A truly pathetic BBC review

[dadioflex]

Edit.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

It didn't exactly sound enthusiastic. Their e-book "expert was presented, right off the bat, with a sort of manic-eyed intensity that instantly put me right off. He didn't look like that throughout the rest of the segment, but he looked crazy right out of the box. What kind of unbiased presentation is that?

And the other clip that was linked to from the same page... "End of the book?"... was just as bad: Comparing print to e-book readers and giving the same-old same-old responses (it doesn't smell like a book, you can't get it wet, etc)... with one exception. In considering the e-book for commuters, he lamented that one might get mugged for it!

[Donnageddon]

Yes, Harry a translation would be nice

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

Yes, Harry a translation would be nice

"tosser" = a person who habitually engages in, er, self-abuse.
"knackers" = testicles.

Hope that helps .

[Ned]

Oh I see.

According to my Chambers, the God of dictionaries, a "tosser" is "an unpleasant or despicable person".
You're right about the other word though.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by tazzle

I think you're failing to understand the point of this piece. It's really an exploration of how many books Simon needs to carry around... which turns out to be "one, maybe two." This brings up a lot of rather complex questions which I hope will be addressed in later programs: When does he need to carry around two? And is one of them a dictionary?

I'm also looking forward to his comparative review of mobile phones in which he will reveal how many people he needs to speak to daily. Just one, maybe two? And his rundown on GPS devices, in which he confesses that four directions seem far too many; he can do very well with just North and... maaaybe West.

Now THAT'S a funny comment!!

All in all, it did seem like a fluff piece, my comments are as follows:

1. Pbooks do make lovely "decor" .... and ebooks will never replace the look of a few nicely bound pbooks sitting on a shelf ... generally hard back and leather bound.

2. Ebooks do not mean the "death" of pbooks. There will be a market for pbooks for a long (long) time. Color TV did not mean the instant "death" of Black and White TV, however, it is difficult to find B&W TVs these days because, the people who really like to watch TV will get color and the stores don't offer much else. In time, the people who really love to read will climb on the ebook wagon because, like me, they never want to be without something to read. And, as with Color TV, those that don't much care to watch TV, but want to be seen as being on the bleeding edge, will buy the latest and greatest Color TV, and non-readers who just want to impress someone will get whatever ebook reader they think will serve to impress.

3. Of COURSE they don't have the same "feel" ... they are a completely different technology, you bloody moron!! So, while I agree with that statement, I think it's stupid.

4. Librarians are never going to be "out of a job" .... not while their are rare editions of books or documents to preserve, and not as long as students need some help in doing research (reference librarians are my heroes). However, they may be working with new technology before very long.

[Donnageddon]

"tosser" = a person who habitually engages in, er, self-abuse.
"knackers" = testicles.

Hope that helps .

Thanks Harry!

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

It didn't exactly sound enthusiastic. Their e-book "expert was presented, right off the bat, with a sort of manic-eyed intensity that instantly put me right off. ..

I quite like Simon Gompertz myself, I don't think he was claiming any expert e-book knowledge (apart from his own opinion) - and he doesn't take himself too seriously.
But, to put the clip in context, it was from a programme called 'Working Lunch' which is about economic affairs; Gompertz is a regular presenter on it (so most viewers would know he was no expert).
It's not a tech show, or a book show - it just looks at stuff from an economics viewpoint.
I didn't think the piece was antagonistic - the devices were called 'slick', someone said they'd be on a lot of Xmas lists, Gompertz said he'd like to own one himself etc. The only bit that bugged me was the guy who said you wouldn't need the lights on to read it .
Overall, for what it was intended to be, I thought it was ok.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Pbooks do make lovely "decor" .... and ebooks will never replace the look of a few nicely bound pbooks sitting on a shelf ... generally hard back and leather bound.

I rather like the look on my library shelves of my growing collection of electronic devices (active and inactive) used for reading ebooks.

[pdurrant]

A few months ago I was at the National Liberal Club in London for a family do, and got a chance to see around the place.

http://www.nlc.org.uk/

They have a magnificent reading room, books floor to ceiling. Except that they're not -- books, that is. The books used to be there, but looking after them became too hard. I think they're at the British Library now. In their place are painted replicas of all the spines... books as decoration indeed.

Paul

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

1. Pbooks do make lovely "decor" .... and ebooks will never replace the look of a few nicely bound pbooks sitting on a shelf ... generally hard back and leather bound.

[Over]

A bunch of book experts whose only remarks were about frivolous aspects. Very nice. Those review units should had been sent to me, for a better use.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I quite like Simon Gompertz myself, I don't think he was claiming any expert e-book knowledge (apart from his own opinion) - and he doesn't take himself too seriously.
But, to put the clip in context, it was from a programme called 'Working Lunch' which is about economic affairs; Gompertz is a regular presenter on it (so most viewers would know he was no expert).
It's not a tech show, or a book show - it just looks at stuff from an economics viewpoint.
I didn't think the piece was antagonistic - the devices were called 'slick', someone said they'd be on a lot of Xmas lists, Gompertz said he'd like to own one himself etc. The only bit that bugged me was the guy who said you wouldn't need the lights on to read it .
Overall, for what it was intended to be, I thought it was ok.

I don't think it was Simon he was talking about .... it was the last of the three "panelists." If you watch the intro, the third guy introduced really does look a bit wild eyed and manic.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A few months ago I was at the National Liberal Club in London for a family do, and got a chance to see around the place.

http://www.nlc.org.uk/

They have a magnificent reading room, books floor to ceiling. Except that they're not -- books, that is. The books used to be there, but looking after them became too hard. I think they're at the British Library now. In their place are painted replicas of all the spines... books as decoration indeed.

Paul

Took the virtual tour ... very posh sort of place. Now, I wonder why they would have a room called a "reading room" if there aren't any books in it?? I like the idea of faking all the rare and old book spines, but maybe they should consider changing the name of the room to the BYOB (as in Bring Your Own Books) Reading Room.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

T I like the idea of faking all the rare and old book spines,

Isn't that a copyright violation...

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Isn't that a copyright violation...

Nah .... highly unlikely. But it's an interesting idea, in a weird anal-retentive sort of way.