Why so many ereaders???

[Pomtroll]

Originally Posted by NicholasV

Alot of people are taught to be incomplete, or are incomplete without this teaching, but falsely think they can bury away that void with consumerism by buying new products. They feel something is missing and they always search for as the Dalai Lama puts it: "something new, something more, something more, something more." But it can only be a false palliative. Guy Debord invented a theory of spectacle. To use the Kindle lineup to explain, if I was a e-ink consumerist hoarder, I would follow this paradigm:
1.)spectacle of Kindle 1 > 2.) buy kindle
3.)spectacle of kindle 2 > 4.) purchase Kindle 2
5.)spectacle of Kindle 3 > 6.) purchase Kindle 3
7.)spectacle of Kindle 4 > 8.) buy Kindle 4
In his theory, consumers are taught to lust after what they cannot have, an intangible spectacle, the spectacle of a product, not its mere physical embodiment. If they just wanted the product, they would find their telos after possessing it, but that is not the case, they are left without telos because what they want is the spectacle itself, but that they can never have. So they are left to follow as close to an infinite buying loop as their monetary station will allow.

In the early 20th Century, almost all products were purchased because they served a need. Back then advertising was based on features, utilitarian considerations and the needs they fulfilled. However the nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays invented a new discipline called marketing and public relations. Thanks to him this trend of utilitarianism was abandoned, to appeal instead to the irrational side. He was paid handsomely by companies to associate their products with a positive mental state, an amazing experience, a sense of being. His marketing paradigm has such a huge foundation in modern society, I absolutely cannot explain well to anyone what Erich Fromm succintly observed that "having is not being." Most people believe what they have, what they consume, constitutes the greater part of their personal identity!

I am gonna make alot of new enemy stalkers for what I wrote above already, so I will close this post out by saying check out the the short 20 min. free Documentary The Story of Stuff. That Doc. will help you understand the social and environmental consequences of consumerism on steroids. If you really feel you need to have so many 4-5 e-ink devices just for yourself, probably you need a type of help I cannot provide. Practicing such extreme attachment to your possessions is self defeating. Probably you will also get extremely upset if any product you own is destroyed or perhaps scratched. I am sure you have seen or heard of materialistic people who have new cars, the car gets scratched and they are pissy and in a bad mood for quite a bit of time over the petty aesthetic condition of a material object. It is best to let go and sell them, give them away instead of adopting a hording mentality.

Interesting presentation about "stuff". So no more e-readers for me. I hate shopping anyway & pretty much all I buy for pleasure is e-readers & the e-books. I hate clothes shopping & any other kind of shopping actually. So I don't go to the mall very often. I actually wear my clothes till they wear out. Don't watch t.v. on my 20 year old t.v.set. I guess my biggest buying vice is the e-readers (books) & dogs. Have to rescue them . Oh yeah & Christmas Cards once a year. I consume but not all that much. I keep my computers at least 5 years. Only got the one I have now because I couldn't run a lot of things on the 10 year old one I had.

But what will happen if we stop consuming? What will happen to people in other countries if they don't have jobs in production? How do we change this whole thing so that everyone has a chance to live iwth the necessities?

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Pomtroll

But what will happen if we stop consuming? What will happen to people in other countries if they don't have jobs in production? How do we change this whole thing so that everyone has a chance to live iwth the necessities?

We could pay them more to produce quality goods that last more than a season and a half. Could pay for craftsmanship in addition to basic functionality. Could pay for customized options (well, if we weren't crippled by bizarre patent laws; wouldn't want anyone sued for copying the beveled edges of another product).

The base truth is that we can't sustain this level of activity or this level of growth, and economists who believe there's such a thing as "permanent sustainable growth" are delusional. But we *can* have a sustainable economic balance, with less useless junk being produced, played with, and thrown away.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

Yes actually. You have two spare readers. The 350 and the 650. I assume you use the 350 since its for long trips. But the unused 650 will undoubtedly lose its battery sitting around after a couple of years. Do you use it as well or does it sit sealed in its box?

Also. Do you own your wifes reader as well?? If not why did you include it in your list of readers.

There is the take with my spare, and the at home spare.

I carry my 650 all the time. For longer trips I also carry the 350 in case something happens to the 650. The pare at home 650 is for in case my main 650 has issues. And eventually there will be replacement batteries. And I do exercise it a bit.

And we both own all of them.

[CWatkinsNash]

Wow. Are we really judging people on their number of ereaders? Interesting, and kind of funny. I'll play.

• Kindle 3 3G - My baby. My first and I hope it will last forever.
• Literati - Bought on special dirt-cheap at BB&B for the roommate. The performance has lived up to the price and not a step beyond, although others have had better luck with theirs.
• Pandigital Novel 6" - Non-backlit LCD. Not as nice (to my subjective eyes) as e-ink but still works nicely. Also for the roommate.
• Inspiron Duo - Obviously a computer, not an ereader, but one of the reasons I bought it was to read technical pdfs in tablet mode, so it belongs on my MR device list.
• Android smartphone - An ereader that makes calls! Bonus! With a camera, even.

So only three of those were bought as ereaders, and to anticipate the question that was directed at someone else earlier, YES I included my roommate's ereaders because:

• It's useful to list ereaders that I have experience with, since one of MR's functions is as a support site.
• I paid for them, so yes, I own them. He prefers it that way cuz he's not great at accepting gifts outright.
• I'm responsible for maintaining the combined ebook library so all he does on them is read. I get to do all the fun techy stuff and by golly, I'm taking credit for that.

[voracious71]

I'm one of those who likes gadgets and the latest thing. I think I get it from my Grandpa on my Dad's side. My Dad's family was the first on their block to have a TV, and they weren't rich.

I figure I have a well paying, steady job, and I don't smoke or waste money on booze or gambling. We all have a weakness.

So, my answer is because I can. Don't feel badly about this either.

[idraw22]

I originally ment my Jetbook to carry all my books, but then I wanted to have the option to read A books, so, I got a K3. I have one at home, the other in my purse for going out. I also have a JBM, I use for texts threads, and news articles. It's ok with me!

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by voracious71

So, my answer is because I can. Don't feel badly about this either.

Same here!

It's just what I like to do. I do ebooks and eInk eReaders, Hubby does Maker stuff and builds robots that follow lazer lights on the carpet. We just both find our own stuff amusing, and the other's hobby really weird. But there you go.

[wizwor]

I have two e-readers and I am truly ashamed. I get the message -- no more consumerism for me. Instead, I am going to fly around the world looking at consumerism then fly around the world telling people what I saw. I'll blog about all of this on my iPad and publish a book and a DVD for the rest of you to buy (though I prefer that you donate to me via PayPal).

Sorry to be so brief, but I have to catch a jet to a global warming conference.

[Todd Young]

I suppose if I bought a new one I'd keep the Kindle 2 as a knockabout model - be less concerned about wrecking it and so on, but honestly, it does me just fine at the moment.

[Polyphemus]

Nice story about "stuff." I prefer this Dalai Lama story:

So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

I bought my first Kindle (KK3g) a little over a year ago when I was traveling for two months. I thought it would be easier carrying a bunch of books on it rather that pack another suitcase for the books. After I was able to stay home, I would take my Kindle with me to work for lunchtime reading. I really got tired of leaving it at the office, so I bought another Kindle (KK3g with special offers) to be the office Kindle.

My wife liked playing games on my Kindle but didn't like the size. She preferred the Sony 350 and I bought her one for her birthday. Now she has her games and all of her books. I bought her a backup 350 when Sony was selling them for $80. She keeps the backup one in her purse and the original one stays at home.

I like the size of the Kindle screen, as opposed to the Sony screen, but I want to try the Kindle Touch. I ordered one when it was announced and it was delivered before Thanksgiving but I've been on another business trip since mid-October and won't be back home for another week.

I'm not ashamed of having multiple devices. Heck, I'll probably buy more to keep the workers happy and busy. I'm going to go look for something to buy here in Korea that is not Korean BBQ.

[kcowan]

We actually have some paperbacks that we use by the pool or on the beach. I love the ereaders for night time though. For the first time, I am motoring through a couple of books at a time!

[shootingMaNs]

Now I have 3 .

I went shopping with my wife today, and found a Slick ER701 on a discount table for $45.

Something to play around with, I guess .

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Pomtroll

Maybe this doesn't belong here. If so I can ask that it be deleted or I could edit it out.

Just edit out that line above, because some might (I did at first) take it as wanting to ban NicholasV's post. Otherwise, your post was more interesting than possibly all of my posts.

[Pomtroll]

Originally Posted by jj2me

Just edit out that line above, because some might (I did at first) take it as wanting to ban NicholasV's post. Otherwise, your post was more interesting than possibly all of my posts.

Done.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by voracious71

I'm one of those who likes gadgets and the latest thing. I think I get it from my Grandpa on my Dad's side. My Dad's family was the first on their block to have a TV, and they weren't rich.

I figure I have a well paying, steady job, and I don't smoke or waste money on booze or gambling. We all have a weakness.

So, my answer is because I can. Don't feel badly about this either.

I recently read a news piece about the use of make up. 2200 British females were asked about their makeup use. Apparently, on average, women spend €115.000 (or €115,000 for US people) on makeup during their lifetime! Almost €45 a week, between the age of 16 and 65.

As I don't use makeup, ever 10 weeks, I can buy a new (mid-ranged) gadget for that money! So, that's 5 gadgets a year. As I usually don't buy more than one gadget a year (not counting things I really need for every day or weekly living), I'm ahead of all those women that spend it on makeup