Frank Herbert on his Boeing, Stephen King on his Wang, and Philip Roth worrying that writing would become too easy … Matthew Kirschenbaum’s account of literature in the digital ageIn a photograph taken in his high-tech home office at 29 Merrick Square, London, in 1968, thriller writer Len Deighton is hard at work on his next novel, Bomber. An electric typewriter is perched atop a desk, a huge telex machine extrudes paper coils on to the florid carpet, and a video camera on a tripod is pointed at the author’s face. In the foreground is another, bulkier, typewriter connected by a fat cable to a cabinet or console. The author of Billion Dollar Brain had lately taken delivery of a magnetic tape selectric typewriter (MT/ST) (marketed in Britain as the IBM 72 IV). It was first posited at IBM’s main offices in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1957; the finished product weighed 200lb and cost $10,000. And with it Deighton was about to compose the first novel ever written on a word processor.In fact, as Matthew Kirschenbaum points out in his unexpectedly engaging history of word processing, it was Deighton’s sedulous assistant Ellenor Handley who did most of the typing (until 1968 she’d had to redraft each novel dozens of times). As she typed, her keystrokes were saved to tape, and corrections could be made before a final printout. It was a vexing process in which writing happened both on paper and in the typist’s harried imagination; IBM’s literature commanded the user to “visualise... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews Amazon on Monday pre-released a software update for Kindle e-readers running the 3.0 software which updates the interface for magazines and newspapers, adds a quick review section at the end of each book, and adds page numbers that match Kindle books with their print... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Of the 150 titles on HarperCollinss spring audio list, only two are being published on CD; the rest are being released as digital downloads. Although CD sales have been declining in the audio market for several years, no major house has moved away this drastically from the format. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 10:49 Apple is set for a collision course with Amazon after setting a 31st March deadline for its changes to its app terms. From that date, all apps must make any content they use available for purchase within the app itself. This... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams The Publishers Association [PA] has attacked the culture secretary's decision to allow communications watchdog Ofcom to "delay" the Digital Economy Act. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced yesterday [1st February] that Ofcom is to assess whether the Act's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Apple has confirmed that it wants a cut of Amazon's Kindle sales made via its iPad and iPhone apps. The giant hardware company has said that it will no longer allow apps to sell content via a separate browser link, unless customers are also given the option of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Registration is now open for the first Tools of Change Bologna, which is to be held on 27th March. The conference, which focuses on digital development, will take place a day before the Bologna Childrens Book Fair opens. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top executives of some of the leading fulfillment companies were assembled for FMA's annual President's Panel yesterday to provide an update on their companies and how the market is evolving. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After several stark years in which stores like Cody's in San Francisco and Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville closed and the nation's second largest chain is teetering more than ever, publishers and booksellers are looking for new ways to work together. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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