Robert Ouimet

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Ecofont Helps Save Printer Ink

As a consultant, I prepare a lot of documents for clients. Actually, even before they become clients, I find myself preparing and printing documents as part of whole process of determining whether we’ll work together.

Despite the fact that everything is prepared digitally, and often sent digitally, printing hard copy just hasn’t gone away. Even if I send only a digital copy, inevitably a copy is printed. It’s not just habit – most people find it easier to review and mark-up hard copy in advance of a meeting.

I do use recycled paper in my printer, and when ever feasible I print double sided – but I came across an idea that makes perfect sense, and one I’m going to start using right way.

It’s a font created in Holland that uses less ink.

It’s called the Ecofont, and it maintains readability, but because the characters aren’t ‘solid’, it uses less ink when printing.

20081220ecofont_490

Here’s the info from the folks who created it – a Dutch ad agency…

The prints we make for our ‘daily use’ not only use paper, but also ink. According to SPRANQ creative communications (Utrecht, The Netherlands) your ink cartridges could last longer. SPRANQ has therefore developed a new font: the Ecofont.

“After Dutch holey cheese, there now is a Dutch font with holes as well.”

Appealing ideas are often simple: how much of a letter can be removed while maintaining readability? After extensive testing with all kinds of shapes, the best results were achieved using small circles. After lots of late hours (and coffee) this resulted in a font that uses up to 20% less ink. Free to download, free to use.

One of my great frustrations is that I’m still printing loads of documents that end up going into recycling. So, I’m going to start using the Ecofont in my printed documents starting today.

Interestingly, on the screen at least, the cut-out dots don’t really show up until you get to a fairly big size – around 24 px and up.

I think, just to help spread the word, I’ll add a “made with the ecofont” in the footer.

20081220_18-60_ecofont

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Publishing, Technology Tagged With: conserve, eco, ecofont, green, Holland, ink, SPRANQ

The iPod for Books

Publishers should be thinking a lot more seriously about electronic books and how to leap ahead of their competitors.

Sony’s eBook has only been available in Canada for a few months, and it’s far from the perfect product, but it provides a glimpse into what’s coming.

Playing with the eBook Reader reminds me of the first MP3 players I used in the 90’s. At the time, people scoffed at the idea that the small players would replace their CD collection. People scoffed at the idea of an online music store where songs would be downloaded. And we all know how that turned out.

The shift to electronic books could easily follow the same pattern, assuming the hardware meets our needs. The Sony eBook is close – more on the problems later.

First – the good.

I love the eBook reader.

It’s sleek, easy to use, and the screen technology is far better than anything I’ve seen before.

Partly this is due to the high resolution of the e-ink technology – it’s more than twice the resolution of your typical computer screen – so text is crisp. Since the screen technology doesn’t depend on back lighting (like your laptop) it looks totally flat, so the effect is much closer to the look of paper than a digital screen.

The Sony eBook also displays images (in black and white), plays MP3’s and allows you to load up Word documents, PDF files, jpg and gif pictures, along with their own e-book format and other open electronic book formats.

I’ve loaded about 70 books into my reader and I’ve barely touched the internal memory. This version of the reader has 2 slots for Sony memory sticks, so there’s really no limit to the amount of content you can carry around.

I found that I quickly adjusted to the form factor. The placement of the ‘next page’ buttons line up with where you normally hold a book, and there’s a bookmark function to hold your place.

Essentially, the reading experience is different, but not in a negative way. The feel of the book obviously isn’t there, but it functions pretty much like a book, and that’s what makes its potential so powerful.

Riding the bus, sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, or hanging out on a park bench – this device is ideal. Like an mp3 player, it’s light and easy to carry – so I’m more likely to have it with me than I might a big heavy book. And considering that I can haul around hundreds of books, it’s hands down a much better option.

Opportunities

I can see a lot of major advantages in terms of publishing.

Timeliness

Reference and technical books, particularly those about software, are largely out of date by the time they’re published. With an electronic book, updates and changes could be made as often as required, and just a download away. It’s a natural for serialization. And dare I say it – a daily newspaper ?

Presentations

While I can haul out my laptop for a quick one-on-one presentation with a potential client, the size of the eBook is more easier to deal with, and I can literally stand in the elevator and walk through a presentation on the way up. Keep in mind that the screen only displayed in black and white (actually, 4 shades of grey) so I do repurpose my presentations to make them look good on the screen, but you can also just load up any PDF, Word doc, JPG or Gif image, and the eBook will simply display colour as monochrome images.

eBook and Podcasts

Given that Sony’s included an MP3 player right in the eBook, it seems natural to bundle books with author podcasts, as well as serialized “books on MP3” packages that could be used for promotion

Trees

Books use paper. eBooks use bytes. Need I say more ? Shipping ? Fogetaboutit.

Here’s where I think things need to improve

Software. Sony makes great consumer entertainment products but its software is often horrid. Given that they have a great model with the iTunes store, there’s really no excuse for the state of Sony eBook store. The software is also the interface for loading books onto the eBook reader. It needs a major over-haul in look & feel as well as functionality.

Connectivity. Hard to beleive, but Sony’s software is PC only. Given the nature of the eBook reader, the Apple crowd should be a prime target market. But unless they’re running their MacBook in dual boot mode, they’re out of luck.

Tether. Connectivity to the computer is via a USB cable. I’m assuming the reason there’s no Bluetooth or other wireless connectivity is space, but I’d dearly love to be able to move data back and forth without having to find the cable and plug in. This is a challenge Apple still hasn’t solved with the iPod so I supposed I shouldn’t be so demanding. All I know is that as long as the device has to hook up to my computer, it’s potential is limited.

Price. The 505 model is 300.00 Canadian, which seems expensive given the price of things like iPods, game consoles and and digital cameras. The goal here is to get people using the device so they’ll buy books. Consumers don’t like paying for technology development and a price point that’s too high will keep the adoption rate low.

The newly released 700 models has some nice new features including touch scrolling, but at 400.00 it’s just way too expensive. Amazon’s competitor, the wireless Kindle, is 359.00 USD

Why publishers need to pay attention

The book isn’t going away any time soon, but things are going to change dramatically. Electronic books open up some new possibilities for existing publishing models, and throw the doors wide open to new models.

Is it possible that within a few years the biggest book seller might be a hardware manufacturer ? There’s a reason Amazon created it’s own electronic book reader.

Why not publish dailies in ebook form, so that I can grab up update on my way out the door and read it on the bus ?

Sony’s eBook reader already supports RSS feeds – with a wireless connection there’s no reason I couldn’t be walking through the mall, train station or even at transit bus shelter and downloading the latest update to the periodicals and books I’ve subscribed to.

The e-paper will get better. The connectivity will improve. The price will come down. There’ll be other models and competitors. All those things bode well for publishers – IF they get with it and start to explore what’s possible.

Links:

Get this article for your Sony eBook Reader (open BBeb format)

  • bigsnit_blog_lrf.zip

Sony eBook reader at SonyStyle.ca

  • 505 model
  • New 700 Model

Amazon’s Kindle

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Media, Publishing Tagged With: BBeb, Broad Band eBook, e-book, e-paper, Kindle, Publishing, Sony, XML

James Glave Podcast

A veteran writer turns his obsession with detail into a building project.

In his new book, Almost Green, James Glave tells the story of building a green studio in the front yard – and changing his life forever.

Recording at James Glave’s eco-shed on Bowen Island, this podcast was recorded before the book was published.

http://snitcast.com/vangogreen/20080220_vgg_james_glave.mp3

Read more about James Glave and how to buy the book on his web site, www.glave.com

photo courtesy James Glave

Robert’s notes…

I’ve known James since the mid-90’s. We both fumbled our way onto the then new world wide web – he was with Vancouver Magazine and I was with CBC Vancouver.

I always looked forward to seeing a new magazine article by James – they were smart, witty and superbly crafted. He brought the same high quality to his online work; it stood out then, and it stands out now.

When he left Vancouver for San Francisco and Wired News in 1997, many of us were envious of his determination to carve out a living ‘on the internet’. He became a regular guest speaker at the Simon Fraser University summer web publishing courses, and he regaled us with news from the front lines of life in Silicon Valley.

I’m glad James is back in Vancouver – and thrilled to see him bringing outstanding journalism and his determined voice to stories about the environment and sustainability.

While we wait for his book to come out – do check out his mini-book Buck The System on his web site – add your contribution to his PayPal fund – and enjoy the articles he’s distributing online.

The podcast with James Glave runs: 25:30 and was originally produced for VanGoGreen.com

podcast ISBN: 978-0-9809054-3-4

© Bigsnit Media Consulting Inc. 2008. Podcasts are available for re-broadcast by contacting info@robertouimet.com

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Podcasting, Technology Tagged With: Almost Green, Bowen Island, green, James Glave, literature, non-fiction, podcast, podcasting, sustainabiity

Matt Mullenweg Podcast

Keynote at Northern Voice 2008

Matt Mullenweg is the 24 year founder of WordPress, an open source blogging and content management software.

He was the keynote speaker this morning at the Northern Voice blogging conference in Vancouver.

This is audio of his complete presentation, un-edited.

https://robertouimet.com/wp-content/audio/20080223_alm_mullenweg2.mp3

Matt Mullengweg at the podium, Photo by kk+ Vancouver fashion photographer, bon vivant and all around nice guy who’s wicked with a lens.

Robert’s notes…

I’m a user and was a fan of WordPress before I met Matt. Hearing him speak has convinced me that one of the reasons WordPress has done so well is that Matt clearly keeps his eye on the goal; to make WordPress serve its users.

His presentation may be based on his work at WordPress, but his ideas are equally relevant to web sites, magazines, radio, tv, and any other form of communication in existence today.

Monique Trottier has a nice text summary of the presentation on So Misguided.

Matt Mullenweg
Keynote Address at the Northern Voice conference
Vancouver, British Columbia
Saturday Feb 23rd, 2008

runs: 42:48


Photo above by Penmachine and used under CC license

 

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Media, Podcasting, Publishing Tagged With: Matt Mullenweg, northern voice, NV08, podcast, podcasting, Vancouver, WordPress

Citizens Bank Hockey Stars

HockeyStars.com launched earlier this week. It’s a fun tool for anyone playing hockey and I was fortunate enough to help with a small bit of the site.

I recorded and produced the audio you hear in the flash movies – there are more of them once you’ve registered.

It was loads of fun to work on. Hanging out at the rink all day reminded me of when I was a kid and spending the day at the DMCC arena in Dauphin.

Here’s what the site is about:

HockeyStars is devoted to the real stars of the game. It’s a free online community for amateur hockey players, coaches, parents and volunteers.

It’s where players come to connect with their teams and others in the community, and where managers and coaches can use online management tools to make team communication and operations easier. HockeyStars makes it easy to share game schedules, statistics, photos, videos and messages with teammates, family and fans.

HockeyStars is powered by Citizens Bank of Canada, a national online bank backed by the ethical grounding that comes from being part of the Vancity Group. Formed in 1997, we have a strong focus on corporate social responsibility and are the only bank in Canada with a clear ethical policy.

What does banking have to do with hockey? Well, some banks open new branches to serve the community around them. We’re opening online branches—small, online communities built around a common interest, like hockey. Through HockeyStars we hope to give back to the community while helping to raise a generation of young savers.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Tagged With: audio, citizens bank, Flash, hockey stars

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