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MC Press Online Launches New eBookstore

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All new—and many former—book titles will be digitized to eBook format.

MC Press Online has launched its new MC Press eBookstore, starting with more than 30 titles digitized for electronic reading, while all future titles will be delivered in both print and electronic formats, the company announced today.

In addition to a substantial cost-savings for MC Press Online customers, the new eBooks will put the latest technical information in the hands of readers sooner than ever before possible, with search, page/type resize, and copy/paste features providing conveniences for readers previously unavailable in print editions.

"Technology professionals today want information as soon as it's published rather than waiting for weeks or spending a considerable sum to ship a book to a distant location," said David Uptmor, MC Press Online owner and publisher. "With our new PDF digital format, our customers will not need a special e-reader appliance to download or view their MC Press books; they can read them on any Windows, Linux, or Mac OS9/OSX desktop or laptop—or even online with most browser-based devices," Uptmor said. PDF eBooks are also supported on most popular eBook readers.

Certain MC Press Online book titles have been available for some time in the Amazon Kindle format, but people need either a Kindle e-reader or special app to read them. With our encrypted PDF format, anyone with the standard Acrobat Reader can enjoy MC Press books. Furthermore, the book's content can be readily available on the computer where people are working since, in addition to Windows and Mac, one of the formats supported is Linux. And there's no need for developers to retype program code that they may want to use in an actual program.

So far, some 31 titles from the MC Press Online library have been digitized to the encrypted PDF format, and more are being converted every week, according to Katie Tipton, MC Press Online book editor. These books include many brand-new titles that were never digitized for the Kindle and thus are now available for the first time in electronic format. Many previously hard-copy-only titles are among the most popular books in the MC Press library. Among the titles now available in eBook format through the MC Press eBookstore are:

In addition, the following books will become available in digital format during the next few weeks:

Besides the convenience that digital format offers, readers using the MC Press eBookstore will now be able to purchase these digital editions at substantial savings below the lowest regular price of the hard-copy book.

"Needless to say, an eBook costs less to produce because we don't have the printing expense, and we're able to pass that savings on to our readers," says Jeff Phillips, MC Press Online marketing director. "When customers add the discount onto the savings achieved from no shipping charges, the total discount is substantial," says Phillips.

Readers who have switched to eBooks have found several distinct advantages. First, there is the instant gratification of immediate delivery of the book you want at the moment. Second, eBooks are fully searchable, so readers don't have to rely on the index or table of contents to find the exact section or term for which they are searching. Third, with the new PDF versions, readers will be able to copy and paste code directly from the book to their application. Fourth, readers also will have the ability to resize the page and typeface to accommodate their vision or unique working conditions. While carrying around several heavy technical books isn't an option for most people, eBooks are completely portable, and an entire technical library can be carried on a laptop or netbook. If you're at a remote location without your computer, the MC Press eBooks also can be accessed and read online.

MC Press Online is partnering with Publishers Row to make the new digital eBookstore available through the easy-to-read encrypted PDF format. When someone purchases an eBook, they download the PDF along with a secure plug-in, or they can view the digital book online using Secure Searchable Image Format, which, to the browser, looks just like a PDF. In either case, the book is true to the original formatting, and there are no distortions to the carefully formatted programming code, tables, or images, including screen shots.

"There are many different formats for eBooks," says Tipton, "but we believe the encrypted PDF format is the right one for our readers because the book can be read on their existing equipment or online, the text is searchable, and the code is easily copied. We're thrilled to be able to provide a format that is as flexible as PDF so that readers aren't locked into a proprietary format or appliance."

In addition to the downloaded and online versions, readers can also opt to have their book shipped to them as a CD or DVD for a small additional charge. Libraries and corporations can now license the book for multiple computers or users.

Ultimately, most MC Press Online titles will be available in three digital formats—PDF, Kindle, and EPUB open standard. MC Press Online will be converting groups of titles during the coming weeks until all technically relevant titles are digitized.

Starting now, the eBook versions of all new titles will be available as soon as the conversion process is complete, says Phillips. This means the digital version will be available within a few weeks after the printed copy is released by MC Press Online and at about the same time as the printed version works its way through other distribution channels for release through alternative retailers. The digital titles are available by clicking the appropriate Buy the Digital PDF Edition at MC Press eBookstore or Buy the Kindle Edition at Amazon.com buttons within the MC Press Bookstore, where you can see all the information about the book, including which format is offered.

"We're extremely excited to soon be able to offer nearly the entire MC Press book library in digital format to our readers and will be working hard at converting the remaining titles over the next several weeks," says Uptmor. "When you need information to do your job, you need it right now, and our eBooks are the perfect solution to get technical readers the information they need when they need it," he says.

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