Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Nemo
Is this really how we should be thinking in the 21st century. Isn't paper dead?
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That's a very limited paradigm at the very least, colonialist at worst.
I'm from the Philippines, and while I'm part of an eBook publishing company, most of the people here still read paper books.
And that's going to be the case for a lot of countries outside of the US and the UK.
(We're growing the eBook business here, but it's far from dominant, nor do we believe that the demise of print will herald the rise of eBooks.)
Just look at the policies behind a lot of the major eBook vendors. Barnes & Noble won't sell to readers outside of the US. Apple's iTunes has expanded to a few European countries but aside from that, same case as Barnes & Noble. Amazon charges $2.00, even if we're not using Whispersync to get our eBooks.
Some vendors even make it difficult to check your eBooks, unless you're from the US:
http://blog.ksaugustin.com/2011/10/0...e-third-world/
It also doesn't take into consideration realities other countries face such as:
1) availability of eBook readers
2) affordability of eBook readers
3) ability to conduct electronic transactions (i.e. not everyone has a credit card, and the process is significantly more difficult in various countries compared to the US)
4) language supported by eBook readers, and vendors
Which isn't to say print doesn't have its limitations--I prefer having access to both the eBooks and print--but a lot of these discussions tends to be US-centric and tend to ignore the plight of others.