RE: Foreign Memberships

["James Purchase" <jppurchase@rogers.com>]

Tomoko wrote:

> I wonder if it is worth considering an eBook type option for
> TAG.  I suppose that this may incur an initial investment
> but it can eliminate postage and handling....

Karen replied:

> I think that's an option that's worth at least exploring, thanks!  Right
> now, I have my hands full getting the paper TAG reorganized.  Would anyone
> else care to do some research into what we'd need to do and how myuch it
> would cost to service overseas members this way?


eBooks? That's just another name for an Adobe PDF file. They are created
using any of several software packages from Adobe (I have Adobe Acrobat 5
and Adobe Pagemaker 7.0, both of which export to PDF format). Depending upon
what you are using to prepare the layout for TAG, the same files should be
able to be turned into PDF files (Pagemaker can import most major word
processing files and can handle any graphics format you care to throw at
it).

The idea of eBooks is that they are for sale - and Adobe makes a product
called Content Server which is software to handle the transaction and
provide access to the product once it has been paid for. For all other use
(i.e. - to give the stuff away, or to make it available to AGA members)
there shouldn't be any need for such sophistication (nor expense - Content
Server software runs around $5,000.00 US).

I'm sure that Erik can set up a section of the AGA website which is only
accessible to AGA members with very little effort, and at no cost to the
organization. Any PDF files uploaded there could be downloaded by members.

If you want, I can take an old copy of TAG, scan it into my computer and run
it thru OCR software and then see how easy it would be to pump out an
"electronic equivalent" of TAG back issues using Pagemaker and Adobe
Acrobat. As I mentioned, for future issues of TAG, all that is needed is the
right software because you already have the text and graphics in some sort
of layout package - depending upon the page layout software you use, you
might be able to go directly to PDF from there.

Let me know.....

James Purchase
Toronto

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