MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - will e-books kill paper books?

Freeshadow · 06-14-2010, 11:10 PM

As an example:
I tried to make roleplayers (on one of the two big german RPG forums) more aware about eink devices and have had really a hard job with it.
on the one hand it is really astonishing because:

RPG is already a niche hobby where paper-printing costs (at least before the explosion of web availability) actually WERE the main factor deciding about "will it ever become a professional product"
because of that roleplayers are already used to "file-only" available editions of their stuff: apart from checking out how many smaller RPG-companys sell:
1. core rules as PDF-option
2. core rules as PDF-only
3. additional or oop materials as PDF-only

take a look at drivethruRPG http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ to see a roleplayers supermarket...

POD is btw. not really an option:
if it are not the printing costs what makes you

then it ll be the shipping.
plus a binding so lousy that the books fall apart after <10 sessions.
Most players buying PDFs prefer a mix between computer preparation & copyshop or home printout.
on the other hand even these is not enough to convince'em, because:

1.) they need it bigger
as well as every player wouldn't like their SF or Fantasy books in A4 rulebooks smaller than that are not comfortable.
conclusion: you would need a device of variable screensize since different material invokes different needs in ammount of data displayable at a glance so zoom+scroll isn't really an option but an additional hindrance
Since readers are recognised as "portable libraries" rather than "single book replacement" this means the reader should have a somehow resizeable reading space, maybe folding screen or so.

2.) they keep more books than one open and in use. altough todays reader offer to reopen the last closed items on the last place it isn't enough, because of the mexed usage mode: as a read-continously and a lookup-only medium
conclusion: the reader would need a very fast and efficient bookmark method + an equivalent of tabbed switching between multiple books at once.

THEN you have beaten paper. and i say this as an e-ink fan who waited a lot of years from first rumors till nowdays for what i bought. sad but true.

btw. I am of course completely aware of the fact that there are a lot of more "serious" bookusers than roleplayers who actually need to mix continous reading and lookup in different volumes. I've taken the players as example, because, as already shown, they are already somehow used to digitally (only) available material, so the "novelty" factor with all the negative aspects is not an issue as it might be with the "pros".

06-14-2010, 11:10 PM	#48
Freeshadow temp. out of service Posts: 2,815 Karma: 24285242 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Duisburg (DE) Device: PB 623	why it is still a long way to go As an example: I tried to make roleplayers (on one of the two big german RPG forums) more aware about eink devices and have had really a hard job with it. on the one hand it is really astonishing because: RPG is already a niche hobby where paper-printing costs (at least before the explosion of web availability) actually WERE the main factor deciding about "will it ever become a professional product" because of that roleplayers are already used to "file-only" available editions of their stuff: apart from checking out how many smaller RPG-companys sell: core rules as PDF-option core rules as PDF-only additional or oop materials as PDF-only take a look at drivethruRPG http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ to see a roleplayers supermarket... POD is btw. not really an option: if it are not the printing costs what makes you then it ll be the shipping. plus a binding so lousy that the books fall apart after <10 sessions. Most players buying PDFs prefer a mix between computer preparation & copyshop or home printout. on the other hand even these is not enough to convince'em, because: 1.) they need it bigger as well as every player wouldn't like their SF or Fantasy books in A4 rulebooks smaller than that are not comfortable. conclusion: you would need a device of variable screensize since different material invokes different needs in ammount of data displayable at a glance so zoom+scroll isn't really an option but an additional hindrance Since readers are recognised as "portable libraries" rather than "single book replacement" this means the reader should have a somehow resizeable reading space, maybe folding screen or so. 2.) they keep more books than one open and in use. altough todays reader offer to reopen the last closed items on the last place it isn't enough, because of the mexed usage mode: as a read-continously and a lookup-only medium conclusion: the reader would need a very fast and efficient bookmark method + an equivalent of tabbed switching between multiple books at once. THEN you have beaten paper. and i say this as an e-ink fan who waited a lot of years from first rumors till nowdays for what i bought. sad but true. btw. I am of course completely aware of the fact that there are a lot of more "serious" bookusers than roleplayers who actually need to mix continous reading and lookup in different volumes. I've taken the players as example, because, as already shown, they are already somehow used to digitally (only) available material, so the "novelty" factor with all the negative aspects is not an issue as it might be with the "pros".