Anybody reading on PC ?

[webroot]

I dont know if this has been discussed in recent past, my question is if anyone who has cell phone (with ebook apps) or dedicated ebook readers still reads on Desktop or Laptop PC not just like brief peeking during worktime but a substantially amount of time spent on PC.

PDF files can be possibly excluded because it is quite likely they will be consumed on PC so maybe context is purely EPUB.

Thoughts?

[cromag]

That's how I started, back in the 90s, but I don't really find it comfortable for long-term reading. Not when I can grab the ereader and slouch on a well-padded living room chair with a mug of tea on the table next to me.

[rcentros]

About the only "reading" I do on a PC is go to Calibre when I want to quote a passage.

[HarryT]

I am reading this forum now on a PC.

[webroot]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I am reading this forum now on a PC.

i used the word "ebook" in my post so that should avoids any confusion. this is very poorely tailored joke if you intend that.

[HarryT]

It wasn't intended to be a joke. Reading is reading, whether it's email, a forum, a book, a newspaper, or anything else. For me it's the content that's the important thing, not the medium. I spend a significant part of every day reading on my PC; for many types of content it's the most convenient way to read it.

[webroot]

medium wont matter as long but that depends on content, so for ebooks you wont say that "I equate my linkings on different medium". point behind this question is, i am researching whether pc based "ebook" reading is dead now. knowing this is important for some peoples you see.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by webroot

medium wont matter as long but that depends on content, so for ebooks you wont say that "I equate my linkings on different medium". point behind this question is, i am researching whether pc based "ebook" reading is dead now. knowing this is important for some peoples you see.

Trouble is, the boundaries are blurred. I have a Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 machine which can be used either with a keyboard, as a conventional laptop, or without a keyboard as a tablet. If I read with it in tablet form, would you still count that as "reading on a PC"?

Personally, I read novels on an eInk device for the convenience - lightweight, and ability to read in any lighting conditions. But I also have to read a lot of academic books, and those I tend to read on my PC, because while I'm reading them I'm simultaneously making notes, which is a lot easier to do on a device with a keyboard.

[webroot]

good points but not many people will have windows tablet (maybe those students who got it free), you may have sound reasons for buying it? but for simplicity if we skip windows 8. and about your academic books its quite likely they are pdf format so skip th!at also.

filtering these then i am left with what makes me use PC for ebook consumptipn?

1. Cant access a mobile device ( maybe workplace )
2. Can do multiple task while reading on a pc.
3 i can do related word searches on web.
4. like you said can make notes.

overall i see that major obstacle for mobile devices for a clean sweep victory over pc is, in mobile devices you cannot switch between apps easily and it does not have dedicated keyboad right?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by webroot

good points but not many people will have windows tablet (maybe those students who got it free),

I think that hybrid Windows 8 devices are actually a growing sector of the market. There are a lot of them available.

and about your academic books its quite likely they are pdf format so skip th!at also.

No, they are mostly Kindle books. I do have a few PDF books, but not that many, although of course virtually all the journal articles and academic papers I read (from JSTOR, etc) are in PDF format.

Forgive me for saying so, but you seem to have already made up your mind that "nobody reads on a PC", and are simply discarding evidence which doesn't fit with your ideas. "We'll ignore hybrid tablets", "We'll ignore academic books", "We'll ignore PDFs", etc. If you are conducting research, shouldn't you be going into it with an open mind?

[Ghitulescu]

eBooks are not really for computers.
There are better alternatives, not least because ePub is a distribution format not an editing one.

The answer is no, I don't read them, except when I am testing the conversion.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think that hybrid Windows 8 devices are actually a growing sector of the market. There are a lot of them available.

Why limit it to Windows8 devices? My Nexus 7 has a keyboard attached for typing. It is actually a whole case turning it into a mini notebook. If there is need for a mouse, I flip a switch and turn the mouse on. Right at this moment I am using a different keyboard that is talking over bluetooth with my phone - so I can type this reply. It does not have to be a real hybrid desiged as a notebook / tablet to fall into that category.

Forgive me for saying so, but you seem to have already made up your mind that "nobody reads on a PC", and are simply discarding evidence which doesn't fit with your ideas. "We'll ignore hybrid tablets", "We'll ignore academic books", "We'll ignore PDFs", etc. If you are conducting research, shouldn't you be going into it with an open mind?

I agree, it is not very scientific to define the rules after contrary evidence shows up. Unless it is is some kind of debate club, and somebody drew the short straw ...

For the research I wonder when my phone ceases to be simply a phone and starts beeing a "PC" - Do I need to attach a bigger monitor to it? Do ultra portables stop being a PC only because they are potentially mobile? When I look into the office section where I work I don't see many traditional desktop computers - most have either a docking station or simply their notebook on the desk.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by webroot

... but for simplicity if we skip windows 8. ...

Skipping Win8/8.1 might make things simple but it would lead to a poor and inaccurate survey. If you want a decent survey then ignore OS and filter by physical size and style of hardware. As has been noted, Win8.1 tablets are a fast growing sector of the hand-held computer market with prices in line with Android devices of similar quality and well below those of iOS devices.

Personally, I began reading ebooks on a desktop machine over 30 years ago. I didn't find it all that well suited to the task, but it wasn't all that bad. A decent chair and desk made it an adequate environment for enjoying a good read.

Since the advent of adequate hand held devices, I've more often used them for reading and haven't read on a classic desktop machine since. They was a period in the very late 1990s where a used a subnotebook for my ebook reading, but I returned to hand held devices (Palm OS at the time) after a little over a year or so with the subnotebook. My current device is an 8" Win8.1 tablet.

[Froide]

I often read textbooks, technical manuals, and art/photography books on a desktop or laptop computer, in part for the 4 reasons you enumerated in post#9, and in part because the reading experience (for those types of texts) is superior on the larger screen.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by webroot

I dont know if this has been discussed in recent past, my question is if anyone who has cell phone (with ebook apps) or dedicated ebook readers still reads on Desktop or Laptop PC not just like brief peeking during worktime but a substantially amount of time spent on PC.

PDF files can be possibly excluded because it is quite likely they will be consumed on PC so maybe context is purely EPUB.

Thoughts?

Even before I got my first ebookreader, I tried to read on a PC. Never could though. That's why I bought a Franklin Ebookman (only available on ebay at that time for me...) I never liked reading from a sitting position, I prefer a somewhat more relaxed environment.

Edit: after reading a bit more on the thread, and the discussion, what is a PC? For me, a PC is a thing that sits on a table/desk, with a fixed monitor, keyboard and mouse (though they might be wireless...) So, Windows 8 tablets I do not put in the PC category...

Nor laptops for that matter. But I don't like reading on laptops either, because I don't like to read in landscape mode, but prefer portrait.