CourseSmart Brings 7,000+ Textbooks to the iPhone and iPod Touch

[Quillz]

Now this is something worthy for me! I will check it out and see how it turn out. Finally, the option of not having to haul with me 5+ lbs in books is here

Except not every textbook would be available, and it's really up to the discretion of the professor whether or not textbook alternatives may be used.

Some professors don't allow notebook computers in class because people use them for distracting activities. A tablet computer would have the same issues.

 

[Black Belt]

Well some professors like their fascism but as far as I am concerned they can go to hell. Electronic devices are the wave of the future, luddite professors need not apply. And yes, this is way too much for an ebook and renting at that! It takes just as much effort to write a regular book which can had for $9.95 electronically and it is yours forever. The $200 price tag is just professors being arrogant. And many write their own textbook and force students to buy it at outrageous prices. So I wouldn't cry too hard for these clowns. Having worked with major colleges and universities, I know tenured professors make DAMN GOOD money and textbooks pay for their exotic trips to smooze with other arrogant professors. It's time for professors to live in the real world like the rest of us. Boo Hoo.

 

[frankly]

Well some professors like their fascism but as far as I am concerned they can go to hell. Electronic devices are the wave of the future, luddite professors need not apply. And yes, this is way too much for an ebook and renting at that! It takes just as much effort to write a regular book which can had for $9.95 electronically and it is yours forever. The $200 price tag is just professors being arrogant. And many write their own textbook and force students to buy it at outrageous prices. So I wouldn't cry too hard for these clowns. Having worked with major colleges and universities, I know tenured professors make DAMN GOOD money and textbooks pay for their exotic trips to smooze with other arrogant professors. It's time for professors to live in the real world like the rest of us. Boo Hoo.

Jealous, party of one, your table is now available. Right this way sir...

 

[FOH Dave]

Won't be buying a tablet if this is the case

Why would I buy an electronic version if it is time-limited? I still have all of my books from culinary school ('04 graduate) and refer to them often. In my humble opinion this is a scam. Read the details, which by the way are buried fairly deep, from CourseSmart website.

Sorry Charlie, I don't want a subscription to a book and when I buy a book I want to own it for as long as I care.

CourseSmart and other publishers won't sell me a text book (or any book) and Apple won't sell me a tablet with this sort of limited use policy.

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Length of Subscription.

The length of subscriptions to individual CourseSmart eTextbooks may vary. The subscription period can be seen on each CourseSmart eTextbook's product page and is also visible at each step of the subscription process. Once you have subscribed to a CourseSmart eTextbook, the subscription expiration date is visible beside each CourseSmart eTextbook title on the My CourseSmart page. Most subscriptions will last approximately six (6) months. You can renew your subscription to your CourseSmart eTextbooks from the CourseSmart website, as needed.

Expiration of Downloads.

A downloaded version of an eTextbook will expire at the same time that a subscription for that eTextbook will expire. The expiration date is visible if you mouse over the title of the eTextbook in the bookshelf.

 

[alent1234]

Well some professors like their fascism but as far as I am concerned they can go to hell. Electronic devices are the wave of the future, luddite professors need not apply. And yes, this is way too much for an ebook and renting at that! It takes just as much effort to write a regular book which can had for $9.95 electronically and it is yours forever. The $200 price tag is just professors being arrogant. And many write their own textbook and force students to buy it at outrageous prices. So I wouldn't cry too hard for these clowns. Having worked with major colleges and universities, I know tenured professors make DAMN GOOD money and textbooks pay for their exotic trips to smooze with other arrogant professors. It's time for professors to live in the real world like the rest of us. Boo Hoo.

which e-textbook can you buy for $9.95 where the same paper one costs $200?

 

[Big Dave]

I would love it if I could get a textbook in .pdf format. That way you could use spotlight to search it during timed open book quizes!

 

[frankly]

Why would I buy an electronic version if it is time-limited? I still have all of my books from culinary school ('04 graduate) and refer to them often. In my humble opinion this is a scam. Read the details, which by the way are buried fairly deep, from CourseSmart website.

Do you really not have the ability to see where some people would find this useful?

1) Most people while in school have to take courses that are not related to their major and they would likely not want or need to keep those books after the class.

2) The used book and book buyback industry is HUGE. How can that possibly be if no one wants to get rid of their book when the class is finished?

You may want to keep every book you've ever purchased but you are in the minority and product options should not be limited to the way you use them.

 

[alent1234]

Do you really not have the ability to see where some people would find this useful?

1) Most people while in school have to take courses that are not related to their major and they would likely not want or need to keep those books after the class.

2) The used book and book buyback industry is HUGE. How can that possibly be if no one wants to get rid of their book when the class is finished?

You may want to keep every book you've ever purchased but you are in the minority and product options should not be limited to the way you use them.

textbooks change very little year to year so people sell them off and buy them cheap and used. the prices being charged on e-textbooks are a lot more than a used textbook and you can't resell it.

 

[FOH Dave]

1) Most people while in school have to take courses that are not related to their major and they would likely not want or need to keep those books after the class.

2) The used book and book buyback industry is HUGE. How can that possibly be if no one wants to get rid of their book when the class is finished?

You may want to keep every book you've ever purchased but you are in the minority and product options should not be limited to the way you use them.

Frankly,

My point is this changes the game. You will be buying a subscription to something you have always purchased. You give them money, they keep it and the book. You have no options after that. If you want to sell the book you can't. May work for you but not for me. I work too hard to just hand over money and get nothing in return but an expired book. I don't think that is what Gutenberg had in mind when he invented movable type.

You are entitled to your opinion. However, I believe a lot of people would want to keep the book intact.

 

[frankly]

Frankly,

My point is this changes the game. You will be buying a subscription to something you have always purchased. You give them money, they keep it and the book. You have no options after that. If you want to sell the book you can't. May work for you but not for me. I work too hard to just hand over money and get nothing in return but an expired book. I don't think that is what Gutenberg had in mind when he invented movable type.

You are entitled to your opinion. However, I believe a lot of people would want to keep the book intact.

You are still missing my point. I am not saying that this should be used for every class. However, I have a course that is only taken by non-majors. Their option this semester is to buy the textbook for $100, buy a used copy for around $80, or buy the electronic version for $41.30. These students have no reason to keep the book after the semester so this works out great for them.

The majors that take my other courses will likely want to keep the textbook so they should buy a hard copy.

textbooks change very little year to year so people sell them off and buy them cheap and used. the prices being charged on e-textbooks are a lot more than a used textbook and you can't resell it.

That is just not reality. When a new version of a textbook comes out sections are moved, exercises are changed, added, moved around, etc. Most professors assign work from the current version and it would be up to the student to then make friends with someone in class and check every time something is assigned.

In one of my classes I go out of my way to let the students know the differences depending on which edition of the book they purchase so that they can save a ton of money by purchasing the previous edition. However, I can state for a fact that most professors don't do that.

Also, the price of used textbooks is not as low as you are claiming, unless the book is widely used and/or has been around in the same edition for years.

 

[zakfox1986]

If you actually read your textbook page to page, then yeah, this is pointless simply based on the screen size of the iPhone. But, for classes where you're just required to go through and find key phrases then this is probably a God send. I'll definitely be using it, just on a class to class basis. If it allows you to search for certain phrases or words in a book, then it's a definite buy for certain classes.

Some teachers love to play the whole, here's a phrase, now find it in your textbook and write about it. This would have saved my ass last night. And obviously this would be perfect for the majority of classes if it were on a tablet. Being able to search for text, copy it for quotations, and save certain pages for reading later in the day would be amazing.

 

[zakfox1986]

I just tried out this app and it definitely needs some work. Maybe by the Summer semester apps like this will be more usable and more polished. Either way it's a nice start.

 

[FOH Dave]

Then there's a better way

You are still missing my point. I am not saying that this should be used for every class. However, I have a course that is only taken by non-majors. Their option this semester is to buy the textbook for $100, buy a used copy for around $80, or buy the electronic version for $41.30. These students have no reason to keep the book after the semester so this works out great for them.

The majors that take my other courses will likely want to keep the textbook so they should buy a hard copy....

Forgive me, but professors who publish are somewhat vested. Give me the option of purchasing...at fair market value...and I'm game. However, we need to consider the savings publishers will benefit from such as not having inventory, printing and the associated costs, and shipping. Presumably there will be considerable savings in labor as well if the warehouses are smaller or gone.

Ultimately my point is this. While electronic publishing is a great idea it makes wholesale changes to the game. And while I'm not opposed to change, I am opposed to losing options. Just because the word is changed from purchase to subscribe doesn't make it right.

We are headed toward a new publishing world and probably for the better. I would hate to see it get out of control and the public lose out because there is a new way to "protect" or profit from limited use of intellectual property called books. They are, after all, the way we disseminate information, thoughts, and ideas.

There is a much bigger picture here and it is not being given an open forum. The right to own a book could be lost without a fair and open discussion.

We are probably headed toward the copyright morass photographers and purchasers of photography are in. Who owns what, at what price, and for what purpose. That issue requires far more space and time than I care to take but I didn't like those terms when I was a buyer and I don't like them now.