MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Solid State E-Books

NatCh · 09-22-2006, 03:39 PM

I don't know that you're missing much, Bob, you may just not find it compelling.

Regarding backups: you can't back up a pbook, so I don't really see that as an issue, per se.

Advantages to a "hardware" e-book, as I see them:
I own it.
I can lend it.
I can sell it.
I can give it away.
I get to carry something away from Barnes & Nobles when I walk out the door (which may be a big deal to a lot of folks).

I think that SD cards will be around as long as folks use them. If the pubs built their e-books around SD card availability, that would give SD a lot of staying power.

You almost said it yourself -- you try to by SD card enabled devices when you can. Folks do that because it's a good, handy, usable format. The more they do it, the more entrenched SD cards become, the more durable the format is.

Did you know that up until a few years ago the 8086 chip was still the most produced chip in the world? They put them into everything from cars to toasters. Recently they jumped all the way up to 286 chips for that sort of simple, embedded application.

Displaying a text isn't that complex a task, relatively speaking, so there's really not that much reason to change that aspect. Given a generally accepted and used file type, I don't see why it can't last a really long time. TXT and RTF have been around quite a while. Yes there are other file types, but the Least Common Denominators remain.

I'm not claiming it has to be that way, nor predicting that it will stay that way, just pointing out that there are a fair number of solid reasons for it not to change.

Somebody who comes along and wants to change it all just to make a buck is going to have a tough row to hoe -- just look at the resistance of folks who already have large libraries of, say, eReader texts who are complaining because the new batch of readers don't support those file types, but rather support RTF's! If we got a standard format into general acceptance and use, then I'd think the inertia of it would become well nigh unimaginable in very short order.

Floppies, cassettes, 8-tracks, VHS, vinyl, magnetic tape, punch cards. They didn't go away because they weren't liked, they went away because something better came along. Books have survived on paper, for cryin' out loud, since the switch from clay tablets! What pressure would there be to push them off SD cards if they settled there? And how many centuries might that take? Obviously we can't know the answers to those questions, but sometimes you have to make the best call you can on the information you have. So the only real question is: is this the best call or not?

I agree, no DRM would be ideal, but sometimes you've got to take the 'half' loaf in hopes the other guy will finally figure out the loaf was a lot bigger in the first place than he thought it was.

09-22-2006, 03:39 PM	#26
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I don't know that you're missing much, Bob, you may just not find it compelling. Regarding backups: you can't back up a pbook, so I don't really see that as an issue, per se. Advantages to a "hardware" e-book, as I see them: I own it. I can lend it. I can sell it. I can give it away. I get to carry something away from Barnes & Nobles when I walk out the door (which may be a big deal to a lot of folks). I think that SD cards will be around as long as folks use them. If the pubs built their e-books around SD card availability, that would give SD a lot of staying power. You almost said it yourself -- you try to by SD card enabled devices when you can. Folks do that because it's a good, handy, usable format. The more they do it, the more entrenched SD cards become, the more durable the format is. Did you know that up until a few years ago the 8086 chip was still the most produced chip in the world? They put them into everything from cars to toasters. Recently they jumped all the way up to 286 chips for that sort of simple, embedded application. Displaying a text isn't that complex a task, relatively speaking, so there's really not that much reason to change that aspect. Given a generally accepted and used file type, I don't see why it can't last a really long time. TXT and RTF have been around quite a while. Yes there are other file types, but the Least Common Denominators remain. I'm not claiming it has to be that way, nor predicting that it will stay that way, just pointing out that there are a fair number of solid reasons for it not to change. Somebody who comes along and wants to change it all just to make a buck is going to have a tough row to hoe -- just look at the resistance of folks who already have large libraries of, say, eReader texts who are complaining because the new batch of readers don't support those file types, but rather support RTF's! If we got a standard format into general acceptance and use, then I'd think the inertia of it would become well nigh unimaginable in very short order. Floppies, cassettes, 8-tracks, VHS, vinyl, magnetic tape, punch cards. They didn't go away because they weren't liked, they went away because something better came along. Books have survived on paper, for cryin' out loud, since the switch from clay tablets! What pressure would there be to push them off SD cards if they settled there? And how many centuries might that take? Obviously we can't know the answers to those questions, but sometimes you have to make the best call you can on the information you have. So the only real question is: is this the best call or not? I agree, no DRM would be ideal, but sometimes you've got to take the 'half' loaf in hopes the other guy will finally figure out the loaf was a lot bigger in the first place than he thought it was.