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Old 10-19-2006, 03:07 PM   #52
Studio717
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Posts: 208
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: California
Device: Various Kindles, iPhone, iPad, Galaxy 10.1
It's also a generational thing, I think. A number of older friends of mine will throw their hands up in horror at the thought of ebooks ("oh, I could never read anything on that!") and say how much they love regular books. It makes no sense to me. We're talking mass market paperbacks here, not beautiful photo gravure coffee table books. Who can really be in love with acidic tree pulp???

That said, I'll add that DRM is still a major drawback and probably the biggest argument against ebooks. With a regular book I can read it over and over, lend it to a friend, even sell it used if I have to. Not so with ebooks. (Though, as an author, I also don't want a person buying my book then making 300 copies for their closest friends. That's where the ebook/regular book comparison breaks down and the need for some sort of DRM pops up.)

I can't imagine a student preferring to lug around 75 lbs of text books when the same information can be had on an SD card and an iLiad or Sony eReader (or equivalent). The downfall of currently available formats is lack of annotation (some people are sooo addicted to highlighting) but with color e-ink and faster devices, I think that problem will eventually be solved.
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