Read in your browser

Have you ever wanted to read a library ebook without having to download any software or an app?  As long as you have an internet connection, you can read ebooks in your browser.  And don’t worry about losing your place—your place will be saved for the next time you log into your Ohio eBook Project account.

Start by checking out an ebook as usual.  When taken to the Bookshelf page, rather than selecting Download so that the book can be read in an OverDrive Media Console or Kindle app, or opened with Adobe Digital Editions to be transferred to another device, click on Read (In your browser).

The book will now open in a new tab.  Unless otherwise selected, the book always opens with a tutorial on how to read the book in the browser.  The most important direction is knowing that clicking the right side of the book moves the screen to the next page.

Down the right side of the screen are options for navigating through the book, including the Table of Contents, Bookmarks, and Search.  There are also options for changing the appearance of the book, including Font size.

 

And don’t worry about remembering where you left off.  When you’re ready to read more of your book, you simply log back into the Ohio eBook Project and click on your Account near the top right of the screen.  This takes you to your Bookshelf, where your book will be waiting.  When you click on Read (In your browser), the book will open where you left off, even if you’re using a different computer.

Shelia

PS The above screen captures were made on a Windows 7 computer using Internet Explorer 10.

Apple Guilty of Antitrust Violations

A District Court Judge has ruled in favor of the US Department of Justice in its antitrust suit against Apple, Inc.  According to the ruling, Apple conspired with publishers to illegally raise the price of ebooks beginning in 2010 when Apple was eager to become an ebook retailer with the launch of the iPad.  Along with Apple, the suit originally named five publishers as well: Penguin, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan.  All five publishers previously settled out of court, agreeing to reimburse customers $164 million in overcharges for ebooks.  Apple was the only defendant who went to trial with the Department of Justice, and even after this loss, Apple has said that they plan to appeal the decision.  Suits by the Attorneys General of individual States against Apple and the publishers have yet to be decided.

Further coverage of the decision can be found at the following websites:

Ars Technica

Forbes

Paid Content

Wall Street Journal

The full ruling can be read here.

Shelia

If you own a Kindle, you’ve likely already heard that three publishers have settled with the Department of Justice concerning an anti-trust suit alleging that publishers colluded to fix the price of ebooks.  Amazon has sent emails to Kindle owners alerting them that soon they should receive store credit that can be used to buy either ebooks or other merchandize from Amazon.  (Kindle owners can also request a check.)  These credits apply to ebooks purchased from the three publishers who have settled—Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster—that were purchased between April 2010 and May 2012.  Publishers Penguin and Macmillan, as well as Apple, are still fighting the charges.  No court date has yet been set, but it appears as though the case may not make it to court until next year.  Also, there is no word yet on how the announced merger between Penguin and Random House (the only major publisher not charged by the Department of Justice for price fixing) may affect Penguin’s role in the suit and ebook retailing in general.