And when a paperback gets ruined it doesn't cost $200 to replace. We could go around and around like this all day, to no good effect, I'm sure, since it all comes down to personal preference.

Contrary to what GP said above, my preferring paper has nothing to do with nostalgia or cocoa, I just find it cheaper, more practical, and more reliable than digital currently.

But I'll agree that your hypothetical consumer Utopia sounds very appealing. I have no quarrel with the concept of the ebook, it's the execution that leaves me cold. Once media companies stop treating their customers like cash cows who can't be trusted with their own purchases, I'll hop on the bandwagon. But I'm not holding my breath.

Yeah, I used to think that too. However, print books don't get cracked screens, dead batteries, planned obsolescence, or the draconian DRM schemes that are still a reality. As someone who's been down both roads, I'm just glad we still have a choice, because paper remains a competitive technology.

Well, 4599 now, Amazon decided they didn't like one of the titles.

Are you finding it harder, as you get more mature, to find something you want to play?"

Actually, I found it hard to justify the expense and time investment of keeping up with games. I know people who buy every new console that comes out, with the requisite library of games. It's thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, and as I get older I find I'd rather do other things.

Dropping out of the gaming community has been curious... a lot of the stuff coming out now looks amazing graphically, but the play mechanics don't seem to have changed in the last five or ten years. From the outside it looks like the same three games being re-skinned and re-released over and over. And I really don't miss the frustration of DRM, buggy releases, the patch-it-later mentalities, and the ballad of shame and broken promises of games that get overhyped.

I have a lot of fond memories of my hardcore gaming days, and bear no ill will for the people who are still into it, but I feel happier for having left it behind. When the need for a gaming fix returns, I find just firing up GtA or Half-Life 2 scratches the itch as much as buying a new game.

So yeah, I guess I'm old and stuff.

Silence the discord...

Despite super-hilarious claims to the contrary, Slashdot is not a hivemind.

Away with your facts and your logic, unbeliever, we've got straw men that need burning.

In my town the Blockbuster had the worst selection of anyone. Even the mom & pop store on the bad side of town with the dirty floors and drunks operating the cash register had a more interesting selection. I remember when I got a gift certificate for Blockbuster one year and I literally couldn't find anything to spend it on. They had nothing I wanted. It was that bad. (Not surprisingly, they shuttered years ago.)

Also, I doubt anyone is trying to be "hip" on Slashdot with their thrilling stories of renting movies decades ago. It is possible to present an alternative opinion without trying to discredit others.

Actually, being able to work within strict limitations -is- a pretty good indicator of talent. It's much easier to bloviate for paragraphs at a time without saying anything.

Moderation's really on the job when "I didn't see this movie but it sucks!" is modded insightful. And "Cameraschlock"? For God's sake.

No. Really enjoys movies != "no life."

Do yourself a favor and don't be this guy.

Apparently the test is open-book.

You know, I think you'll recover from the trauma eventually.

This just in. Following points made on /. regarding what other things than gaming you can do on your PS3, Sony quickly released an update that includes these changes:

[Citation needed]

All Mario games are now off-limits to people allergic to mushrooms. They might get upset. And don't even get me started on the trauma of Burger Time.