Comments on: E vs. P: The Cannibalization factor http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:36:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-845299 David Rothman Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:33:18 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-845299 Hi, Daniel. The obsolescence risk is a big one right now, but the industry has made progress with e-book standards. If publishers can only back off from DRM, then maybe the book world will see standards for real. Should the existing giants not budge, then other publishers will take their place. The digital edition of my own novel, I'm proud to say, will be available without DRM, so you can buy it and almost surely be able to read it 20 years from now and even pass it on to your children or grandchildren. Kudos to stores like Fictionwise---one of The Solomon Scandals' future outlets, via Twilight Times Books---for their multiformat approach. David Hi, Daniel. The obsolescence risk is a big one right now, but the industry has made progress with e-book standards. If publishers can only back off from DRM, then maybe the book world will see standards for real. Should the existing giants not budge, then other publishers will take their place. The digital edition of my own novel, I’m proud to say, will be available without DRM, so you can buy it and almost surely be able to read it 20 years from now and even pass it on to your children or grandchildren. Kudos to stores like Fictionwise—one of The Solomon Scandals’ future outlets, via Twilight Times Books—for their multiformat approach. David

]]> By: Daniel Udsen http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-845171 Daniel Udsen Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:35:29 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-845171 It's a dangeous trap to compare video's and music to books and ebooks, it's probably a flawed model because firstly as with VHS DVD's have physical containers and transferable licenses something pbooks have but ebook's lack and secondly ebooks are dependent on readers technoligy that can be made obsolete and pbooks dont. Going from VHS to DVD did not mean you abolished the notion of a second hand market going from pbooks thats sold to ebooks thats leased is going to do just that. This legal issue is whats more then anything is standing against going all digital with traditional media content. And you have the postority problem if i handed you a 5.4 floppy would you know where to find a reader and what about VHS, you dont have that issue with paper, sure the museums can easyly deal with storage of digital but that box up on the attic is unreadeble to you in 20 years unless it's content is on paper. It’s a dangeous trap to compare video’s and music to books and ebooks, it’s probably a flawed model because firstly as with VHS DVD’s have physical containers and transferable licenses something pbooks have but ebook’s lack and secondly ebooks are dependent on readers technoligy that can be made obsolete and pbooks dont.

Going from VHS to DVD did not mean you abolished the notion of a second hand market going from pbooks thats sold to ebooks thats leased is going to do just that.

This legal issue is whats more then anything is standing against going all digital with traditional media content.

And you have the postority problem if i handed you a 5.4 floppy would you know where to find a reader and what about VHS, you dont have that issue with paper, sure the museums can easyly deal with storage of digital but that box up on the attic is unreadeble to you in 20 years unless it’s content is on paper.

]]> By: Mike Cane http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-845135 Mike Cane Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:28:01 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-845135 Flippable pages will come when Apple finally does ebooks. Thinking about that, I'd also expect Apple's software to do highlighting and that thing that is sure to make some people here swoon: NOTES! And, yeah, there will be Search too. Apple will do it right. e-EVERYTHING is e-INEVITABLE. Paper books will become collector's items, nothing more. And when those collectors die, the books will be pulped. Flippable pages will come when Apple finally does ebooks. Thinking about that, I’d also expect Apple’s software to do highlighting and that thing that is sure to make some people here swoon: NOTES! And, yeah, there will be Search too. Apple will do it right.

e-EVERYTHING is e-INEVITABLE.

Paper books will become collector’s items, nothing more. And when those collectors die, the books will be pulped.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-845049 David Rothman Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:43:27 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-845049 Hi, Joscha. That's the operative phrase--"for now." I agree. But I'm looking ahead. Thanks, David Hi, Joscha. That’s the operative phrase–”for now.” I agree. But I’m looking ahead.

Thanks,
David

]]> By: Joscha http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-845034 Joscha Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:54:12 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-845034 Naaaw. Can't see how that would be pollyannaish (or do you take such a grumpy perspective on life that you equate naive with sunny?). And, more importantly, paper is here to stay. Simply, because it is cheap, ergonomic, reliable, easy to use and culturally well established. In contrast, horses were expensive, slow, unreliable, and difficult to maintain. And for the VHS - well. This does not have a single thing going for it, once you bought the new player. Even when we have good eReaders, and some of us read the majority of their books on them, they might still be "the microwave ovens of reading"; very useful, but still the quick'n'dirty alternative to the real thing. I am culturally conditioned to valuing books for what they are: even if it is a mediocre book, it is still a book, a cultural artifact, and thus good. If I like a book and can afford it and find the time to read it, I am never hesitant to buy it. For eBooks, it is just not the same - here, I am not paying for the book, but for its availability. The possession of a PDF or an ePub is just not the same as the possession of a book to me, yet. And I do not see myself presenting my friends and family with a nice PDF file... So, yes, eBooks are going to take a huge bite out of books. But books are probably here to stay, for now. Naaaw. Can’t see how that would be pollyannaish (or do you take such a grumpy perspective on life that you equate naive with sunny?). And, more importantly, paper is here to stay. Simply, because it is cheap, ergonomic, reliable, easy to use and culturally well established. In contrast, horses were expensive, slow, unreliable, and difficult to maintain. And for the VHS – well. This does not have a single thing going for it, once you bought the new player.

Even when we have good eReaders, and some of us read the majority of their books on them, they might still be “the microwave ovens of reading”; very useful, but still the quick’n'dirty alternative to the real thing.

I am culturally conditioned to valuing books for what they are: even if it is a mediocre book, it is still a book, a cultural artifact, and thus good. If I like a book and can afford it and find the time to read it, I am never hesitant to buy it. For eBooks, it is just not the same – here, I am not paying for the book, but for its availability. The possession of a PDF or an ePub is just not the same as the possession of a book to me, yet. And I do not see myself presenting my friends and family with a nice PDF file…

So, yes, eBooks are going to take a huge bite out of books. But books are probably here to stay, for now.

]]> By: Археология будущего » Blog Archive » Последняя книга http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/comment-page-1/#comment-844989 Археология будущего » Blog Archive » Последняя книга Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:02:22 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/07/09/e-vs-p-the-cannibalization-factor/#comment-844989 [...] Via TeleRead [...] [...] Via TeleRead [...]

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