yvan said:
> People who are not hard core
> will not read on portable devices
> because they will need a computer
> to get content to it.
huh? i don't follow that. to get to a book on the web,
all an iphone user needs to do is to surf to that website.
want to read "my antonia" by willa cather? go here:
>
http://z-m-l.com/go/iphone/myantp001.html
click on the right side of each image to page forward,
and the left side to page backward. what you'll see is
each page as it was scanned. the type is big and clear,
and i'm one of those guys getting the old-people eyes,
so i'd imagine each page is very sharp to the young'uns.
moreover, each image fits nicely onto the iphone screen,
so there's no need for scrolling about. all in all, very nice.
back to pournelle, what he's saying -- and i'm saying too --
is that once millions of people are carrying iphones around,
the few of them that _might_ be readers (not "hard core",
but who do occasionally read a book) might -- if only by
_accident_ -- stumble upon a book online, start reading,
and realize "hey, this isn't a bad way to pass the time
while i'm sitting and waiting here at the doctor's office,"
and that -- multiplied across millions of people -- this will
hasten even further the decline and fall of the paperback.
i mean, i don't find _any_ weakness in that "speculation",
and believe you me, i would certainly tell you if i did...
will a convenient machine that they are carrying anyway
turn non-readers into readers? no, certainly not... and
nobody has said anything that stupid in this thread...
> I still firmly believe that you can not use
> a tiny screen to take the place of a bigger one
i would certainly hope you don't think i disagree!
because i second that emotion strongly!
i never even considered buying a p.d.a. for reading,
because the screens were so small it was ridiculous.
and i wouldn't even _think_ of telling anyone here
that the iphone screen was big enough if i hadn't
been convinced out of my _skepticism_ that it is.
would i like a machine with a bigger screen? yes!
i have wanted a paperback-sized screen forever!
(but if i pay $300+ for it, it'd better surf the web.)
-bowerbird