It's great and all that eSlick now supports ePub and eReader in addition to PDF and TXT. But why a separate store that hosts 60,000 available titles when you can browse Barnes & Noble's million-plus eBook inventory instead? Especially when that separate eSlick store is run by a B&N subsidiary? More choice is always great, Foxit. But redundant choice is just clutter. [BusinessWire via Engadget]

Speaking at an event yesterday about France's plans to place the nation's books online, he said:

"We won't let ourselves be stripped of our heritage to the benefit of a big company, no matter how friendly, big or American it is"

It's not the first time Google's been attacked over its Books scheme, with the controversy coming to a head in October when Sergey Brin was forced to defend Google in a column in the New York Times.

Writing for the New York Times, Brin said:

"This agreement aims to make millions of out-of-print but in-copyright books available either for a fee or for free with ad support, with the majority of the revenue flowing back to the rights holders, be they authors or publishers"

With controversy surrounding the Google Books plan for over a year now, I have a feeling this isn't the last of it, especially now that the hot-headed French President has weighed in. [Reuters]

Image credit: Downing Street

The reader has 24 hours of continuous use (not too shabby for an LCD, even if it is monochrome), and supports MP3 and photos. It's 5 inches big, reads ePub and PDF as well as TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats. Those of you who like downloading books from "non-official" sources know that they usually come in one of those formats. But the Libre comes with 100 "free" books, which are most likely public domain books you could get for free.

We'll see how it stacks up to e-ink type readers when we test it, but on paper, this seems like a pretty decent (cheap) alternative. Especially because it promises a faster page-turn refresh rate than e-ink. It comes in black and white. [Aluratek]

Aluratek, Inc., a leading creator of sophisticated yet user-friendly computer peripherals and consumer electronic devices, announces Libre – the new eBook Reader with exclusive LCD technology. Libre provides the most affordable product in the category, featuring superior battery life with up to 24 hours of continuous use, auto-off and page advance features, MP3 and photo support.

Utilizing the latest monochrome reflective light LCD display technology, the Libre eBook Reader PRO provides a crisp black and white 5-inch screen with the same appearance and readability of printed paper. There is no backlighting, so reading on the Libre is as soft on the eyes as reading a book, while also preserving battery power.

The Libre supports Adobe's Digital Edition software allowing Digital Rights Management (DRM) support for ePUB and PDF formats. This allows users to purchase new book releases from a variety of eBook content providers including eBooks.com, one of Aluratek's content partners.

With an MSRP of $179, the Libre is a cost-effective solution for anyone looking to experience the next generation of digital technology related to books. The Libre connects to any Mac or PC with an Internet connection for easy access to the newest book releases as well as timeless classics. It also comes loaded with 100 free eBooks on the included 2GB SD card.

"Unlike e-Ink displays which require multiple flashes for each page advance, I believe the reflective LCD technology the Libre offers will be a welcome change compared to other eBooks currently on the market" said John Wolikow, VP Sales and Marketing for Aluratek. "The ability to store thousands of your favorite books in the Libre is not only convenient but it's also good for the environment by saving trees."

Libre comes with a 2GB SD card, and supports SD and SDHC cards up to 32GB. The audio player feature lets users also listen to their favorite MP3s, and the picture viewer supports BMP, JPG, GIF and animated GIF. Versatile for any user, Libre offers five font size options and also supports Adobe DRM, ePUB, PDF, FB2, TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats.

Other key features of the Libre include: table of contents, bookmark list and page, content search, jump to page, zoom, auto page turn, background music, multiple language formats, auto power off and a help menu.

The Libre eBook Reader PRO is available in either black or white with an MSRP of $179. For more information about the Libre eBook Reader PRO, or any of Aluratek's other innovative products, please visit www.aluratek.com.

The big change happens this Friday, with all books downloadable in the open EPUB format only. The other news is that the Reader Library 3.1 software will also become available on Friday, bringing both Mac and PC support—head's up, Snow Leopard and Windows 7 users. [Sony]

Remember, if you ordered a Nook before November 20th, B&N promises it'll make it by Christmas—but if you waited until after the 20th, your only options are to wait until the backordered Nooks start shipping on January 11th, or fight your way through the likely crowds at the few high-traffic retail stores that'll have them on December 7th. We're also hearing about more general shifting of ship dates—anybody pre-order one and have their estimated time of arrival changed? [Barnes & Noble via Engadget]

The New York Observer reports that the company formed by publishing's Superfriends—perhaps Legion of Doom is more appropriate—will format and publish rags that "work across multiple digital platforms, whether the iPhone, the BlackBerry or countless other digital devices," though they're not developing their own reader hardware.

Which is where it gets a little sticky, says one of the Observer's sources: "The really, really hard part is that you've got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want."

In one sense, the venture will be very much like Hulu—a separate company from the publishers, run by Time's John Squires, who's been behind the whole initiative, as All Things D originally reported. It's like Hulu for another reason, in that it's more like a disjointed confederation whose motto is hanging together or hanging separately since every publisher clearly rolling their own, separate gambit as well: We've got the tabletized version of Wired (Conde); Heart was planning its very own ereader at one point; and Time too.

It feels like the early, disjointed days of digital music, at best. There's a good chance stuff you buy now (well, soon) isn't going to work forever. Time's thing. Maybe Apple's thing. Some kind of Adobe formatted thing. Amazon and Barnes & Noble's thing. One of them will stick and we'll have our digital magazines preserving an old print format in a digital way—hey, the publishing industry might even save itself—but I'm just going to cower in a corner with free stuff in my web browser until this all gets sorted out. [Observer]

Microsoft:
• Windows 7: A Weekend Install Guide and More
• You Guys Had Some Wild and Crazy Windows 7 Launch Parties
• Japan's Windows 7 Whopper Is Real, and It's Horrifying
• Behold! The Saddest Example of Promotional Convergence Ever!
• Microsoft's First Retail Store Opens (Like Apple Store With More Colors)
• Windows Mobile 7 Screenshots Leak: Where's the Start Button?
• 38 Surefire Ways (Not) to Make Windows 7 Cooler
• 7 Reasons to Stick with Windows XP
• 27 Takes on Windows 7
• Windows 7 Review: You Can Quit Complaining Now

Apple:
• Apple iMac Review: 27 Inches and Less Chin
• Unibody Apple MacBook Review
• Apple Magic Mouse Review
• Time Capsule and Airport Extreme Grow New Antennas to Get Faster and Stronger
• Mac Mini Updates: Faster Processors, More Memory, and a Dual Hard Disk Server
• 10 Things You Need to Know About Apple's New Stuff

Barnes & Noble
• Exclusive: First Photos of Barnes & Noble's Double Screen E-Reader
• Barnes & Noble's Dual-Screen Nook: $260, Eats the Kindle's Lunch
• Barnes & Noble Compares Nook to Kindle 2: Biased But Fair
• Live From Barnes & Noble's Nook Event
• 8 Reasons You Can Finally Love Ebook Readers (Thanks to Nook)
• Barnes & Noble Nook Up Close: Yep, It's Real Nice

The Rest:
• FCC: We're Going to Make Net Neutrality the Law
• The Totally Predictable Cable Industry Response to the FCC's Net Neutrality Plan
• John McCain's "Internet Freedom Act" Seeks to Block FCC's Net Neutrality Rules
• Motorola Droid Unexpectedly Appears on Motorola's Site Ahead of Schedule
• Canon 1D Mark IV: The $5000 New King of Cameras
• Canon 1D Mark IV 1080p Night Vision Videos Are Simply Incredible
• Canon 5D Mark II Firmware Update Unlocks 1080p Video at 24FPS
• Nikon D3s Hands On Photos and Video: DSLR Night Vision Is a Beautiful Thing
• 48 Stunning Photos of Fall

• Exclusive: First Photos of Barnes & Noble's Double Screen E-Reader: In which we scoop the crap out of BN's crazy two-screened reader.
• Barnes & Noble's Dual-Screen Nook: $260, Eats the Kindle's Lunch: In which the Nook leaks a few hours early.
• Barnes & Noble Compares Nook to Kindle 2: Biased But Fair: In which BN thoughtfully explains why the Nook whups the Kindle 2's butt.
• Live From Barnes & Noble's Nook Event: In which intrepid reporters John Herrman and Matt Buchanan bring you the Nook's official announcement, live, with bonus Q & A.
• 8 Reasons You Can Finally Love Ebook Readers (Thanks to Nook): In which we explain why the Nook has finally gotten us excited about ebook readers.
• Barnes & Noble Nook Up Close: Yep, It's Real Nice: In which we go hands-on with the Nook, and like it.

[Barnes & Noble Nook coverage on Giz]

It's an ugly little mutant, like a Courier screwed an EeePC and Kindle. The e-Ink screen's 9.7 inches—same as the Kindle DX—and readers ePub and PDF files. It'll let you take notes with stylus, or tap them out on a keyboard. On the Android side, which will apparently let you run full Android apps, you've got a 10.1-inch, 1024x600 screen, which you can use to look at images from books (in full color?). Like any good anything that does everything, it also records video and audio. For wireless, it's got Wi-Fi and optional 3G, along with Bluetooth for external keyboards.

Admittedly, I kind of like the idea of a reader I can use to browse the internet too, but I just can't do it on something this hideous. And, I really can't abide stupid capitalization patterns, like eDGe. It's $500, if you can. [Entourage via Cnet]]

The new consumption model grands book purchasers (you) the right to lend a book to their friend—all digitally—but it's still being discussed as far as how many lends people can have and to how many people. Publishers want the number low, and B&N want the number high.

There's also talk of in-store try-outs when you bring your B&N eReader in, but might suggest that the device will only have Wi-Fi and not 3G, like the Kindle. [NYT]

And as you may remember, B&N also has its store on the recently-released iRex reader, and the upcoming grayscale Plastic Logic reader. Oh, and apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry. B&N is the freakin' Borg of ebooks!

In the video, the rep says Plastic Logic's color reader will be about the size of a paperback. He says no price has been set, but is solid on that spring arrival. Watch out Amazon and Sony. Especially when there are also color readers from Cool-r and Asus in the works. Good times. Thanks for the tips everyone.

That's half the price of a new Kindle 2 (or $70 less than a refurb Kindle 2), with all of the same core functionality (like Amazon's wireless Whispernet) intact.

So is $150 cheap enough to tempt you? Or is your ebook pricepoint lower, say, $100 or $50 or free with X amount of book purchases? Inquiring minds want to know!

Personally, I'm a big enough tech whore that I'd only buy the latest model of Kindle for that much, partially for the tiny improvements, largely so people ask me, "Is that a new Kindle??" And I say, "Sorry, I don't associate with the type who doesn't know whether or not this is the latest Kindle. Nothing personal. Just a simple code by which I live my life." [Amazon via blog Kindle via mobility site via CrunchGear ]

Asus' Eee range is far from premium, so I'll be curious to see if it ends up with 3G like the new Sony Reader Daily Edition, existing Kindle 2 and DX, or the upcoming Plastic Logic eReader.

And you tell me, where does an e-book reader fall on your Christmas wish list? Have you even seen that many people actually using them out and about? [DigiTimes]

There aren't an unlimited number of ebooks—each library has an actual "stock" of ebooks (because the library had to pay for each copy). So, if they have a stock of 5 books, and they're all checked out, you have to wait in a queue for somebody else's book to expire when they hit the 21-day mark (when they automatically expire). When it's available, you get an email, and then you can check it out. You also need a valid library card, BTW, so you (theoretically) can't check out books from the New York Public Library—who's launching their stuff with the service today—if you live in Montana.

But overall, it's pretty great if it works as advertised—free books from your library for your ebook reader.

Today also marks the launch of Sony's Library Finder application. Sony, working with OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global digital distributor of eBooks and to libraries, will now offer visitors to the eBook Store by Sony easy access to their local library's collection of eBooks. Thousands of libraries in the OverDrive network offer eBooks optimized for the Sony Reader, and visitors can now find these libraries by typing their zip code into the Library Finder. Through the selected library's download website, visitors can check out eBooks with a valid library card, download them to a PC and transfer to their Reader. At the end of the library's lending period, eBooks simply expire, so there are never any late fees.

Image via Hibino/Flickr