Date:    Thu, 30 Mar 1995 11:36:19 -0500
From:    Interpersonal Computing and Technology List <ipct@cac.psu.edu>
Subject: Proposal

From: kcby@mindspring.com (K.C. Burgess Yakemovic)

>From: "Gerald M. Phillips, Ph.D." <GMP@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
>
>Would it be possible for the commercial services to put up books on line...

A commercial service supplying books "on-line" already exists.

>From  ebooks-catalog@access.digex.net, here is the first part of a 22KB
file...  (I believe you get this information by sending a message to
ebooks-info@access.digex.net -- nothing in the subject or body).

info

INFO FILE about The Internet Bookstore
>
>
> **********************************************************
>    CONTENTS OF THIS INTERNET BOOKSTORE INFO FILE
> *********************************************************
>
>1) Print Publishers now publishing e-ditions
>2) Instant, On-Demand Worldwide ebook Delivery
>3) How e-ditions mirror the print copy
>4) Pricing e-ditions - a fraction of the print price
>5) Features and benefits of e-ditions
>6) How to get your standing Keyholder account
>7) Features of the easy-inquiry catalog system
>8) How to use the catalog right now
>9) Help spread the word - and give us your feedback.
>
>Thanks for inquiring about The Internet Bookstore, Inc.  We and all our
e-dition
>Publishers look forward to serving your ongoing information needs - in both
print
>and in electronic form.
>
>Charter ebooks Publishers include: Paramount Macmillan (Que, Brady, etc. ),
>Pocket Books, Oxford University Press, American Management Association,
>John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing Group, Dearborn
> Financial Publishing, Applause Theatre Books, AND OVER TWENTY OTHERS.
> They have all licensed this new electronic book technology to publish
inexpensive
> instant e-ditions of their print books for just us computer users from now
on.

You _fax_ them your credit card number.  They send you a "decoding" key and
some browsing software.  When you order a book, it comes specially encoded
for you...
You read it on the screen... you can cut and paste bits to other applications
(so if you're writing a paper, it is easy to quote sections)... you just
can't print the whole book.  If you decide you want a print copy, you call
them up... they credit you for what you paid for the e-copy (about 1/4 the
print price)... and send you a hard copy.

I have no commercial relationship with this company... I just found their
approach to be interesting.  I do recommend that if you are interested, you
request their info material.  I'm sure my one para summary did it little
justice! :-)

Here is a bit more from the original message I received...

>You can start to use the free browsing system and the wordsearch system right
>now by simply sending blank email, with nothing on the Subject line, as you
did >to get this brochure, to:
>
> ebooks-catalog@access.digex.net
>
>Instructions and examples will come right back.  Enjoy.
>
>Welcome to the new Cyber-Age of Book Access.
>Bernard Pobiak, Director The Internet e/ Bookstore
>ebooks-comments@access.digex.net

-- kcby

   K.C. Burgess Yakemovic                kcby@mindspring.com
   4776 Village North Court                phone/fax 404-395-0282
   Atlanta GA 30338 USA

   Group Performance Systems, Inc.
   "Helping people with people,  through technology....
   because the "soft stuff" is the _hard_ stuff!" (tm)