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Old 05-12-2010, 03:52 PM   #38
Gummby
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Gummby began at the beginning.
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cearbhallain View Post
Am I the only one who sees an analogy here: Paperback is to Hardcover as Cassette tape is to Record Album ?

[snip]

The publishing industry seems to be too hidebound to appreciate this. They are desperately clinging to a format that is becoming obsolete.
I like your analogy, but it only works if you have the same level of market penetration for the paperback alternative as you have for cassette/LP alternative. You had that with CDs, and later with MP3s as well.

In fact, I listen to MP3s on my different computers all the time, as well as about 4 portable devices, but for the most part, I hate reading on the computers. I've lost track of the number of times I've read on this site how other people have said the same thing about reading on the computer. Consumption of music is different than consumption of books.

Also, there aren't as many reading devices as audio devices. There's more than there used to be, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to audio, and the lack of a common format further segregates it.

Despite your valid observations about the paperback, it is still a convenient container. There really is no intermediate transitional form for physical books to electronic alternative which functions like the CD was for music, except perhaps PDF. But PDF repeatedly gets the thumbs-down here as well (and I think for good reasons), which I think only reinforces the point.
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