Cookaholics Bulletin Board

From this article. (It's toward the bottom of the article).

I've been all but begging for this type of content. Sure, I like my cookbooks, but for practical purposes I would rather have all the same information (and more) to be available on my computer.

What do you think? And does anyone have that Martha Stewart cookie app? (I don't have a smart phone so no apps for me )

Wow, when I read the title I thought, no way. But that article makes a lot of sense, at least the part you quoted, will now go read the whole thing.
May need to put that app on hubby's phone, I have a BB but even if there is a bb version it won't help me as work blocks all downloads.

I'm totally ready for digital cookbooks, especially the recipe-oriented ones. I'll even settle for text, but of course, pics and video and other features really did bring it to another level. One of the bigger flaws in the stuff I've used so far is that in their rush to stop me from 'ripping off' their recipes, they make it hard/impossible to cut and paste. Since I prefer to typically take a recipe, convert it to metric weight measures (where it is sane to do so) and tweak the quantities and put it in MacGourmet, this kind of pisses me off. In their effort to stop piracy they have reduced its value to me. In several cases I've actually pick up an additional "free" copy so I could cut'n'paste...

Being something of a jolly roger, I have been gathering up cookbooks as they appear via bit torrents. Now these are usually in pdf format. There are some interesting works out there, regular recipe collections, ice cream making, sausage guides and some pretty serious works about cheese making, all things I am learning about. I want, at some point, to set up a computer in my kitchen, but given the small size of my apartment here, the laptop parked in the dining area works pretty well. To augment the computer, I covet a Kindle or similar ebook reader. They will do pdf files as well as the ebook format. Which would allow me to take my cookbooks and recipes with me. And it will let me read some Hillerman or I J Paker mystery story when stuck in the parking lot waiting for my wife.

I am more than willing to buy books (electronic and paper) as well. There are some concerns with the new digital technology. Kindle (aka Amazon) can shut off all access to your library remotely if they decide you are "sharing" illegally. Since with a paper based book, sharing is not a problem, the idea that you could share a file you paid for in the same manner seems reasonable. But not to the publishers who see a one purchase - one user paradise. How this will all sort out is hard to say.

I feel for authors who create works and want some recompense for them. But publishers are notorious for "minimizing" royalty payments by including various charges that are taken out of the author's share prior to their being paid. Of course, someone has to pay the editors and proof the copy, so everyone has their own justification. But the bottom line is that with electronic books, there will likely be no lending or reselling, a significant change in readership patterns from what has been a common practice with paper based books.

Darcie,

Despite being a "computer guy" I'm not all that keen on this, and for that matter see it as further off than many in the gadget biz would think.

One thing to think about is that heat, grease, dust, and moisture are lethal for computers. I've dealt with a number of computerized stoves over the years and all of them have been ... unreliable. So the first thing is that we'd need tablets, or similar computers, which would satisfy all of the following:

* resistant to heat
* sealed against dust, dirt and liquid
* yet somehow proof against getting moisture inside
* able to be operated with greasy fingers
* easy to clean
* survive being dropped or being under stuff
* and under $300

Such a computer will exist eventually, but not this year. There's also these other issues:

* Publishers and device makers can't agree on formats
* Everybody seems to have an exclusive deal with different partners
* "Anti-piracy" measures make stuff hard to use

There's also some bigger issues. The first is that most serious cooks already have a collection of dozens or hundreds of cookbooks, many of which are out of print and are not getting digitized short of a weekend spent with a scanner.

The second is that digital cookbooks of the type extolled in the article will not be cheaper than the $20 to $50 cover price of modern paper cookbooks; they will be more expensive. Folks not involved in the publishing industry imagine that the costs of paper printing and distribution are the majority of the price of a hardback book. They are the minority. Advances, royalties, editorial, design, layout and marketing make up 70-90% of the cost of a book. Those costs do not go away with electronic books. And if you add videos, searchability, and compatibility engineering for multiple devices, those prices actually go up.

So I think you will see multi-media cookbooks like the ones described, and they will cost $50 to $200. Like any other piece of non-free software.

Perhaps ironically, it will actually be easier for people do to this in the free realm. Sites like our BB, eGullet and various online amateur chefs could put together multimedia recipes and ignore the above costs, since they're not concerned with profit and willing to publish something which has errors and issues.

The lack of an aftermarket for anything digital bothers me. Not that I'd want to sell it for money, but just to have the ability to pass it on.

I'll keep my cookbooks, thank you.

Laurie