Friday July 21, 2006
eBooks and iPods
Last week, I proclaimed my enthusiasm for eBooks, both as a reader and a writer. I think the move to electronic text is inevitable—the question is only how long it will take to become mainstream. The thing that makes me bullish about it now, however, is not the Sony Reader or similar products. It’s the iPod.
This isn’t necessarily because of the device itself. At the moment, iPods don’t offer native support for eBooks, although there are workarounds. Slate has been experimenting with “textcasting”—piggybacking text articles on podcasts—and the “Notes” function in later models can be used to present eBooks.
But what the iPod has brought to the mainstream is the idea of a portable device that you regularly update with your media of choice and carry with you wherever you go. It seems natural that readers will extend this idea to books.
So, I’ve formatted my mini eBook—which features two longish stories that previously appeared in the Land-Grant College Review and One Story—for easy reading on an iPod. Here’s how to load it onto your device. (Adapted from MAKE:)
2. Unzip the file and place the entire folder in the notes section of your iPod.
NOTE: If you can’t access your iPod to add the files to the iPod you’ll need to enable disk mode. In iTunes: Edit > Preferences iPod Tab > General > Select “Enable disk use.”
3. Unplug your iPod from your computer and go to Extras > Notes and open the first file. At the end of the file there’s a link that will go to the next file automatically.
And that’s it. You can also convert any text file into an iPod eBook using this handy tool. Never read an eBook before? Make this your first.
UPDATE: The day after this post, Engadget reported that the next iPod is expected to have full-blown eBook support. Hold onto your hats. [Thanks, Preston!]
