Saturday, June 23, 2007

(Almost) Instant Books

Thanks to Ward Six pal Mr. Inertia, who sent us a link to this crazy device. I can't decide if it's super cool and useful or oddly medieval. Why go through all that trouble when you can just put the books online? Then again, we'd sell more at the bookstore if instead saying "Er, we don't have any in stock, but we can get a copy for you in less than a week," we could say, "Go have a cup of coffee and it'll be ready when you get back."

Most of the time when a customer wants a book NOW and can't wait, it's for a gift. Would an on-demand book make a good gift? Or would it look crummy and self-publishy? The other time when customers don't want to wait for a book is when it's for a class and they have a paper due. This machine would be extremely useful in a college library...

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