I think that, right now, eBooks are too cutting edge for the masses. Most people with access to computers tend to forget that most people don't have access to computers, less still to online access, less still to the technical know-how to navigate and negotiate the various formats and whatever.
50-75 years from now, eBooks and digital media will be so ubiquitous that people then will wonder why we squabbled at all with all our various formats. Every book at the library will be available for download, magazine and book publishers will sell digital content, with paper products being the minority. The hardware readers will be given away in cereal boxes and be almost disposable. Schools will upload the various texts and assignments to some server or something and all the kid'll have to do is just download the texts to their laptops or whatever. Gone will be the days of kids with back problems from humping all those books and the market for kids' backpacks with travel wheels will shrivel up.
But right now we're feeling the growing pains of this emerging market.
POL9A
P.S. I don't think it'll take 50-75 years for the technology to catch on, just that by that time it'll be absolutely everywhere.
POL9A
Last edited by Pride Of Lions; 05-27-2005 at 12:10 PM.
Reason: Clarification.
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