Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

166 e-books and digital librarieshas been recently expanded and structured to allow usersto give specific ratings on aspects of the transaction, suchas accuracy of description and shipping cost and speed.Although not perfect (feedback can be “pumped up” bysetting up phony transactions between two accounts), thesystem does allow buyers to exercise a certain amountof caution before bidding on an expensive item from anunknown seller. eBay also offers various forms of “consumerprotection” if items are not received or are substantiallynot as described.Not surprisingly in a marketplace of this size, thereis opportunity for various forms of fraud, including saleof counterfeit, defective, or lower-grade merchandise and,on the part of buyers, credit card fraud. eBay has beencriticized for not policing fraud adequately. Generally, theservice has maintained the position that it is only a facilitatorof transactions. If it had to guarantee the authenticity ofmerchandise, it would have to operate like a conventionalauction house, with the attendant fees. However, eBay hassolicited the help of experts in fields such as coins andstamps to help them identity counterfeit or misdescribeditems.eBay provides a number of forums for user comments,including discussion boards and chat rooms. Users canalso write reviews and guides to help, for example, novicecollectors who might find themselves overwhelmed bythe coin or stamp listings. In mid-2006 eBay expanded its“community content” to include an eBay Community Wiki(see wikis and Wikipedia) and eBay blogs (see blogs andblogging).eBay is always trying to make it easier to match users’specific needs with the thousands of potentially relevantofferings. Providing recommendation information (includinguser-generated recommendations) is another way tomake shopping easier and more satisfying, as has beenshown by Amazon.com. Another possible way to get a biggershare of users’ day-to-day purchases is to make eBayavailable on mobile devices as well as linking it to sitessuch as Facebook, where young people in particular spendmuch of their time (see social networking.)Long-time eBay CEO Meg Whitman stepped down inMarch 2008, while calling for innovation to reinvigoratea company that many observers now consider to be staidand “old school” in the age of Web 2.0. Whitman’s successor,John Donahoe, has announced a new fee structure andnew ways of searching for and displaying listings—developmentsthat have provoked some controversy in the sellercommunity.Further ReadingBergstein, Brian. “Middle-aged eBay in for Changes.” AssociatedPress/San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2007. p. C3.Cohen, Adam. The Perfect Store: Inside eBay. Boston: Little, Brown,2002.Collier, Marsha. eBay for Dummies. 5th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley,2006.———. Starting an eBay Business for Dummies. Hoboken, N.J.:Wiley, 2007.eBay. Available online. URL: http://www.ebay.com. Accessed September16, 2007.e-books and digital librariesAn e-book is a book whose text is stored in digital formand can be read on a PC or a handheld reading device.Since most books today are created on word processors andtypesetting systems, it is easy for a publisher to create anelectronic version. Older books that exist only in printedform can be scanned and converted to text (see opticalcharacter recognition).An e-book has a number of advantages over its printedcounterpart. The text can be searched and can include linksto sections or even to documents on the World Wide Web.Reading software or devices can easily enlarge text for thevisually handicapped, or read it in a synthesized voice.Since only bits need to be moved around, e-books save treesas well as the cost of manufacturing, transporting, warehousing,and displaying conventional books.There are some disadvantages. Many people are notcomfortable reading large amounts of text at a computer.Portable reading devices that may be more convenient arerelatively expensive and not standardized. There is no universalformat for e-books, so some software or readers maynot be able to read all e-books.As of 2008 the e-book landscape may be in the processof being reshaped. Amazon’s Kindle book reader is the latestattempt to marry e-books to handheld devices. Weighingless than a paperback book, the Kindle can downloadbooks and other content directly over a cellular broadbandconnection and display text using an “electronic ink” technologythat simulates print. Amazon is offering a largeselection of e-books including electronic versions of currentbest sellers at prices several dollars below that of the hardbackversion.Authors and publishers, like other content creators, mayhave to deal with the illicit copying and distribution of textin digital form, as happened with the last Harry Potter bookeven before its publication in 2007. Some e-books contain aform of copy protection (see digital rights management).This, as with video and music, can lead to compatibilityproblems.A number of e-publishers as well as conventional publishersnow offer books online, most commonly as pdf(portable document format) files. A hybrid service, “publishon demand,” keeps the book on file and prints and shipsbound copies as they are ordered, eliminating the problemof remainders. In the future, so-called digital paper (a thinmembrane that can display text), may be used to create amore booklike reading experience.Digital LibrariesA digital library is to e-books what a conventional libraryis to printed books. Sometimes called an electronic libraryor virtual library, digital libraries can be created in avariety of ways. Printed books can now be scanned anddigitized rapidly. Google has said that it can scan 3,000volumes a day using a proprietary system. (This is notnecessary, of course, for books that were originally createdin digital form.)Advantages of digital libraries include the following: