Ridley Scott hates ebooks!

[Sil_liS]

I see that if I put the comment behind a spoiler, it doesn't get read.

The shuttle wasn't for Charlize's character, it was for her father. The medical unit was specifically programed for male anatomy. It looks like he planned to stay there after they made contact. His age wasn't specified, but he was most likely over 100 years old. That would mean that he would be living in out time and accustomed to paper books.

[QuantumIguana]

Back in the rennaisance, the new rich would buy up estates, complete with a well-stocked library, because anyone who was anyone had a library. That doesn't mean the books actually were read, or even that the owner could read. Beautiful covers to impress visitors have faded out, they once were displays of wealth, but you can buy books that look very good on a shelf pretty cheaply these days. Rows and rows of very fancy books, all in order may indicate a display that isn't read. Haphazard rows of well-worn paperbacks shows that it is more likely the books are read. So if you want to give the appearance of reading the books, mess up the shelves a bit!

I'm used to seeing books in people's houses, most people I know have a significant number of books. If I'm in someone's house and I don't see any books, I think this may be someone who I'm not going to hit it off with. But if everyone has only e-books, then the house of the reader looks the same as the house of the non-reader.

There are a lot of things in movies that aren't quite realistic, having a great many paper books is only one of them. Huge rooms and wide corridors are another.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

The library is no longer the sign of status that it was (especially since the ability to read is more widespread now than it was in the renaissance). It seems to have been replaced by examples of doing: Photos of you with celebs or political figures, in exotic locales or far-flung vacations, participating in events, etc... those are the new status symbols.

Witness Dos Equis beer's Most Interesting Man In The World commercials; he's the most interesting because of all the things he's done, the people he's met, the places he's been, etc. He is the representation of the new Status Symbol: Doing significant things.

So the modern/future library should be replaced with a screen of any size that displays a running loop of all the significant things you've done and places you've been in life, dramatically animated like a Ken Burns documentary.

(Hmm... I think I can fit that into my next book...)

[latepaul]

This reminds me of discussing Alien at school when it first came out* and someone expressing the idea that they found it unbelievable that in the future we'd still be using keyboards to communicate with computers.

*or possibly when it first came to TV a couple of years later - either way it was no later than about 1981

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Of course, if there were paperbacks in Alien, then Prometheus couldn't really go with ebooks.

sure they could. different people have different preferences and motivations for doing what they do. one person now choosing ebooks does not preclude a different person in the future from choosing paper

[ApK]

re: flamethrowers in alien: Better than rupturing the hull. Combat on your own ship is probably best avoided in any case, but assuming the spaceship isn't made of wood, I'd probably grab the flamethrower rather than a projectile weapon.
(Note in Aliens (sequel) they rationalized the flame throwers by claiming the rifle rounds would blow up the reactor....)

re: TMIMITW: He's also interesting because of his skill with language. Remember, he can speak French...in Russian.

[5thWiggle]

So the modern/future library should be replaced with a screen of any size that displays a running loop of all the significant things you've done and places you've been in life, dramatically animated like a Ken Burns documentary.

If so, my screen would be dramatically animated with this:


I'll jus' be keepin' me books, thanks.

[khalleron]

If 'doing things' now beats 'having things' in the status race, then I can only say, 'Good! It's about time!'

But I'm not sure that's true, sadly enough.

[QuantumIguana]

Things you can purchase are much easier ways of demonstrating status than things you do. It is still pretty overwhelmingly in favor of objects.

[tompe]

Paper books have the advantage that they do not have to be charged. I would definitely bring some paper books because of that.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by tompe

Paper books have the advantage that they do not have to be charged. I would definitely bring some paper books because of that.

Heh. If your spaceship runs out of energy, you have a bigger problem than nothing to read.

[Freeshadow]

I admit that the non-presentability of ebooks is an issue. I still vote for sales on memory cards.
Like music on Cds. The 1st thing I always looked at when visiting someone new was the books exposed.
Don't mind what you wear or who you are with, my judgement will base on the books which you read.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by tompe

Paper books have the advantage that they do not have to be charged. I would definitely bring some paper books because of that.

E-ink doesn't consume much energy. The advantage of paper books is that they can withstand a crash landing. If you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by khalleron

Heh. If your spaceship runs out of energy, you have a bigger problem than nothing to read.

I usually run out of chargers or charge cables...

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

E-ink doesn't consume much energy. The advantage of paper books is that they can withstand a crash landing. If you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about.

If my spaceship just crashed into a planet hard enough to break my eReader then I'm pretty sure I won't be thinking "Bl@@dy Hell I've still not read that John Grisham book"