Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

I just started rereading Operating System Concepts, 8th Ed. Why? Largely because now I can, or more precisely now I can for a reasonable price. I read  Operating System Concepts the first time while generally avoiding more productive uses of my time at U of T's engineering library. How is it that now all of a sudden I'm once again delving into the inner workings of modern operating systems? It's thanks to Amazon's newly launch textbook rental option. Rather than paying the full $70 price for the Kindle version of the book, already a huge step down from the $113 for the hard cover, I'm shelling out only $29 to rent the book for a month. 

I've wanted to write about e-textbooks for a while but just haven't had that much to report. With the introduction of the iPad, e-textbooks, which had existed in embryonic form got something of a boost, but have since languished. Almost since day one of the iPad I've been an avid user of Coursesmart's offerings. What I found most compelling about Coursesmart was the ability to access the text both on the iPad and through a traditional web browser. My single biggest complaint with CourseSmart was that the books, while rentals, weren't very much cheaper than the paper versions. They also didn't provide much control over the rental period. That said, they were there offering booking when no one else was and I've happily used their service for the last two years. 

Not long after I started using CourseSmart, an app, Inkling, promising a dramatically different and improved textbook experience appeared on the Apple App Store. I downloaded it immediately only to be stymied by the all too common problem of a lack of selection. I did work my way through the demo text which was impressive, taking advantage of all the iPad has to offer in term of dynamic interactive content. That said, I'm not convinced Inkling's process of translating the text into a more iPad native experience is really all that much of an improvement, over CourseSmart's simple transcription of the original text. Then again I may just be showing my age. While over the last year Inklings selection has grown, it hasn't grown much. It seems an additional downside to the more interactive translation is that the process is both labor intensive and time consuming relative to simply making the static text available digitally.

When last I considered writing this post it was because a company by the name of Kno had announce they were offering both an iPad app and a reasonable selection of textbooks. Though I haven't had the opportunity to try their software first hand it seems like the ideal meld of the CourseSmart transcription with many of the additional features that Inkling text offer. So why didn't I write the post and why even now am I largely limited to relaying what's on their web site? sadly because they've limited access to both the app and textbook store to those in the United States. I do continue to hold out hope that they bring the service north.

Finally, and I know this really is burying the lead, as I mentioned above, Amazon has introduced a textbook rental option to it's Kindle store. From what I can'tell the selection lies somewhere between that of CourseSmarts and Inkling. The press release states the store offers "tens of thousands of textbooks are available for the 2011 school year from leading textbook publishers such as John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis". Initially I found it difficult to find text that offered the rental option beyond the few advertised on the programs launch site. Some quick work with Google's site search typing in "site:amazon.com "rent from" textbook" got me quite a few results but not many for high quality up to date mainstream texts. I tried searching for the required textbooks for a few UofT summer courses and came up with nothing. In the end I chose to revisit Operating System Concepts as it was one of the few titles listed on the launch page. 

In a departure from the other etextbook service, Amazon let's you choose the duration of the rental period, starting at a minimum of thirty days. With the addition of each day Amazon adds a few cents to the rental cost until it reaches the purchase price, otherwise the process is the same as purchasing the book outright. I haven't yet tried, but Amazon also claims to let you add additional days or purchase the book outright at any point in the future. As for the book itself, it's pretty much standard fare both on the iPad and the Mac Kindle application. I haven't tried it on a Kindle device but suspect it would be much the same but with less fidelity as regards the diagrams. My only complaint, again beyond the modest selection, is that I can't view the book through a browser as with CourseSmart. I do hold out hope as Amazon has long hinted that a browser based option for viewing Kindle books is in the works. I had thought it imminent when they began allowing the viewing of the initial chapter of Kindle books via browser but little has changed since then.   One final note on the Kindle textbook rentals; Amazon indicated that any notes made using the Kindle software will be preserved past the rental period and will remain accessible.

All said I'm thrilled by the effort Amazon is making, if somewhat tepid on the results so far. I love the idea and promise of e-textbooks both in their dynamism and portability as well as in their cost. I also want to point out that I've only looked at the efforts stemming from the traditional publishers and evolution of the traditional publishing model on the web. I haven't addressed the growning number of textbooks and textbook like material emerging from various free and open efforts, something I hope to write about at a later date.