I’d always thought that writing the novel was the longest part of the publishing process.  Little did I know that publishing it would take about five times as long as writing it.  Still, good things come to those who wait, and I’m proud to announce the digital release of my novel The Digital Sea.

For those of you not yet on the eReader craze, physical copies will be available next week by print on demand, and at a later date available at selected stores.  Why release digitally now when the book’s not available until next week?  Partially to capitalize on the influx of new eReaders getting opened up on Xmas morning, and partially for other reasons which I will go into on a later post (hint: it has to do with what the book is about.)

If you’ve been reading my site and haven’t yet heard about this book, I’ll give you the teaser which shows up on the back cover:

“It’s 2052.  A new reality is just a download away.

Decay is ubiquitious as the world’s population shrinks under Sagan’s Law.  But no one cares as their lives are consumed by the Digital Sea: an immersive augmented reality that’s always on, seen through eye-screens and controlled by the mind.

Zel Aurora, a skilled reality-hacker, can change the Digital Sea with a thought, but all that power can’t save her daughter from a deadily disease.  So Zel makes a deal with the Djed, a powerful crime lord that she’s betrayed once before, to stop the new realities threatening his global empire.  When the Djed sends along his murderous bodyguard that’s immune to her powers to make sure she completes the job, she’s forced to make a choice that may cost her daughter’s life.”

The Digital Sea can be found for $2.99 at:

Amazon Store

B&N Nook Store

Smashwords

It should also be available at the other eStores eventually, but it may take a week or so for the data to transfer.  So if you’re looking for it right now, the above three links should get you the format your eReader needs.  Buy it now or get it for your loved one when they open up their eReader on Xmas morning.

Unless you’ve been living in a box today, you know that Apple finally unveiled the tablet iPad today. The biggest surprise about the announcement was the lack of a camera on the lap sized PC. No camera, really? If you don’t believe it, check the official spec page.

Besides the implications for augmented reality, which I’ll get to in a moment, the iPad not having a camera is a giant fail.  I actually expected the iPad to have two cameras.  One forward-looking so the iPad could function as a giant Polaroid and the other user-facing so videos could be recorded.  We could forgive eliminating one of them, probably the forward-looking one since its so big, but not having the user-facing camera is inexcusable. 

The series of tube we call the Internet has moved beyond simple text.  People want to record and upload videos straight to YouTube without having to yank out their dust-covered hand held or use Skype to call their friends while they’re watching the game. 

The Apple iPad not having even one camera is like hooking up satellite without DVR.  Sure you can do it, but why? 

Of course, I’m being overly melodramatic here. 

The real point to the iPad is competition for the Kindle, eReader and the Vook.  Apple wants to revolutionize the way we read magazines, books and newspapers.  Functionality for augmented reality isn’t even an afterthought.  How many people are using their camera lying in bed reading an interactive book?

And is this a major setback for augmented reality?  Not really.  A giant-sized magic lens would add a fun new canvas to play with, but really wouldn’t be a game changer.  Additionally, Apple isn’t expecting the tablet market to come even close to the smartphone market in sales.

So in the end, the iPad is a fail for augmented reality, but will probably give Jeff Bezos nightmares for months as he wonders how he’s going to compete against a Pentium 286 when he’s selling a Commodore 64. 

And maybe, just maybe, Steve Jobs is still working on a see-through AR-enabled HMD.  Then I’d say, all is forgiven Stevie, I’m coming home to Apple.