Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Based on that logic, if the Govt didn't have enough of a reason to support e-books before, then they still don't now. However, I maintain that the govt should have taken the e-book industry in-hand years ago, and applied the same kind of regulations for the public good that it has applied to things like occupational safety, food quality and traffic control.
|
Why, that'd be like selling the farm to the cattle! I prefer to keep the cattle out of the barn, if know what I mean.
Anywayy, I really can't speculate as to exactly what extent the government should be involved in promoting or backing the industry's growth, but some sort of significant integration with Uncle Sam would certainly be a part of finally moving readers out of the "fringe/geek item market" and making the e-book/e-ink niche into a stable, ingrained market. Having called readers something of a geek item (I definitely think this is still true, at least for now), I'd say that the Kindle's general positive response in the portable gadget world is probably a good indicator that e-ink devices and displays are ready to break on a large scale with the right kind of noticeability (word of mouth, government backing, better screens, people actually reading for once in their lives!). At the very least, I definitely don't think that dedicated/semi-dedicated reader devices will ever pass into being a novelty item. Sorry everyone for no US presidential candidates with e-book readers right here.