I'm sorry if I seem rude here, my wording hasn't lived up to it's rightful meaning. So if it seems rude I apoligize. It's all on how I word it. But Steerpike questioning my intelligence doesn't help anything. I'm not questioning yours, so what's the hate? I will accept the fact I'm wrong anytime, but making fun of me just gives me the impression you gave up and you just want to make me look stupid. And playing the sarcastic game isn't helping ethier. Cause well I'm pretty fluent on sarcasim but I never intend to bring onto these fourms. I'm only 14 and I'm not a rocket scientist. Even tho I've might of went a tad bit overboard, all I was trying to do is to point out a disadvantage of the Kindle. Not for me to take a science class. I"ll be honest, were all friends here, right? My science teacher wasn't very good this past year. And yes I paid attenion. Don't insult me cause I've had poor teachings. I never intended to insult you so don't do it to me.
Not to derail, but that's only the case if you want to change someone's mind, and they're intelligent. If the person is intelligent, then you can change their mind with good respectful debate. Dumbasses don't change their mind unless their pastor or favourite celebrity comes out against their current position. There is that rare breed of moron that can be convinced with a good, swift mocking, but never with respectful dialogue. Plus, mockery is fun. If you're convinced you're talking to an idiot, being condescending and mean is probably the best way to go. I'm not calling anyone here dumb, but clearly some people think others here are dumb. Back on track, I read an article saying that independent bookstores are on the rise, an anomaly on this economy. I'd link the article for you, but then the terrorists win, so you'll have to look it up yourself.
Sad fact is that book stores will likely become an endangered species, and luxury vendor in the near future. Paper books will not disappear, but the bulk and fat of the industry will be gone. I imagine a day when only very profitable and well written books will published on paper, and everything else will go digital. Ebook readers will improve in quality. The current generation are decent, but not great. Once the technology evolves enough that the reading experience is improved beyond what paper offers, then print editions will be something similar to limited edition vinyl releases in the music industry.
I wish I could share your optimism. The only books I can see being traditionally published in the near-future are books (mostly) by celebrates like Kate Price and Jeremy Clarkson. Dark times.
I too have not yet embraced the Kindle. By not yet embraced, I mean I can't afford one. And I'm too hard for a Kindle to settle for the cheaper versions on the market. This isn't a debate about whether the Kindle is better than paper books. Personally, I grew up a Star Trek/B5 geek. And one thing that stands out to be from Star Trek were the cool PADDs that were basically the fictional forerunner of Ereaders. But again, this is about Borders and the collapse. The problem is, Borders made a lot of financial mistakes in 2001 and ten years later, they're paying for the mistakes. What happened to them has nothing to do with the state of technology or the love of paperback books vs. Downloadable files. It was going left when they should have gone right. It happens. The only downside of all of this, in my opinion, is the loss of thousands of jobs and the damage this will do to the publishing industry over all. I'll break it down. 1: All those books being returned to publishers. With Barnes N Noble now being the major book retailer in the country and a handful of really decently sized privately owned book stores, that will be fewer places to distribute books. 2: Authors suffer. With one less retailer to distribute to, authors royalties and advance payments will be lowered significantly. Granted, writing won't make you rich to start out with, but I'm sure at least half of you dream of getting paid to write. Authoring a novel and publishing increases your chances of being paid enough to make it worth putting it on your tax returns. And as anyone who has self published can tell you, if you can't get people to buy your book, you can't get a profit on what you've cost to have it published. I do not see the Kindle as a threat to the publishing industry, nor is it a threat to writing and reading over all. Libraries will still have their collections. Books will always retain their sentimental value, especially for people who can't afford a Kindle.
What? You read it. That's all. Do you want an ebook reader that massages you while you read it? What about one that projects the words on a wall and scrolls them down while playing the Star Wars theme or something? Actually, that would be cool. Right now, what they are are flat bits of plastic with text no back lighting. Aside from a lack of pages, they basically are books. It already is improved beyond what paper offers by allowing more than one book in a device smaller than many books already are. I mean, I literally don't see your point in any way.
Um...some of the E-book models I've seen do have backlighting. And just because something is sufficient doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement.
Yes, I think traditional publishers will gravitate more and more towards the sure high-dollars sales. Celebrity books and a handful of top list fiction authors, etc.
Some, like the Nook color, have a traditional back-lit LCD. The Kindle display isn't much different from looking at a paperback, however.
Indeed we are. Don't take it too seriously, it's mostly just internet banter. I apologize for insulting you. I don't know you (or hardly anyone else here) so my comments in that regard shouldn't be taken too seriously. This is all pretty tame. You should see the politics message board I frequent. Yikes!
Has anyone mentioned the fact that Borders was always a rip-off? If you wanted to get a good deal it was never the place to go in my experience. I'm not surprised they've closed down, rise of the eBook or not!
Yeah. We are all amigos here. I've seen game threads that have resulted in actual violence and organized fights. This place is very nice in comparison.
Yeah, it has been mentioned, but it's worth repeating. Borders had a lot of troubles of their own making. I hardly ever went there, but probably buy ten books a month from Barnes & Noble.
Yes, this place is quite nice. I'm also on an email list where we discuss anything from Kindles to politics to religion, science, public policy etc., and half the time it is each person trying to one-up the other in creative insults. But in that case we all know each other irl and no one takes it seriously. From my personal point of view, I laugh at the screen as hard as anyone else if someone comes up with a really funny and creative insult at me. Sometimes forget people are bound to take things more seriously.
I haven't known of any Borders since I moved to Dublin, but there was a big one in Glasgow I used to go to. Only went because it was big and fun to play hide and seek in with my friends though... wouldn't ever actually buy anything!
Heh. My sixth grade teacher, Miss Wilbur, was probably worse. She only taught two sessions of science the entire year, and thank God for that! In one of the two, she insisted that household electric current is direct current. Her reasoning? "The lights don't flicker."
I used to despise electronic books. Books has always been and should always be physical. There's nothing quite like walking through a huge bookstore or library and browing the books, or sitting in front of a fireplace with a can of beer and a good book on a stormy autumn night. Then I got my first Android phone, and it came with a few electronic books including one with Sherlock Holmes. I was bored and gave it a try.... and loved it. :redface: I hate to admit it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. It might be hard on the eyes to read on it for hours, but all in all it wasn't bad.
I read some on my Android phone. I liked it, but it gave me a headache over time. If you get a chance to try a Kindle, I think you'll enjoy that. It's a good experience, imo
J have a Kindle, and I have an Android phone with the Kindle app. I generally prefer the Kindle for my electronic reading, because it is much more booklike. However, I brought my phone to the movies today so I could read in the near dark *BEFORE the film!) using the lighted display. And the two devices synchronize my current reading selections. So whereever I leave off on one device, I pick right up on the other. I also have the app on my computer - it's better for tech books.
I'm definitely saddened to see Borders go out of business. While I do prefer Barnes and Noble, I still don't like to see a large book store chain go out of business. As for the e-book/book discussion, I definitely prefer actual books. As others have said, there's something about holding a book in your hand. About turning each page, seeing your progression throughout the novel. Plus there's just having books on your shelf. You can't really display all your books from a Nook. That said, I still plan on getting a Nook or Kindle at some point, the reason only being for ease. It's easier to carry around, and can hold more than one book. Besides the points I mentioned above, the other disadvantage for me having a Nook would be the fact that I usually don't buy my books for full price, but rather from either used book stores or bargain prices. Most books I have bought haven't cost more than $5, a lot [probably even most] only $1, and there's no such thing as a used e-book. I wish that you could buy an actual book and get a free e-book along with it. That way you can have the physical book, but if you ever want to read it on a trip or at college or something, you can more easily do so by bringing along your Nook/Kindle/etc.
I agree with you on every point, Velox. As much as IU have come to appreciate the Kindle, I still prefer books with paper pages, even though their pages may yellow and crack with age, and sometimes pull free from their bindings. They age gracefully despite that, and we cherish their connection to time. Some of that is lost in a digital copy - the smell and the heft of it in your hands, and the reverent care needed to keep it in good condition. And yes, I too feel the loss of a major book chain. I have seen many book stores fail, independents as well as chain stores, and each one stabs at my heart. Still, businsesses do fail. When they do, they leave a vaccuum that is eventually filled. I do not foresee the fall of the industry in this.
I hurt. So, FL is fast becoming e-reader friendly in the public school system (at least K-12). Most schools around my area have are already issuing kindles out to every student in lieu of textbooks. Great, I've seen the trend emerging in the last year and have been expecting it for a while. BUT! But, I was not expecting the side-effects of this move. That most high schools will soon shut down and close their actual libraries. I don't know, but I was not expecting that even though I should've seen it coming. And what was even more disconcerting to hear is that two local area high schools have already started a move to shut down their libraries. Will this be a trend affecting all public schools nation-wide now? The cost to fund libraries are pretty high compared to buying a single kindle and with the move to become e-friendly, overtime funding for keeping a library open will stop and if high schools don't have any money to keep a library open outside of state sources, what the fook? Are we all going to say bye-bye books? Seems like it. But that's an atrocity. Are libraries going to be a thing of the past? Community Libraries so far have handled the move to e-books pretty well. My local library already "loans" kindles out just like regular books, while ipads can be used inside. And even before e-readers became popular, we already had a digital media check-out system in place years before, but it's pretty scary to think that kids, new generation kids will have no need for anything paper. Even companies are moving to systems in which we are pushing regular paperwork to be handled completely online, through scanners, or whatever. We are discouraging the printing of paper. We are going back and scanning all our old records so that we don't need to physical store documents. I mean, yes, I understand the benefits of being e-friendly, but at the same time, I don't think I'm ready to hear that libraries are shutting down because of it. I feel a bit disjointed.
I'm not excited by the demise of the physical book, but I had a lecturer once who pointed something out about the kindle/ebooks that I found interesting. The novel is generally capped at around a thousand pages because binding more than a thousand pages is difficult. This obviously isn't a problem with an ereader.
