The eBook, Mark 2 203
Selanit writes "David Pogue recently published a review of the Sony Reader, under the title Trying Again to Make Books Obsolete. Though he likes the device in general, he concludes that it's not destined to replace the book any time soon. Well worth a read."
We've heard this before... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Just one question: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:the one advantage (Score:5, Insightful)
pulp books do not need electricity
That's the only advantage you can think of for traditional books? They also have no DRM; they have to be treated pretty badly before they stop working; they contain both the data and everything necessary to read it.
I have a fifty odd year old book I bought second hand recently. It has one or two holes in it where it got torn up pretty badly. However, I can still read it. I probably couldn't say the same thing about a fifty year old computer text file, as it would pre-date ASCII and likely be written on some old format like a punch card, so I'd probably need to buy some specialist hardware like a punch card reader, then write a program to translate the data into a modern format.
Of course, digitised books have advantages too, such as not taking up space, and being easily searchable. It seems like an ideal format for non-fiction reference books such as encyclopedias and guides, but not very good for fiction.
The marketing problem: A book is portable (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Magazines and the Web (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Things need for ebook success (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Magazines and the Web (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:the one advantage (Score:2, Insightful)
i.e., a fairly new book (about half of my thousands of books and magazines are between 50 and 100 years old, a few rather older); whereas the standard eternity for computerized gear is three years.
I probably couldn't say the same thing about a fifty year old computer text file, as it would pre-date ASCII
Of course ASCII is moving in on 39 years old and is fairly stable. With a bit of work it's even human translatable, even from certain kinds of computer storage media.
Of course, digitised books have advantages too, such as not taking up space, and being easily searchable. .
And being considerably easier to move. Trust me on this one. Did I mention that I have thousands of books and magazines? I also have thousands of ebooks/documents. They slip into my pocket.
KFG
KFG
Re:the one advantage (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless it's dark. And where I live, it's dark about half the time. Farther north, planetary motion is even less compliant with readers' needs. Fix that, and you've got something!
I happen to split my time between web development and book design and typesetting, and I can't imagine that the old, er, analog format can't live in harmony with the new digital formats. I prefer to read print on paper, but I do keep several reference and classic books on my PDA. I don't find them as easy on the eyes, but that's details -- the fact is, I have more data than I could ever carry in print form in a little box the size of my wallet, and I can refer to it when the chips are down (the U.S. Constitution is getting quite a workout these days, for example). And if I have something digitally that I'm reading at home on paper, I can wait out a dentist or something and just move my physical bookmark when I get home. Moreover, you can't run a global search on a hardcover from the library. But you can hold it and smell it and enjoy all the tactile magnificence of a well-manufactured book.
Working in publishing, I hear a lot of either/or -- people strongly believe that the advent of eBooks spells the end of print books. They can live together and compliment each other, as long as the proponents of each don't think the other is a mortal threat to their bottom line. No different from a lot of other digital-vs-analog arguments, really. People freak out far too easily when they think something that will compliment their industry will actually replace it. Whereas the smart people (read: the ones who will still be there at the end) get involved in both.
Re:the one advantage (Score:2, Insightful)
Paper books have a pretty solid copyright protection built in, which is circumventable only through extensive effort and then the copied result is generally of much lower quality than the original.
If you give a paper book to someone, you no longer have it.
Ebooks good...paper good (Score:1, Insightful)