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Monday, June 15th, 1998 SoftBook Launches Electronic Book System SoftBook Press Inc. announced its new SoftBook® electronic book and the SoftBook Network®. The SoftBook holds up to 100,000 pages of text, pictures and graphics that readers download directly from the SoftBook Network. Material on the SoftBook is read one page at a time and includes a back-lit display. The SoftBook includes a lithium ion battery pack that provides up to five hours of viewing with a one-hour recharge. The SoftBook system enables corporations, publishers, and educational institutions to make corporate documents, books, and periodicals available over a phone line at a rate of 100 pages per minute. "Imagine a single, lightweight book that holds dozens of documents, periodicals, and novels that you can read on planes, at home or take along with you anywhere you want to go," said Jim Sachs, founder, chairman and CEO of SoftBook Press. "Electronic books have been long awaited and our SoftBook is truly revolutionary as the first complete, content-rich electronic book to hit the market." The SoftBook becomes "ready to read" by opening the protective cover. Readers can search for words and phrases, view text in a choice of font sizes, make annotations directly on the screen, erase them, highlight text, bookmark pages and link to related information. Users can save and store their materials with all annotations intact on their online personal bookshelf. Refreshing the SoftBook with new reading material requires connecting to the SoftBook Network. Once readers are online, they can browse for proprietary content in their corporate InfoCenter or purchase books and periodicals from the SoftBookstore, a virtual bookstore for SoftBook users. The SoftBook will be available in Fall 1998 starting at $299 plus $9.95 per month. The monthly fee includes access to a variety of free books and periodicals, unlimited online bookshelf space, free software updates, and 24 hour-per-day access to the SoftBook Network including the SoftBookstore and corporate InfoCenters. NuvoMedia Announces RocketBook Electronic Book System NuvoMedia Inc. announced the arrival of the RocketBook electronic book and distribution system. Providing readers with a new way to purchase and read books, the RocketBook system allows for the publishing, distribution, purchasing and reading of electronic books over the Web via a network of online booksellers. In making the announcement, Martin Eberhard, NuvoMedia's founder and CEO also named barnesandnoble.com as a strategic partner and investor in the company. "We have developed an electronic distribution system that fits transparently into the existing business model of both publishers and booksellers, making for a seamless electronic reading experience for book lovers everywhere," said Martin Eberhard, founder and CEO of NuvoMedia. The RocketBook and future RocketBook-enabled readers allows users to carry a small library with them. The 20-oz. hand-held appliance can hold up to 4,000 pages of text and graphics at a time. Its user interface is designed for reading with optimized screen technology and includes a battery life of 20 hours. Being digital, books read on the RocketBook can be browsed, searched, annotated, highlighted, book marked, linked and referenced in ways impossible with a paper book. Paul Schrader, Michael Mann to Attend Austin Film Festival Writer/director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, American Gigolo) and writer/director Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Miami Vice) will be among the panelists sharing information and inspiration about screenwriting and filmmaking during the Austin Film Festival's 5th Annual Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference, to be held Oct. 1-4, 1998, in Austin, Texas. Also scheduled to take part in the conference's 50 panels are: -- Writer Brian Helgeland (Academy Award-winning LA Confidential, A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) -- Writer/director Stuart Gordon (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and creator of Disney TV series Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, cult classic H.P. Lovecraft's Reanimator) -- Writer/director John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf In London) -- Writer Dan Petrie Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, The Big Easy, president of Writers Guild of America-West) -- Writer Kevin Williamson (Scream 1, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, now working on his directorial debut, Killing Mrs. Tingle) -- Writers Paul Dyer and Sarah Dyer (Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, animated TV series Superman/Batman) -- Writers/executive producers Dan Staley and Rob Long (Cheers, George & Leo) Joining this impressive list are members of the festival's Board of Advisors including producer Barry Josephson (Men In Black, Air Force One, In The Line Of Fire); writer/producer Polly Platt (Pretty Baby, War of the Roses, Bottle Rocket, Say Anything); writer/producer Bill Wittliff (Lonesome Dove, Legends of the Fall); Oscar-nominated writer/director Whit Stillman (Barcelona, The Last Days Of Disco); Columbia Pictures Senior Vice President of Production Doug Belgard; and Kopelson Entertainment Vice President of Production Matthew Gross. Between now and Oct. 1, the list will grow as more than 70 industry professionals annually take part in the conference, addressing such panel topics as "Practicing Your Pitching Skills," "Writing Visually" and "Budgeting Your Independent Film." The Austin Film Festival is the first festival dedicated to celebrating the writer, the script and their ultimate yield -- the movie. In further pursuit of recognizing the writer, the festival sponsors an annual script competition that received more than 3,500 screenplays this year. The Columbia Pictures release Excess Baggage and Warner Bros.' upcoming Goodbye Lover were both from scripts found through the festival's competition. TV Guide To Continue TV Listings TV Guide will not abandon its television listings, as has been incorrectly reported. The largest-selling weekly magazine in the country, TV Guide has a circulation of 13 million. The magazine was launched on April 3, 1953 and is currently celebrating its 45th Anniversary. In addition to television listings, TV Guide provides reporting on television's major issues, top trends and personalities "Accurate television programming listings are the backbone of the new TV Guide branded products," said Anthea Disney, chairman and CEO of News America Publishing Group. "The vast listings database for TV Guide's current 182 regional editions will drive all of the new TV Guide products, including a cable-system-distributed full-size magazine. With the expansion of the magazine's listings service to on-screen and expanded online formats, TV viewers will be able to get TV Guide's trusted listings in various forms. Think of it as America's 'bible of television' creating a 'new testament.' But TV Guide magazine will continue to offer the comprehensive listings that 37 million readers rely on each week." Thursday's announcement that the magazine is to be combined with United Video Satellite Group's Prevue Channel prompted discussion of the future of television listings. "Today marks the day that TV Guide is no longer just a magazine," Disney said Thursday. "It's a multi-platformed juggernaut." The renaming of the Prevue Channel as the TV Guide Channel will bring TV Guide's listings and editorial expertise to the pre-eminent on-screen source of television listings. The Prevue Channel reaches 50 million homes in the United States and 4 million overseas. New Interview Show with Authors of Books on Technology Page View, a new daily cable show on ZDTV starting on Monday, June 15, 1998, will offer one-on-one interviews with authors such as former Apple CEO Gil Amelio (On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple Computer) and Rick Smolan (One Digital Day: How the Microchip Is Changing Our World). The show, hosted by technology anchor Craig Miller, is the latest addition to the ZDTV lineup, the new 24-hour cable channel devoted to computers and the Internet. ZDTV is an affiliate of Ziff-Davis. Richard Fisher, executive vice president, ZDTV and Ziff-Davis television productions, said, "Our show is all about the convergence of three great media: books, television, and the Internet. If you look at the incredible number of books being published in these areas or at the number of best-selling books by or about people like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Andrew Grove, you'll realize that we'll always have an abundance of fresh, important and topical information to discuss." Anchor Craig Miller will interview prominent authors and lead roundtable discussions. Upcoming topics include online investing, protecting your online business, dealing with the year 2000 issue, Windows '98, religion and cyberspace, and online privacy. Mattel Agrees To Acquire Pleasant Company Mattel, Inc. and Pleasant Company announced an agreement by which Mattel will acquire the Wisconsin-based direct marketer of books, dolls, clothing, accessories and activity products bearing the American Girl brand for $700 million. Mattel also announced that Pleasant Rowland, president and founder of Pleasant Company, will become vice chairman of Mattel, Inc. and will serve on Mattel's board of directors. "This is a perfect strategic fit," Jill Barad, Mattel's chairman and chief executive officer, said. "In addition to acquiring a blue chip brand, we will benefit from Pleasant Company's state-of-the-art direct marketing operation, and their expertise in integrating books and products -- a competency that can be shared with other Mattel brands," she said. "And through Mattel's global network we can adapt the American Girl concept to be relevant to girls all around the world. The American Girls Collection, Pleasant Company's flagship product line, integrates books, dolls and accessories designed to give girls ages seven and up an understanding of American history and foster pride in the traditions of growing up an American girl. The American Girl brand also includes: American Girl magazine, a bimonthly publication with 700,000 subscribers; the American Girl of Today, a line of dolls, accessories and writing journals that reflect the individuality of girls today; A.G. Gear, contemporary clothing and lifestyle accessories; a list of best-selling American Girl advice and activity books; and Bitty Baby, a line of baby dolls and board books designed for girls ages three and older. Around The Web America Online Agreement Ticks Off Writers ZDNet Portable E-Books Hit Market, With Bertelsmann Backing Bookwire Avon Launches Twilight, New Mystery Imprint Bookwire Evans, in New Role, Likes Being 'Invisible' NY Times New Republic Says "No Excuses" in Publishing Scandal Wired Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2011 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
