soft launched the Microsoft Reader in April 2000, for
people to read books in LIT (from "literature") format on its
new PDA, the Pocket PC. Four months later, in August 2000, the
Microsoft Reader was available for computers, and then for any
Windows platform, for example the platforms of the Tablets PC
launched in November 2002.

Microsoft billed publishers and distributors for the use of its
DRM technology through the Microsoft DAS Server, with a
commission on each sale. Microsoft also partnered with major
online bookstores - Barnes & Noble.com in January 2000 and
Amazon.com in August 2000 - for them to offer ebooks for the
Microsoft Reader in eBookstores soon to be launched. Barnes &
Noble.com opened its eBookstore in August 2000, followed by
Amazon in November 2000.

= Mobipocket Reader

Mobipocket was founded in March 2000 in Paris, France, by
Thierry Brethes and Nathalie Ting, as a company specializing in
ebooks for PDAs. The Mobipocket format (PRC, based on the OeB
format) and the Mobipocket Reader were "universal" and could be
used on any PDA - and also on any computer from April 2002.
They quickly became global standards for ebooks on mobile
devices.

In October 2001, the Mobipocket Reader received the eBook
Technology Award from the International Book Fair in Frankfurt.
Mobipocket partnered with Franklin for the Mobipocket Reader to
be available on the eBookMan, Franklin's personal assistant,
instead of the initially planned Microsoft Reader.

The Mobipocket Web Companion was a software (for a fee) for
extracting content from partner news sites. The Mobipocket
Publisher was used by individuals (free version for private
use, and standard version for a fee) or publishers
(professional version for a fee) to create ebooks using the
Mobipocket DRM technology for controlling access to copyrighted
ebooks. The Mobipocket Publisher could also create ebooks in
LIT format for the Microsoft Reader.

In spring 2003, the Mobipocket Reader was available in several
languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian) and could
be used on any PDA and computer, and on the smartphones of
Nokia and Sony Ericsson. 6,000 titles in several languages were
available on Mobipocket's website and in partner online
bookstores.

Mobipocket was bought by Amazon in April 2005. It now operates
within the Amazon brand, with a multilingual catalog of 70,000
books in 2008.

2004: AUTHORS ARE CREATIVE ON THE NET

= [Over