Hey everybody I got a great idea! Let's just burn all our books and start using Kindle instead!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html?_ r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/amazoncom-plays-big-brother-w ith-a-famous-e-book/
(I'm aware the OP might be being sarcastic, but here are my two cents anyways)
I think electronic books are a great way to go blind much faster (and then you can't read at all! Awesome, yeah?)
I'll keep my physical books...especially the old ones. I love how they smell. :P
Kindle doesn't have a backlight, so it actually doesn't harm your eyes (one of the reasons I got one considering my eyes are already *beep* and at least now I can change the font size so I don't have to squint to read anymore, which further damages my sight)... other devices, however, do. Give the Kindle a break, it's quite a nifty doo-dad! :)
I also love my physical books, though... Electronics can't make-up for the smell, the texture of the paper, and the flexible easy to skip through pages, a physical book has...
Now wait a minute. First of all, I am still using an old CRT-display connected to my computer (Ok, so I'm living in stone-age times). But for years I have thought I ought to buy one of these new LCD screens, since I figured its probably not good staring into a CRT for extended periods of time and I thought staring at LCDs is probably harmless. Now you are telling me that staring at LCD screens (which I assume need to be backlit) are bad for your eyes? Please tell me you are joking. I do agree that it is kind of stupid the way back when they started making these personal computers and they had the Macintosh which used this desktop motif and unlike before now you were pretending you were looking at black lettering on white sheets of paper (this was very innovative idea at the time), and because of this now in almost all cases when you are working with text, you have black (which is really just absense of light) on a white background, which means you have all this WHITE LIGHT continually shining in your eyes. When it might be better to use white lettering on a black background, then its mostly dark. This might not only save your eyes (if the problem is staring at a big area of bright WHITE for hours), but for a CRT for example, this means that the electron guns are continually in a state of high-power, thus I would think using more electrical power then would be necessary if the screen was mostly dark. If default state for LCD pixels is also black, then its probably true for them too.
shareWhen it might be better to use white lettering on a black background, then its mostly dark.You're a man out of your time. : )
When it might be better to use white lettering on a black background, then its mostly dark. This might not only save your eyes (if the problem is staring at a big area of bright WHITE for hours), but for a CRT for example, this means that the electron guns are continually in a state of high-power, thus I would think using more electrical power then would be necessary if the screen was mostly dark.
i too love the smell of an old book, and there is just something wonderful about holding a tangible object in your hand, something u can feel and smell. i mean, ipods, computers, etc are tangible, but cut the power and they are useless. all u need to power on a book is light and literacy. i am legally blind, and reading can be painful for me with all the eye strain, but i still love to read. i have used audiobooks, but there is jut nothing like holding a book in your hand and reading. i have even begun learning Braille. if the time comes when i can no longer see the pages, i can still feel the words. literacy is so important and i run into so many people who simply can't read. i mean, they can make out some words, and read a little, but the reading level is so low, it is sad. they have missed out on so much. long live the written word!
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Do everything in Love. I Corinthians 16:14 NIV
Amen!
shareFor me, one of the real pleasures of reading is finishing a good book, and then giving it to a friend so we can have a shared experience. I doubt people are going to be giving away their Kindles any time soon.
Plus, can you writes notes in the margins of your Kindle?
reklawlah, YES you can write notes in the margins with a Kindle. You type them in on your keypad. It's actually better than writing in the margins of a book because (a) you have more room to write and (b) you can erase the note(s) later if you want.
shareBooks actually seem more sturdy. If you drop an electronic book it might break.
A real one though probably will not. Unless you drop it from really high up.
Books are also more water-resistant, although still damaging.
And books represent nostalgia. I've never read an E-book, nor do I want to.
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Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery.
Is dropping books a big issue in your life? I don't do a lot of reading at the grand canyon, so this isn't really a concern for me.
I just have to laugh every time I read about these people that are so deathly afraid of technology. Yes, there is nothing like curling up with a good book, but the kindle offers some clear advantages. These technological fraidy-cats treat it like it's been injected with the bubonic plague. Here's an idea folks: Leave your pathetic comfort zones and try something new.
You make me chuckle.
I am far from being technologically afraid. I'm a teenager for God's sake. Okay, I change my opinion on Kindle. I would like one and would read from one often.
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Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery.
Good. I think you'll like it.
shareI think most people don't feel a fear of technology. They feel LOATHING for technology. Chat rooms, for instance, ensure complete anonymity and are a stalker's and a pedophile's best friend. As far as Kindle is concerned, just as cell phones are now owned by 90% more people than just 17 years ago, 17 years from now, bookstores will probably be forever gone. And without seeing bookstores, and being able to browse in them, without the curiosity of seeing what someone else on the bus or subway is reading, I am quite sure in the future, people will read much less.
share"...17 years from now, bookstores will probably be forever gone. And without seeing bookstores, and being able to browse in them, without the curiosity of seeing what someone else on the bus or subway is reading, I am quite sure in the future, people will read much less."
All this 'cloud media' bull *beep* is just more proof that Devo was right.
First off, I work in a second-hand book store, so I'm bound to be a little biased. In response to Rupert's comment, I'm not "afraid" of technology. I just don't see the benefits of a lot of these so called "advances". My girlfriend has a Kindle & I have tried reading with it. Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. A paperback is much easier to handle & carry, and as someone mentioned before, if you want to pass it on to a friend I seriously doubt someone's going to loan out their Kindle. I just take comfort in knowing that actual physical books will NEVER become obsolete. At the store where I work, a person can buy most paperbacks for $1 to $3. And I'm not just talking about last month's crappy James Patterson release. I'm talking about literary classics. Why would I want to spend over $100 on something just to have to CONTINUOUSLY pay for each additional book I want to "download" thereafter? Then again, this is coming from a person who doesn't own an ipod or any kind of video game system, so what the heck do I know??
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
D'you know that you can use it?
For convenience really. Being able to hold an entire library in one device is nice, takes up less room, creates less dust and clutter, and is tree friendly ;)
I love books, and you cannot replace coffee table books with a kindle, but the convenience can't be denied.
www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=6751188
www.originalfool.us
You can't kill a fly with a kindle
Now being serious, to have a physical book in your hands, to walk inside a library or bookstore picking books, reading them, smelling them, touching them, is a unique experience (at least for book lovers). I don't see myself collecting books in a kindle. Besides, what if the device got broken? Books are far more resistant plus Kindle can be burnt as well. At which temperature? I have no idea.
Do you back up your computer files? Frankly I don't trust Steve Jobs as far as I can throw him, let alone trust him with the entire cultural history and structure of the world.
shareelectronic devices are a horrible way to archive anything. books movies music all need to have physical copies in order to be preserved securely.
share"electronic devices are a horrible way to archive anything. books movies music all need to have physical copies in order to be preserved securely."
Do my eyes deceive me or is something speaking the truth?! Yes! It's true! There are other people who can think for themselves and look at what's around them as opposed to blindly following and believing what the majority wants them to! I'm not the only one after all! :)
Everyone missed the point of the original post, specifically that Amazon had the remotely erased books that had already bought and installed on user's Kindles. In a delicious twist of irony, one of those erased was "1984".
Winston Smith's job was to re-write newspaper articles that the regime retrospectively didn't like. In his day this required gathering up all the old newspapers, burning them, then replacing them with re-written ones. In our modern day it's going to be so much easier to change the web site and update everyone's Kindle. We were never at war with Eurasia. If we had been, there would be an article about it on your news reader device.
Amazon swears they won't do it again. Really. Unless maybe the next time they have a really good reason.
That is the whole idea of the KINDLE. It would be so easy to upload and download files and who would notice subtle changes to the manuscript. You could probably custom edit the book for the person buying it.
Look at Wiki-pedia. All electronic, enyone can update the information in it, and people take it as gospel. Newspapers are disappearing, and much as I hat to say, normal books may also. Younger people tend not to read as much as the previous generation. It may tak a while but, I can see it coming. I may buy a Kindle or whaterver the new e-book reader will be at the time (remember rocket books?) but I will still buy normal books, until I can't.
While the Kindle format is okay, what you describe is really yet another reason of several why I still prefer .PDFs over the newer Kindle format, as far as digital e-books go.
But as far as ye olde paper books, I also will continue to buy and read them too.
I do not like your idea, that's at least one vote against it. Why ? i just NEED the feel of a book....if Kindle can duplicate that exactly, then fine.
shareYou know something else I just thought of? Isn't it interesting that they named this new e-book device a "Kindle". Why do you suppose they gave it that name?
kindle \'kin-d'l\ 1: to start (a fire) burning : LIGHT...<=...actual definition copied from my dictionary
Are these people trying to tell us something? I guess they DO want to at least give us a little hint that maybe we ought to think about burning our regular books! This story has elements of both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451! Hey, maybe the Kindle comes with a little cigarette-lighter built in, to help get those old books ablazing. And maybe a little nozzle can come out that discharges kerosene? Ain't technology wonderful!
What use is Kindle when we have physical books?
shareI don't see why everybody is so vehemently against e-books. I own one, but I'm not planning to burn any of my physical books in the spirit of Fahrenheit 451. I find it convenient because too many books would take up a lot of space, plus it costs less to buy an e-book than a physical book because the publisher doesn't have to print it, pay for any paper, ship it, or anything like that.
share