Could this be the beginning of the end of eBooks (books in software form)? Barnes & Noble no longer sell them, according to a notice on their website: “B&N.com no longer sells eBooks. If you are a Microsoft Reader customer, you will be able to download your eBooks until December 9, 2003, through your Microsoft Library. If you are an Adobe Reader customer, you have 90 days from your date of purchase to complete the download via the email link you received.”
B&N’s rather shoddy press corner doesn’t refer to the decision. My tuppennies’ worth: I’ve never been a big user of eBooks, but you would think they would be a natural fit for someone like B&N. The only assumption I can make is that until the biggies feel the issue of copying and piracy is resolved, it just doesn’t look profitable. Others disagree: an interesting look at the state of eBooks post B&N can be found at the teleread blog.