British novelist doesn't want a Kindle for Christmas - Page 2

cstross · 11-27-2007, 05:54 PM

It's a column in the Daily Torygraph, and A. N. Wilson is indeed notorious for being better adapted to life in the last century but one.

Nothing to see here; move along now.

(Next week: Roger Scruton on why ebooks are bringing about the downfall of western civilization and we all ought to learn classical Latin instead.)

A J Edwards · 11-28-2007, 04:12 AM

For a man who is ten years younger than me (Wilson was born in 1950) his Luddite views have shocked me.

He clearly has absolutely no idea whatsoever about what is going on in the world of computing. He has clearly never even seen the products he denigrates.

How dare he comment at all.

A J Edwards

HarryT · 11-28-2007, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mambo

I agree with his comments about the internet. Every time I download an ebook from the internet I have to watch those ugly sex-oriented advertisements and I hate it! Why can't they just advertise ringtones or t-shirts?

What sites are these? These sites I download books from (Gutenberg, FictionWise, MobileRead) have a distinct lack of "sex-oriented advertisements"!

HarryT · 11-28-2007, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cstross

(Next week: Roger Scruton on why ebooks are bringing about the downfall of western civilization and we all ought to learn classical Latin instead.)

Knowing Latin and Greek is actually EXTREMELY useful; I very much regret that they are taught in so few schools these days.

Eg, a few days ago I was reading Sherlock Holmes and came across the sentence "The house had a minatory appearance...". I'd never come across the word "minatory" before but, because I know Latin, I realised immediately that it must mean "threatening" (from the Latin verb "minor - I threaten").

Latin really is useful

.

Sparrow · 11-28-2007, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

..."The house had a minatory appearance...". I'd never come across the word "minatory" before but, because I know Latin, I realised immediately that it must mean "threatening" (from the Latin verb "minor - I threaten").

Doh! I thought it meant the house looked like a backbench Conservative M.P.

mores · 11-28-2007, 07:55 AM

what are "sex oriented" ads ?
either you're on the darknet looking for a torrent or a p2p address, and you get sex ads (no pretending, they are the real thing!).
or you check out fictionwise, mobipocket, amazon (as of a few days ago) and you get no naked chicks on your window, behind your window, over your window, under your window, and even downloading things do your desktop while you try to fight the torrent of new windows that were launched with JUST ONE CLICK

maybe they should invent an ebook reading device with some kind of a scent-dispenser thingie to periodically squirt "old dusty moldy book-smell" in your face

HappyMartin · 11-28-2007, 08:05 AM

Dusty old books be damned. I chucked out boxes of them this week.

Global warming will not destroy the world. Neither will terrorism nor the oil shortage. It is sickly sentimentality that will do for us.

TallMomof2 · 11-28-2007, 12:42 PM

I'm allergic to mold and dust so old books aren't for me.

montsnmags · 11-28-2007, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

Dusty old books be damned. I chucked out boxes of them this week.

Global warming will not destroy the world. Neither will terrorism nor the oil shortage. It is sickly sentimentality that will do for us.

Oh, very, very little, other than an aging sun or a rogue star or significant astronomical event will destroy the world. As for the thin layer of cream (or scum, depending on your point of view

) that inhabits its surface, well there is a possibility that all our books may perform a useful function in several million years as the fuel for a burgeoning new industrial age, for whatever has evolved to that "glorious" stature. I'm going to go with pandas (cause their cute, but stroppy), but with a deep-sea Giant Octopus rider (Mmm, filled with Cthulu goodness!).

Cheers,
Marc

talaivan · 11-28-2007, 11:47 PM

Wilson writes, "The birth of Protestantism would not have happened without the prior birth of printing, which immediately established a private liberation to the human race." I have nothing against Protestantism, but isn't it just possible that we would have been spared the first and second world war, anti-semitism, colonialism, and Mr. Wilson's oh-so-cute British attempt at writing humorously if Luther hadn't been successful? And what in the world is a "private liberation to the human race?" Are only Protestants human? Do British really say "to" here? Perhaps he meant "libation."

DaleDe · 11-29-2007, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talaivan

Wilson writes, "The birth of Protestantism would not have happened without the prior birth of printing, which immediately established a private liberation to the human race." I have nothing against Protestantism, but isn't it just possible that we would have been spared the first and second world war, anti-semitism, colonialism, and Mr. Wilson's oh-so-cute British attempt at writing humorously if Luther hadn't been successful? And what in the world is a "private liberation to the human race?" Are only Protestants human? Do British really say "to" here? Perhaps he meant "libation."

Liberation is what he meant. Books liberated the masses one person at a time. One result but not the only one was the rise of Protestantism. antisemitism was alive and well during the crusades which pre-dated the printing press.

Dale

kacir · 11-29-2007, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mambo

Every time I download an ebook from the internet I have to watch those ugly sex-oriented advertisements and I hate it!

No you do not have to watch those advertisments.

Step 1.
download and install firefox

Step 2.
download install and activate adblock (three clicks)

Step 3.
restart Firefox and wonder how could you ever live without adblock.

If you insist on using browser other than Firefox (**), you can download application called privoxy and set up ANY browser to access the net not directly but through privoxy. Privoxy sanitizes the pages you see, so all those animated, flashing, annoying, bandwidth hogging and allthgether unpleasant and unwanted ads / animations / javascript abuses / popup windows / popunder windows / those absolutely infuritating floating ads you HAVE to click on in order to watch the page simply do not appear anymore ...

(**) like k-meleon, Opera, Krusader, Netscape, Safari, .....

radleyp · 11-29-2007, 11:57 AM

Neither does Walt Mossberg want one. In today's WSJ, he slams the hardware design and software usability of the Kindle. I am surprised no one here has yet referred to his review.

Alexander Turcic · 11-29-2007, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gingercat

"how do you scribble telephone numbers on it, or half-finish the crossword?"

I couldn't help laughing about the above comment. I don't know about u but on my reader I just pull out the stylus and start writing - its no big deal.

talaivan · 11-29-2007, 06:57 PM

DaleDe: Of course he meant liberation. And of course there was anti-semitism in Europe before Luther. But arguably Luther endowed it with a new force and even a new meaning. In any event, I was annoyed by his smug and complacent comments. The future of the world will probably not be determined by the West or by Protestants (or by people who can't bring themselves to try a new technology like Kindle/epaper).

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11-27-2007, 05:54 PM	#16
cstross Cynic Posts: 86 Karma: 514 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Lots, started with a Psion 3 circa 1998	It's a column in the Daily Torygraph, and A. N. Wilson is indeed notorious for being better adapted to life in the last century but one. Nothing to see here; move along now. (Next week: Roger Scruton on why ebooks are bringing about the downfall of western civilization and we all ought to learn classical Latin instead.)

11-28-2007, 04:12 AM	#17
A J Edwards Member Posts: 18 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: PDA	For a man who is ten years younger than me (Wilson was born in 1950) his Luddite views have shocked me. He clearly has absolutely no idea whatsoever about what is going on in the world of computing. He has clearly never even seen the products he denigrates. How dare he comment at all. A J Edwards

11-28-2007, 07:55 AM	#21
mores Guru Posts: 834 Karma: 102419 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vienna, Austria Device: iPhone	what are "sex oriented" ads ? either you're on the darknet looking for a torrent or a p2p address, and you get sex ads (no pretending, they are the real thing!). or you check out fictionwise, mobipocket, amazon (as of a few days ago) and you get no naked chicks on your window, behind your window, over your window, under your window, and even downloading things do your desktop while you try to fight the torrent of new windows that were launched with JUST ONE CLICK maybe they should invent an ebook reading device with some kind of a scent-dispenser thingie to periodically squirt "old dusty moldy book-smell" in your face

11-28-2007, 08:05 AM	#22
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	Dusty old books be damned. I chucked out boxes of them this week. Global warming will not destroy the world. Neither will terrorism nor the oil shortage. It is sickly sentimentality that will do for us.

11-28-2007, 12:42 PM	#23
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I'm allergic to mold and dust so old books aren't for me.

11-28-2007, 11:47 PM	#25
talaivan Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 4710362 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Sony prs-505	Wilson writes, "The birth of Protestantism would not have happened without the prior birth of printing, which immediately established a private liberation to the human race." I have nothing against Protestantism, but isn't it just possible that we would have been spared the first and second world war, anti-semitism, colonialism, and Mr. Wilson's oh-so-cute British attempt at writing humorously if Luther hadn't been successful? And what in the world is a "private liberation to the human race?" Are only Protestants human? Do British really say "to" here? Perhaps he meant "libation."

11-29-2007, 11:57 AM	#28
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	Neither does Walt Mossberg want one. In today's WSJ, he slams the hardware design and software usability of the Kindle. I am surprised no one here has yet referred to his review.

11-29-2007, 06:57 PM	#30
talaivan Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 4710362 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Sony prs-505	DaleDe: Of course he meant liberation. And of course there was anti-semitism in Europe before Luther. But arguably Luther endowed it with a new force and even a new meaning. In any event, I was annoyed by his smug and complacent comments. The future of the world will probably not be determined by the West or by Protestants (or by people who can't bring themselves to try a new technology like Kindle/epaper).

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