale. Considering that the Dow is still not at its Spring 2000 highs, and that the NASDAQ is still not even half of what it was at that time, to have househould wealth continue to rise shows how resilient the true savings (cash+all assets, including homes) of US households are, and actually how well diversified they are.
Another reminder of how media are changing, but the old guard doesn't get it.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={54FB200D-2164-4678-AAA1-C1F1E38721E9}&siteid=mktw&dist=nbc
