Quote:
Originally Posted by GhostHawk
"My point is, you generally don't need to carry paper around with you. You can usually find some sort of paper when you need something to write on. I.e., the notion of the napkin in the diner. In contrast, a device, you either have it with you, or you don't; if you don't have it, you can't use it."
Are ebook readers going to replace post it notes, hmmm not this decade.
No one is saying that an ebook reader is going to make all paper obsolete. When you try to make that point your just confusing the issue. What I have not yet figured out is why your trying to do that. But it really doesn't matter in the long term.
Are ebooks and readers going to replace the mass market paperback market of which 60% are wasted without being read? Yep, and quicker than you might think too. I think the majority of us see that the end is nearing for paper distribution of books. Mass market paperbacks will in my opinion be the first to go.
But there is a huge difference between paperbacks and post it notes, or even printer paper for that matter. No one that I know of is saying that paper as paper is going to disappear off the face of the earth this decade.
BTW no one has any real idea what kind of device could come out in the next 6 - 8 years that truly could do away with paper. Who knows it could be all voice recognition or directly picking up brain waves both in and out. It might write notes, keep your calendar, watch your diet, make your phone calls, let you read your books and send all your data to some corporation for determining the best advertising campaign. Look back at what innovation has occurred in the last 10 years, then project that forward 10 years.
Paper will go the way of the dinosaur, just a question of when.
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For me, paperwork reduction has meant scanning all documents that do not require me to retain the original physical copy (I keep a digital copy of those anyway "just in case") so I can destroy the originals instead of warehousing them. I pay as many bills possible online (or via automatic deduction) to avoid having to actually write checks (and the few I do my computer writes and prints for me). I have a few actual paper post-it notes in my desk but I can't remember the last time I used one. I have a virtual post-it note program I use on my computer desktop.
I communicate with friends via e-mail (with one exception; she's 75 and doesn't have the technology for e-mail). I very rarely generate paper; most of the paper I deal with comes from others and I digitize most of it before the pile becomes too deep or I need to clear my desk for something. I have as many statements as possible accessed online instead of sent as paper.
Still, a small 4 1/" x 3 1/4" composition notebook, a couple of pens, and a small audio recorder take up less room in my purse and are a lot easier to use for quick notes than anything else I've seen. I can safely use the audio recorder while driving since I can operate it one handed without taking my eyes off the road by thumbing one switch, something I wouldn't be able to do with my cell phone (it also has an audio recorder but it is buried in a couple layers of menu). It runs on AA batteries, which I carry several of for spares; I run down my cell phone, that is all she wrote.
Sadly, I'm still pretty much locked into dealing with paperbooks. Used p-books are much cheaper than e-books (when was the last time anyone bought a "used" e-book). Finding e-books of recent releases without DRM is pretty much impossible. I refuse to support DRM by buying e-books with it. Sure, I could buy them and strip the DRM, but I resent being forced to break the law and refuse do it. As long it is makes more economic sense, I'll continue to buy p-books and scan them.