Vook announced the creation of MotherVook 1.0, a technology tool to provide a streamlined system for creating multi-media e-books, as well as an exclusive partnership with online video marketing services company, TurnHere. Vook’s publishing tool and increased video capacity through its partnership with TurnHere should give it better capability to meet the production needs of the digital publishing industry and produce many new titles in the coming year. An obstacle to this point in producing a multimedia ebook has been finding an effective system to assist in creating these new content mediums. The MotherVook 1.0 tool addresses this need by providing a system that can scale to production needs for multi-media e-books from multiple publishers and partners. Vook’s partnership with TurnHere will provide the company with a significant video capacity, which they view as a key element to the multi-media e-book experience. TurnHere’s network of more than 12,000 professional filmmakers across more than 70 countries produces online video content for companies. Feature highlights of the MotherVook 1.0 tool include: Central database management of all of the multi-media elements in a multimedia ebook including the text, jacket, e-commerce, pricing, video, links and images; Production of single XML doc that feeds across different devices and auto-formats; Streamlined text (epub) or word importing; Instant preview with partners, publishers, filmmakers and authors; Simple insert of assets to edit, preview and create vook to the web version, iphone and other devices; and the capacity to create multiple titles for the web version and preview mode. http://vook.com/
Category: Publishing & media (Page 25 of 53)
Amazon.com has announced details of a new program that will enable authors and publishers who use the Kindle Digital Text Platform (DTP) to earn a larger share of revenue from each Kindle book they sell. For each Kindle book sold, authors and publishers who choose the new 70 percent royalty option will receive 70 percent of list price, net of delivery costs. This new option will be in addition to and will not replace the existing DTP standard royalty option. This new 70 percent royalty option will become available on June 30, 2010. Delivery costs will be based on file size and pricing will be $0.15/MB. At today’s median DTP file size of 368KB, delivery costs would be less than $0.06 per unit sold. For example, on an $8.99 book an author would make $3.15 with the standard option, and $6.25 with the new 70 percent option. DTP authors and publishers will be able to select the royalty option that best meets their needs. Books from authors and publishers who choose the 70 percent royalty option will have access to all the same features and be subject to all the same requirements as books receiving the standard royalty rate. In addition, to qualify for the 70 percent royalty option, books must satisfy the following set of requirements: The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99; This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book; The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights; The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech; This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store. Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70 percent royalty will be calculated off the sales price. The 70 percent royalty option is for in-copyright works and is unavailable for works published before 1923 (public domain books). At launch, the 70 percent royalty option will only be available for books sold in the United States. http://dtp.amazon.com/
DocZone by Really Strategies, Inc., a software as a service (SaaS) XML content management system, delivers multi-channel output from single-source content. DocZone Publisher offers publishers a web-based editorial and production system that supports the creation, management, translation, and single-source publishing of content. DocZone Publisher offers CMS functionality in one system and provides support for high-end XML-based composition to PDF, HTML, EPUB, online help, and MS-Word formats. www.doczone.com.
Inmedius, Inc. announced the distribution of S1000Dimpact v4, to provide support for the S1000D Issue 4.0 Schema, including Descriptive, Illustrated Parts Data (IPD), and Procedural document types or Data Modules (DMs). The change management software links S1000D technical documentation and Logistic Support Analysis Record (LSAR) data, so that modifications in engineering data are tracked and implemented by publication departments. The efficiency of creating initial S1000D Data Modules and managing changes from the logistics source can be enhanced with Impact. Users map technical publishing structures to the logistics source, track changes and create Data Module Requirements Lists (DMRLs) for S1000D projects. Impact also provide workflow capabilities, audit trails and reporting functions to maintain controls and manage changes. Impact is one of seven modules in the Inmedius S1000D Publishing Suite, an integrated solution set, supporting the entire S1000D technical documentation lifecycle. The software modules work together, integrating authoring through publishing. Browser-based Impact works with S1000Dmanager, facilitating a direct link between LSAR data and the S1000D Common Source Database (CSDB) to review and manage engineering changes. www.inmediusS1000D.com
Plastic Logic unveiled QUE (pronounced “Q”). More than an eReader, QUE is designed specifically to provide a premium reading experience and access to content anywhere anytime, while simplifying the multi-faceted lifestyle of business professionals. QUE was designed to have the benefits of paper, but without the weight and clutter. Just like paper, QUE is easy to hold and feels good in your hands. But it’s easier to search and find what you’re looking for. The size of a pad of paper, about 1/3 inch thick, and weighing less than many periodicals (about a pound), QUE features a 10.7-inch shatterproof plastic display. In addition to business and professional newspapers, periodicals and eBooks, QUE supports reading and annotating document formats business users need (including PDF, Microsoft Office, ePub documents and more). With the QUE software, you can convert and transfer content from your PC, Mac computer, or BlackBerry smartphone to your QUE. QUE has integrated reviewing tools. Add a note and use the virtual keyboard to include your comments, highlight text, scribble free form, and even add a stamp to emphasize a point. The QUE Store offers a collection of reading material especially geared to the business professional. QUE users will be able to connect to fresh content on-the-go, on the QUE Store: to search, purchase and download wirelessly via Wi-Fi and AT&T’s 3G network. Plastic Logic also announced new partnerships, including the Down Jones company and the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and All Things Digital, Forbes and Fast Company, Sporting News and major regional newspapers, including the Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald, and San Jose Mercury News. These publications join previously announced strategic partnerships with Financial Times, USA Today, the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, MIT Technology Review, Popular Science, and IDG publication titles including CIO, Network World, and Computerworld. Publications on the QUE Store are available ranging from one-time use to ongoing subscriptions. The price for QUE will range from $649.00 for the 4GB QUE model with WiFi that holds up to 35,000 documents, to $799.00 for the 8GB QUE model with WiFi and 3G that holds up to 75,000 documents. Preorders for the QUE proReader may be placed at the QUE Store. Beginning in mid-April 2010, QUE will be available for shipping. Later in 2010, QUE will be available through the Barnes & Noble stores nationwide and online at Barnes & Noble.com http://www.QUE.com, http://www.PlasticLogic.com
WoodWing has released its Enterprise 7 Publishing System. Enterprise 7 comes with improvements for magazine, newspaper, book and corporate publishers. The Enterprise 7 publishing system is being backed by new versions of Content Station – WoodWing’s multichannel publishing tool for content producers – and the Smart Connection plug-ins for Adobe InDesign and InCopy. Focus for the version 7 release has been on new Search 2.0 functionality, refinement of cross-media and social media publishing, as well as usability improvements and extended platform support. Enterprise’s out-of-the-box integration with the Drupal open-source Web CMS has been enhanced, and additional integrations have been developed to make publishing to social media networks, such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr easy and efficient. Many other integrations exist. Users of Content Station 7 now also have access to Search 2.0 options. When running a search, results are classified. Parallel workflow is being supported by updated versions of the Smart Connection Plug-ins, providing a streamlined integration with Adobe InDesign and InCopy. Designers and editors have direct access to content in the Enterprise repository from within their Adobe applications. Supported by workflow options, users can work simultaneously on layout and text, and communicate using sticky notes and comments. In the background, Enterprise keeps track of versions and takes care of production security. Enterprise 7 is ready to support all latest platforms, including Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, Mac OS 10.6 “Snow Leopard” and Adobe CS4. The memory footprint of Enterprise has been reduced and the server performance has increased. http://www.woodwing.com
FastPencil announced their eBook Publish-Ready Format for eReaders offering an authoring solution to ensure an author’s book can be read anywhere today and in the future. FastPencil provides authors with an end-to-end publishing platform where they can maintain control of the content creation, price, distribution and sales activity. FastPencil gives eBook authors flexibility. For instance, authors can take individual book chapters and create eBook editions to promote the larger work. Short-story writers can also use FastPencil to create and publish their stories. Also, as eReaders incorporate multi-media, such as video, audio, animation, slides presentations and games, FastPencil will provide support. FastPencil Publish-Ready Format Features: Auto-generate table of contents, Auto-pagination, Auto-merge into professional book design template, Auto-merge into eBook formats, and Uphold Industry standards compliance (title page, copyright, ISBN). The FastPencil eBook Publish-Ready Format is available now at http://www.FastPencil.com
eZ Systems announced the immediate release of extensions for eZ Publish 4.2. eZ Publish Style Editor is a brand new extension providing a tool to change the overall look and feel of an eZ Publish-based website. Webmasters are able to switch in a ‘visual edit’ mode while managing sites featuring eZ Flow or the eZ Publish Website Interface. The visual edit mode provides a user interface for managing the look and feel of a site’s pages by editing the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and Images used by the site. This extension is immediately available as certified software, and supported as an add-on to ez Publish Premium. The eZ XML export extension helps you manage the content you provide to 3rd-party content platforms. It gives you control over which content is exported, the XML export format with support for XML Schema (XSD) and XSLT post-processing, and a configurable set of delivery options in order to industrialize and automatize the content delivery. This extension is also immediately available as certified software, and supported as an add-on to ez Publish Premium. Teamroom is a collaboration solution based on eZ Publish. Make your team members’ lives easier with simple management of teamroom members, information sharing, an open collaboration workflow, event and team document management, and confidentiality levels for your teamrooms. Teamroom is packaged as an extension, and available as a beta in the contribution area for eZ Publish extensions. Teamroom will have an official release in conjunction with the 4.3 release of eZ Publish. http://ez.no/
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