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Engadget’s Barnes & Noble to pull Amazon Publishing titles from shelves over exclusivity concerns article suggests Barnes & Noble has turned up the heat as the two go on competing each other for a book market domination.  Of course, Barnes & Noble is worrying that Amazon will eventually kick them out of their own game.  Meanwhile, Amazon continues to do the impossible even though Amazon is relatively new player in the book world when one compares Amazon against Barnes & Noble.  Seniority doesn’t secure a permanent establishment since we have seen how Borders had filed for bankruptcy from Chapter 11 which eventually turned into Chapter 7 (Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_Group).  The argument which Barnes & Noble has against Amazon is clear to me, but might not be true since I’m not an expert in the operation of the book business, is that Amazon is too pushy in term of demanding for more exclusivity with various book publishers.  I have to wonder though, would this be a good thing for book publishers?

Why?  If book publishers can negotiate with particular distributors for exclusivity deal, it might in the end raising the value of the book publishers who go for exclusive deals since exclusivity means rarity.  We know most things that are rare might be more valuable, right?  What if we take a look at a much bigger picture, how would the book world fare if only big players such as Amazon would be able to acquire exclusivities from popular book publishing companies?  I’m not sure but I think with more exclusive deals go around the book world, book business might change even more than it’s already has.

The book world already has changed so much in term of how ebook technology has totally changed how consumers read their books, pushing more consumers only to buy ebooks and abandon their traditional books (i.e., books made of papers).  Exclusive deals within the book world might push the change further by having small book stores to go out of business.  These small book stores usually are local book stores.  Of course, the trend seems to head in this particular route anyway since ebook technology has made it so easy for consumers to buy books online.  It means people don’t really have to go to a local book store to buy their books.

To knit the fragments of the big picture together, in my opinion, the trend of pushing for exclusivity isn’t meant the death of book publishing, but it might be the new rise of book publishing.  If Barnes & Noble wants to beat Amazon in book publishing exclusivity trend, I think Barnes & Noble has to figure out how to offer the book publishing companies better deals than what Amazon is currently offering these book publishing companies.

Will the consumers be beneficial to book exclusivity trend?  Probably not in the long run, because I think once a giant book distributor has began to dominate the book exclusivity trend, such entity tends to raise the prices of the books since the competitors aren’t going to have such titles for sale anyway.  The outlook might not be good for book customers if the Amazon defeats Barnes & Noble in book exclusivity trend, because one less competitor will give one less reason for Amazon to sell ebooks at the cheapest prices as possible.  Of course, my speculation on this might not pan out the way I speculate at all, because I’m not an expert in book business anyway.  I guess you just have to take my words with a grain of salt!

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• Barnes & Noble Says It Won’t Sell Books Published by Amazon (mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Barnes & Noble won’t stock books by Amazon anymore (laobserved.com)
• The Barnes & Noble vs Amazon War Continues (selfpubauthors.wordpress.com)
• Barnes & Noble Declares Wimpy War On Amazon (gizmodo.com.au)
• Barnes & Noble Declares Wimpy War on Amazon Publishing [Books] (gizmodo.com)
• BookBaby Connects Indie Authors to Kobo and Copia (prweb.com)
• Barnes (csmonitor.com)
• Barnes & Noble won’t stock books published by Amazon (digitaltrends.com)
• Barnes & Noble shuns Amazon books (seattlepi.com)

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Cloud computing is usually shortened for just cloud.  Cloud is now a word that most people carelessly throw around, because it’s one word which has been promoted heavily by the tech industry.  And I quote Wikipedia, “Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network (typically the Internet).” — Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing.  I’m surprised that Cloud hasn’t yet becoming an open source cloud as a service.

I think I need to clarify on what I mean by “cloud” as an open source cloud as a service.  Imagine having someone whips up an open source cloud as a service software that would allow strangers to come together and share computing resources, consequently allowing each participant to have more cloud storage space, cloud computational resource, and cloud this and that.  Of course, such an open source cloud as a service software needs to provide or implement a unique security protocol so it would be almost pointless to decrypt and pry for information without proper authorization.

Such open source cloud as a service software should be freely distributed to anyone who wants to promote their own open source cloud as a service environment/ecosystem.  I guess, someone just needs to start a first node, then the rest can join!  Once again, I like to emphasize on the security implementation; if a security implementation isn’t done right, instead of having an open source cloud as a service, people who participate might find their personal open source cloud as a service ecosystem to become a zombie service where hackers use this particular computing ecosystem to deploy attacks such as Denial-of-service.  It would be bad indeed.

Furthermore, if proper brains come together and agree, who would say a business model might not spring into existence from having an open source cloud as a service, right?  Anyhow, this idea of mine might be a foolish idea, but I don’t mind throwing foolish idea into the cyberspace.  Then again, this foolish idea might already be in the work by someone else who has yet to announce his new creation to the world; he who quietly codes away from his tiny table somewhere in this world.

Update:  Imagine an open source cloud as a service as an open source Internet (but a small cohesive cloud Internet ecosystem which can grow quite large), because people would be using one another computational resources, whether that be hardware and software, to create an open source cloud ecosystem which isn’t that different from a commercial cloud service/ecosystem.  Imagine Amazon S3, EC2, and other Amazon web services as open source services, and the participants don’t really need to spend cash/credit other than their already available physical hardware, software, and bandwidth.  Come to think of it, bandwidth might be a problem.  Nonetheless, BitTorrent works out just fine, and so open source cloud as a service might work out just fine too, I hope.  And yeah, I don’t think open source cloud as a service will be similar to BitTorrent, because this isn’t about peer to peer protocol, but it’s probably something else entirely.

Update:  I can see energy cost and frequent unplug/shut-down of hardware and shoddy hardware might hamper the idea of open source cloud as a service, but dedicated users/participants might not have such problems, I guess.

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• OStatic’s Best Read Open Source Resource Guides and Collections [OStatic] (ostatic.com)
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• BSD style license for Open Source Projects (adafruit.com)
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• Is cloud computing the answer to IT’s budgetary problems? (zdnet.com)
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• What is cloud computing ? What are its advantages ? (techlavya.wordpress.com)
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• 2012: What’s Ahead for Cloud Computing? (datacenterknowledge.com)
• Is cloud computing the answer to IT’s bugetary problems? (zdnet.com)
• A Public Manager’s Guide to Cloud Computing (blogs.cisco.com)
• It’s a data dilemma (thejc.com)
• The great cloud computing pricing debate (infoworld.com)
• Cloud computing issues have a familiar ring to them (zdnet.com)
• Cloud Computing Company Centuric Offers Reduced $3.99 Transfer Fees on Domain Registration (prnewswire.com)

Image by net_efekt via Flickr

Why do we even bother to shop at different online stores even though we hardly have to physically move about?  Perhaps, it’s convenient for us to just type another web address into the browser’s address bar, but it is not so pleasant for us to have to land on mediocre online store after mediocre online store, right?  Time in minutes does worth something so to speak.  Also, how can we trust new, mediocre online stores when we have huge online retailers such as Amazon?

Besides the conveniency of visiting online stores and trust factors, what more for us to consider having more online stores would be the way to go?  Perhaps, online shoppers are always onlooking for better online deals?  Obviously, the Internet is making it unbelievable easier to search for better deals than actually move about from one brick and mortar store after another.  Huge online stores such as Amazon makes it even easier, easier for online shoppers to search their stores for great deals of the day, the month, and the year.

Still, the question lingers in my mind is why people even bother to shop at different online stores even though the physical movement isn’t a part of the shopping equation?  Usually, the right sight, smell, taste, and touch of various shopping items might lead to an enhance shopping experience.  Even the smile from a retail clerk and a conversation with a friend in a retail store might lead to unwise spending but a happy shopping experience nonetheless.

Online shopping is way more private, but it can be done with social elements.  I think though, online shoppers prefer shopping in disguise more than announcing what they want to buy to the world.  In brick and mortar stores, shoppers will only have to worry how couple friends or family members with them at the time would know what they want to buy from the get go or how unwisely a purchase they make on the spot, but online shoppers can unwisely allow the whole Facebook know what they have done at what online stores.  Perhaps, announcing to the whole world (i.e., the Internet) of what you have purchased or shopped for is not as pleasant as just having few people around you in a brick and mortar store know what you have purchased or shopped for, right?

What online stores lack can be covered with providing shoppers with extra unique information and great amount of testimonies.  Unique information such as product comparison charts can add more values to online shopping experience than otherwise.  Online testimonies such as product rating and comments from other online shoppers can help online shoppers make their decisions on purchasing whatever online.  You certainly can’t do something as reading countless product testimonies in brick and mortar stores as easy as online stores, but it can be done.  Nonetheless, I don’t see brick and mortar stores have yet installing high tech equipments to allow shoppers to experience something similar to how things go when shopping online.  Of course, they can provide mobile apps to allow brick and mortar stores’ shoppers to experience product rating and testimonies, but this might also require brick and mortar stores to garner certain credible online presences for shoppers to use their mobile apps.

Without further nitpicking the differences between brick and mortar stores and online stores and what are the advantages and disadvantages between the two retail universes have, let me make a bold theory on how the future of online stores might become.  I think, online stores will eventually consolidate into only few big online stores.  Online shoppers do not actually need to venture to different online stores since they can’t really feel that they’re actually sweating from their shopping walkabout of brick and mortar stores.  Online stores aren’t for sightseeing, but these stores are for finding the best deals there are.  With that in mind, I fear mediocre, mid size online stores won’t have a chance of offering as many great saving deals as how bigger online stores can.  I think eventually, only few biggest online stores will stick around, mediocre online stores die out, and unique mom and pop online stores barely survive but survive nonetheless for these might have the ability to offer unique local products that can be found nowhere else.

How about brick and mortar stores of the future?  It might be so obvious that only big online stores such as Amazon would be able to have huge and successful brick and mortar presences.  My prediction for the future of brick and mortar stores will follow a similar pattern to how I’ve foolishly and boldly predicted the pattern of the future of online stores with a twist.  It’s that brick and mortar stores of certain attractive local hangouts and tourist destinations might end up to last with or without the need for a successful online presence.  To end my foolish predictions on retail universes, I have only to say that nobody knows the future, but one can instinctively project one’s thinking of the future of something; in this case of mine, it’s about the future of the retail universes.  (And I could be dead wrong!)

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Image by Brian Sawyer via Flickr

The first five million or so customers now have their new Kindle Fire from Amazon. Over half of those have already played with their new gadget while the rest are being gift wrapped for Christmas. Will those people wish for an iPad instead?

Although people keep comparing them, the two are not really related enough to be an either/or purchase, but the price of the Kindle brings the tablet within the financial reach of most.

The Fire is going to set many people’s Christmas alight, but it’s what the computer doesn’t do that will disappoint so many.

Where’s the Fire’s Camera?

The recipient of your gift will want to know where the camera is. Sorry folks, there isn’t one. You might want to Skype with your new toy, but you will have to wait for the next model. The lack of a camera shouldn’t stop the purchase as everyone has a phone with a camera.

The iPad isn’t really set for camera work, either, though at least it has one. The megapixels are too low for good photography, but they will be enough to take some simple photographs if all you want to do is email them to friends or post on your favorite social media site.

All iPad owners will need a separate iPhone because holding your iPad to take shots will make you look foolish. Try imagining it: a camera that large.

Where’s the Microphone?

Looking for the mike? You won’t find one on the Kindle Fire. If you thought this could take over as your business tool, forget it. The option to take short voice notes or dictate an attachment to your essential email just won’t happen. You will still need to carry around your digital voice recorder. That’s another failing to go with the lack of Skype capability.

Where’s the Rest of the Screen?

You know as soon as you open the package that the screen is so much smaller on the Fire than on the iPad. If you use your calculator app you will find you have 21 square inches against the iPad’s more generous 45. That is less than half the viewing space, for the failing mathematicians out there.

It does give you a much smaller and more portable gadget. You can carry it anywhere and it will fit in a surprisingly high number of pockets, but this might make it the next best thieves’ target.

How the smaller screen will affect your game playing is down to your preferences, but those on public transport may prefer the smaller model. It will be interesting to see if Apple launches a 7 inch model like the Fire and the smaller Samsung or whether Amazon goes for a 10 inch screen first.

I Can’t Find My 3G

Like the Nook tablet, with the Fire you don’t get the option of 3G or, what the latest gadget people require, 4G. You will only be able to connect online via Wi-Fi with the Fire. This shouldn’t cause a problem in most stationary uses, but for those roaming in the back seat of an auto, the lack of 3G might prove costly. Wi-Fi has become free almost everywhere, so at least your 3G data costs will be low.

The Difference Is In the Price

It’s not really fair to compare the two toys/computers. While some will argue that the difference is in the availability of apps for the iPad, that bridge is closing fast. Soon that won’t even be a consideration.

Whichever model you choose, you will have to battle with the brand’s parent company who insists that you trade exclusively through them. That is Amazon’s selling point; everything is available at a click and for those replacing their Kindle reader with the Fire, as long as they aren’t outside in blazing sun, the experience may be improved.

The lack of GPS in the Fire shouldn’t be a deterrent, but the lack of gigabytes under the hood might be, so you will be forced to use Amazon’s cloud experience. (How long before they start charging for that, we wonder?)

The price difference will be the tightest call. At just $199, almost anyone can buy a Kindle Fire while the $500 to $650 required for an iPad might be a bigger stretch. Perhaps the answer is to stop seeing the Fire as an iPad competitor and buy a Samsung tablet (with better use of the screen, Android and apps) instead.
–
Olivia Lennox is a writer, bookworm, and gadget-obsessed ebook fiend. She loves digital books and the freebies made possible by paperless reading, but hasn’t quite been convinced to sell her paperback library just yet.

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Please take heed of this specific warning:  This article wasn’t written by the founder of this blog (i.e., Vinh Nguyen).  This article had been submitted by a contributor, Olivia Lennox, and so the point of view, belief, and other values profess in this article might not be the same values that EssayBoard.com holds true.  If there are links within this article, please use virustotal.com to check to see if the link is indeed free of virus, trojan, and malware.  Also, you might want to use Google and other well known online resources to validate the contents of such links.  Enjoy!

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Some major brick and mortar retailers are worrying how Amazon could best them at their own games by rolling out Price Check app that help customers use their stores as showrooms.  Amazon could always allow customers to see better deals on Amazon through Price Check app.  Furthermore, Amazon could possibly allow customers to purchase products directly on Price Check app, but I don’t know if this is truly possible since I haven’t yet tested the app.  I just say Amazon could do it if they want to.  If they have done so, then that’s exactly my point.  I think this could potentially cripple retailer stores.

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I think Amazon is creating a new trend where more online stores will copy Amazon promotional approach.  We may never know, but if this specific approach becomes so effective, major brick and mortar retailer stores could lose big time.  Perhaps, in the near future, only true online retailer stores (i.e., as big as Amazon or even bigger) could afford to open brick and mortar stores so customers could experience the wall garden experience.

My use of the phrase wall garden is to compare what I mentioned to how Steve Jobs executed his business philosophy.  That is, Steve Jobs preferred in having Apple owned the hardware and software platforms through and through, and he went even further by skipping the third party retailer distributors and built the many brick and mortar Apple stores.  I think the successful existence of brick and mortar Apple stores might be an excellence model for online stores to create the wall garden experience Steve Jobs adamantly worshipped.

I think sooner or later, some smart online stores might program their apps to allow the lowering of product prices on the fly so customers will save money more and the online stores will make more money at a faster rate.  Of course, the algorithms for such apps need to be super smart, otherwise online stores could sell products way below the profitable point and end up lose more money than they would want.  Brick and mortar retailer stores might see this as constant price wars.  Obviously, I don’t think brick and mortar retailer stores can beat this kind of tactics, because such physical stores need to have ways to monitor product prices of online competitors and then change prices in the moments.

I can also see mom and pop stores that serve local communities lose out to online stores if people love to frequently use mobile apps to compare products at physical stores against online stores.  Such phenomenon will drive mom and pop stores out of business.  Perhaps, the future can only embrace brick and mortar stores that truly have big online presences.

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I have a friend who concerns about should he buy an iPad 2 or some other tablets on Black Friday.  The truth about tablet is not all about the hardware!  It’s great to have great hardware on a tablet if one decides to play cutting edge games on a tablet.  My bet is that most hardcore gamers rather play their games on consoles and computers than on tablets.  My friend definitely isn’t a hardcore gamer, and so I don’t think his wanting to buy a tablet is for gaming.

I figure my friend wants a tablet for other reasons and not for playing cutting edge games.  These reasons might be watching movies on Netflix, listening to music, using apps, playing casual games, reading news, checking emails, keeping notes, reading ebooks, and other trivial stuffs.  Anyhow, I explain to my friend that he should get a tablet according to his content needs, and so should you!

Let say if you have so much contents that are tying to iTunes already, and you also want to use iTunes Match and iCloud, then I suggest you buy an iPad 2.  If you have mostly Amazon contents or wanting to invest in Amazon contents such as buying Amazon ebooks, then I suggest you check out Kindle Fire.  Of course, there are other tablets besides the two that I’d mentioned, but none of those tablets could beat the two that I mentioned in regarding to contents.  For your information though, other tablets might have beefier hardware specifications than iPad 2 and Kindle Fire, and iPad 2 has beefier hardware specification than Kindle Fire.

I hope my friend will buy a tablet that fits his content needs, and so should you!  Good luck on finding a super deal for a tablet on Black Friday!

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Creative Commons, type of Attribution, Image by Jennie Faber on Flickr on files and folders

Can Dropbox endanger the fames and fortunes of Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple?  OK, this question does sound wacky, but even Dropbox’s CEO Drew Houston hints that he wants Dropbox goes beyond just files and folders and sync.  The question is, how beyond?

I think Dropbox’s people can overdo the idea of going beyond what is Dropbox right now if they want to, and in this process they might invade into the territories (i.e., specific markets) of big corporations such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple.  How?  What if Dropbox wants to develop search system within its ecosystem, and this search system will also allow users to incorporate external search data such as how Google does right now?  What if Dropbox wants to develop and integrate social elements that are similar to what Facebook has?  What if Dropbox wants to open up an application store and sell ebooks and electronic documents and more to users (i.e., this would be the territories of Amazon and Apple)?

It’s all about the conveniency!  If Dropbox wants to surprise users by providing all types of conveniences such as the ones I had suggested in the paragraph before this one, then I suspect that the users will be more than happy to go along with the development.  Personally, I can see myself immerse into Dropbox’s more than just what Dropbox is now ecosystem more and more as long Dropbox promises the essential services such as storing data in the cloud are still being prioritized for further improvements.  Of course, let not forget about security; security is the utmost important element in the practice of keeping users’ data safe and allowing users to sleep soundly at night, knowing their data won’t be in the hands of the wrongdoers.

Source:  http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/10/dropbox-is-working-on-ways-to-move-beyond-file-folders/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+
Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

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• Cloud Storage Firm Dropbox Recognizes Business Use with New Service (blogs.wsj.com)
• Google Drive to “have a software component to take on Dropbox” (9to5google.com)
• (Founder Stories) Houston: “In 18 Months, You Are Going To See Little Dropbox Buttons Everywhere” (techcrunch.com)
• Where Is Dropbox’s Power? (blogs.hbr.org)

I also notice that you can trade in your Apple iPad 2 MC769LL/A Tablet (16GB, WiFi, Black) for $330 Amazon.com Gift Card, but this price might change for obvious reasons.  Browsing other categories of trade in programs on Amazon is an eye opening for me, because Amazon is willing to pay users some Amazon credits (sometimes good amount Amazon credits) for their old electronic devices.  Perhaps, Amazon will resell the buyback electronic devices for profits?  Amazon might also make even more profits by having users spend their Amazon credits on Amazon.com.  Anyhow, users are also the winners since they can get some Amazon’s credits for getting rid of their unwanted old electronic devices.

Amazon are sorting trade in items in 3 different categories, Like New, Good, and Acceptable.  According to the trade in items categories, Amazon pays users with certain Amazon credits for their items.  For an example, users who trade in brand new item such as iPhone 4 gets the most Amazon credits.

Source:  http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/amazon-now-accepts-old-kindles-in-exchange-for-new-ones/

Obviously, the deal is that customers have to sign a contract for a penny a phone deal.  Nonetheless, this kind of deal is rather sweet, because a penny is something everyone hates to keep around.  People rather bundle up their pennies into sticks of pennies so they can haul such pennies to banks to cash out green papers, but some people feel repulsive at the idea for they think it’s somewhat embarrassing.  OK, did I digress?

Anyhow, I think Amazon has an interest in seeing Apple’s trademark products such as iPhone wane in popularity.  As long Apple keeps on gaining ground in the smartphone and tablet markets, the more Amazon will be scared for Amazon has to face with the possibility that more customers will shop for ebooks and music and movies and magazines on Apple’s platforms only.  Amazon is once again up to its old trick by selling things much much cheaper than its competitors could ever have done so, under any circumstance.  I think Amazon hopes this will eventually weed out all competitors in price wars.  This time around, Amazon means business in the context of a price war on contents.

In summary, at the agonies of Apple’s adversaries, for the limited time Amazon will sell over 30 Verizon’s phones for a penny each.  This move might prevent people to become Apple’s iPhone 4S customers, because they will be bind to the contracts under Verizon’s phones.  I doubt Apple will cut price, because Apple loves to think it’s above the fray — price war won’t be happening here folks! Nonetheless, Amazon might eventually give Apple a scare anyway unless Apple’s charm is too hard to beat!  Even cutting prices to a penny cannot win the day?

For your information:  According to PCMag, iPhone and iPad aren’t part of the deal, but Verizon’s top of the line phones will be part of the deal after all!  PCMag points out that even Motorola Droid Bionic is under the deal.  This phone has super fast Internet access and dual core processor.  Its original price was $299 with two year contract, but now it’s a penny with a contract.  So on and so on…

Source:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394726,00.asp