Comments on: Unshelved on e-books vs. paper books

By: Joscha

Joscha — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:25:51 +0000

@Chris Meadows

My point, exactly. Cars did not replace horses as being horses. But they _did_ replace them as the primary means of transportation.

By: Chris Meadows

Chris Meadows — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:57:23 +0000

HeavyG: If the car had replaced the horse, there wouldn’t be any horses left anymore. They’d have gone the way of the passenger pigeon. But there are still hundreds of thousands of horses around, being used for things that cars wouldn’t be good for—just as cars are being used for things that horses aren’t as good for (unless you’re Amish, of course).

Likewise, even after e-books have been widely adopted, paper books will not vanish. They’ll stay around, used for things that e-books aren’t as good for—just as e-books will be used for things that paper books aren’t as good for.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:23:01 +0000

I can read my Sony reader while it charges.

It’s a punchline only if you don’t know anything about ebook readers.

Not funny, untrue and totally pointless.

By: HeavyG

HeavyG — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:12:25 +0000

The car has replaced the horse.

Just try taking a horse on I-95 sometime.

By: Chris Meadows

Chris Meadows — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:03:54 +0000

The automobile hasn’t replaced the horse.

Just try taking a car on a trail ride sometime.

By: asphalt

asphalt — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:42:05 +0000

if ‘replacement’ is to happen, i’d predict it will be awhile before it does. digitizing society’s giant print backlog — and prioritizing it for digitization — will be super-challenging.

scarily, even though i’ve purchased some (used) print recently, and have quite a bit of material in print that is not yet available electronically, i have *read* nothing in print since i got my kindle in february. i just don’t take print with me, and i really don’t ‘read’ at home (although i do browse cookbooks and craft books). a simple, and slightly depressing, fact of my life.

which makes me wonder. will printed books once again become so expensive that they will be priced out of reach of the average consumer? and — as e-reader prices continue to drop — should we care, or not?

By: Joscha

Joscha — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:25:21 +0000

Also, the automobile will probably never replaced the horse. The genuine smell, and the tactile experience of a horse, as well as the joy of owning one… ah. You don’t get this from some technical artifact made of plastics and metal.

If cars only were more horse-like. If they could whinny and gallop, maybe I would buy one.

Also, the price really needs to come down.

By: Con

Con — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:11:03 +0000

Ah yes, electricity … this is why TV will never replace the zoetrope!

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:30:46 +0000

Today a student asked what I was reading. Without thinking about it, I replied, “On paper I’m reading Asimov. On the Kindle I’m reading Rex Stout.”