GOOGLE ANNOUNCES ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM - ONE PASS

Not to be outdone by Apple's announcement yesterday of their subscription payment system, Google has unveiled one of their own. The PR-speak promises "an open and flexible platform" for "publishers, journalism and access to quality content." In a nutshell it is a user authentication, payment processing, and administration system for folks who want to sell content on the web. Google only takes ten percent off the top (compared to Apple's thirty percent), and you even get access to consumer data -- something Apple is unwilling to do. Check out the video below. [Engadget]

BARNES AND NOBLE INTRODUCES PUBIT!

Barnes and Noble has launched Pubit!, the service that allows individuals to upload their epic works of words and sell as an ebook on B&N's website, hopefully for a profit.  Writers need only have their work in TXT, RTF, HTML or Microsoft Word format and upload it to the site.  Pubit! (that exclamation point is annoying) will take your file and render out a nice clean ebook, within 72 hours.  It will place that ebook on B&N's website ready for download.

Your ebook will be available for the Nook and all the Nook apps that are out there for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, PC, Mac, etc.  You can price your tome from $1 up to $200.  Anything selling for less than $10 will net the writer 65% and anything over $10 they will get 40% with no hidden fees or costs.

Pubit! will compete with Amazon's own Digital Text Platform (DTP). [Gizmodo]