Paper books still have an advantage

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

That pont 6 made me feel sorry for the article author. They celarly have a dial-up connection since they have to wait and watch the download wheel spin when downloading AN EBOOK

I had dial-up till November 2005 at 19K to 28K, though 1996-1998 I'd had ISDN (64K or twice as expensive per minute 128).
Downloading from Gutenberg was still faster than driving to the bookshop. Back in 1982 we had 1200/75 to BBS and then in 1986 access to email via X25 PAD dial-up was 300 baud to send draft papers internationally.

Downloading video before Dec 2005? Ha! Forget it, but ebooks were not a problem, except I had no dedicated ereader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I had dial-up till November 2005 at 19K to 28K, though 1996-1998 I'd had ISDN (64K or twice as expensive per minute 128).
Downloading from Gutenberg was still faster than driving to the bookshop. Back in 1982 we had 1200/75 to BBS and then in 1986 access to email via X25 PAD dial-up was 300 baud to send draft papers internationally.

Downloading video before Dec 2005? Ha! Forget it, but ebooks were not a problem, except I had no dedicated ereader.

I had all the way up to 56k via dialup. I used to have US Robotics modems because they used a DSP and allowed installing whatever was the latest standards. Plus they were very good modems.

[Quoth]

56K needed a good line and special hardware in a Digital Exchange, a pseudo ISDN mode. 33K was extra compression.
Really 28.8K was the top Analogue speed.

I did have a 56K Modem after 1998 when I moved from the house with ISDN and line was only 900 metres house to exchange, but it was sometimes not even 19.2K. They replaced the cable from house to nearest under pavement box and then it was 28.8K. No ISDN or 56K "analog" because they had run out of space on the shelves to add more interfaces for Digital.
November 2005 I got a microwave link and it was 8Mbps down, 1 Mbps up. We still have it for "landline" phones and backup at 1/2 price since we got the 500Mbps/50Mbps fibre a couple of months ago. Didn't seem worth paying for 1Gbps.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I had all the way up to 56k via dialup. I used to have US Robotics modems because they used a DSP and allowed installing whatever was the latest standards. Plus they were very good modems.

I also had a 56K , but in the US, that was not possible on a public network.
42-48K was pretty common for me in the heart of Silicon Valley.

I went with DSL in 2000, (I can't remember how fast, but it was not the number quoted in the UP TO ads). I used to PCAnywhere into the local office and the via ,56K FD tie-line to the Boston office.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I never said I paid much attention to them. But the pushback was there from the beginning. Whenever I shared that I had adopted ebooks, the book-petters and book-sniffers came out of the woodwork to voice their disdain.

:r ofl:

So true!

[Sarmat89]

ebooks are just text, not books.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sarmat89

ebooks are just text, not books.

They don't stand on their own, they have the potential to be a book, but they need to be combined with a computer or eReader to reach that potential.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by rcentros

They don't stand on their own, they have the potential to be a book, but they need to be combined with a computer or eReader to reach that potential.

Just like the paper book content needs to be combined with paper. Words don't stand on their own, no matter the medium.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Just like the paper book content needs to be combined with paper. Words don't stand on their own, no matter the medium.

A book stands on its own. Before it's published you don't have a book. Once it's published it remains a book until it rots or is destroyed. An eBook must be combined (and will always require) some kind of electronic device to function as a book. It does not stand on its own.

Nothing controversial about this.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by rcentros

A book stands on its own. Before it's published you don't have a book. Once it's published it remains a book until it rots or is destroyed. An eBook must be combined (and will always require) some kind of electronic device to function as a book. It does not stand on its own.

Nothing controversial about this.

For you, a book is its content printed on paper. For me, a book is the content, regardless of the container. So, our basic definition of a book is different. For me there's no such thing as a real book. As soon as the content exists, it's a book and it doesn't matter whether it has a container or not. For you, a book apparently doesn't exist until it's been printed on paper.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Quoth

November 2005 I got a microwave link and it was 8Mbps down, 1 Mbps up.

I got microwave this year for 10 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up and I'm grateful.
Before that there have been times that dialup Morse code would have been an improvement.

Originally Posted by Quoth

... since we got the 500Mbps/50Mbps fibre a couple of months ago.

I consider myself a fairly "hard-core" computer user and still can't think of ways where >10 Mbps would be that much of an improvement for me. (YMMV)

[SleepyBob]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

For you, a book is its content printed on paper. For me, a book is the content, regardless of the container. So, our basic definition of a book is different. For me there's no such thing as a real book. As soon as the content exists, it's a book and it doesn't matter whether it has a container or not. For you, a book apparently doesn't exist until it's been printed on paper.

Except, the traditional definition of book has been tied to the container for centuries. A magazine is different than a book. A leaflet is different than a book. A billboard is different than a book. A radio show is different than a book.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Renate

I consider myself a fairly "hard-core" computer user and still can't think of ways where >10 Mbps would be that much of an improvement for me. (YMMV)

Streaming, of course. Netflix, Amazon Prime and so on.

Also using a cloud drive for off-site backup. Lots of uploading, often several times a day. Especially if you do some photo and/or video editing and keep a backup of your work in the cloud.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

Except, the traditional definition of book has been tied to the container for centuries.

That doesn't mean I must adopt this definition, just because it's traditional. I have my own, thank you very much.

[John F]

Originally Posted by rcentros

A book stands on its own. Before it's published you don't have a book. Once it's published it remains a book until it rots or is destroyed. An eBook must be combined (and will always require) some kind of electronic device to function as a book. It does not stand on its own.

...

I thought that ebooks were published? An author submits a manuscript (something) to a publisher (normally) and the publisher does there magic and publishes it in all it forms: pbook, ebook, abook, braille, ...

By your definition a pbook isn't a book, a pbook requires some sort of device to turn the page?