Consumers Not Convinced they Need Ereader - Page 5

Hellmark · 08-17-2009, 02:49 AM

I remember when me and my brother were in school, my parents were getting calls from the teacher and principals a lot, because we were too advanced in comparison with the rest of the students. You figure that is a good thing, no? Well, they wanted us to not try so hard, since it "made the other children feel inferior". Is it a problem that kids are already writing cursive in kindergarten, or reading at a 6th grade level when in the first grade?

As far as using technology in the classroom, I'm currently a college student, and I regularly use a PDA or laptop to write my classnotes on, and use ebooks instead of paper classbooks (my school offers them, so why not? easier to search through, and less money). I do so partially because I suffered permanent injuries to the hand which I write with, and cannot write well with my other hand. While I can write somewhat legibly, I cannot do so for extended periods of time before I lose feeling and control in my right arm. I've had issues with teachers before, because I use the electronic devices in class before. They yell at me for goofing off, "texting", etc. I have to go up and show them that I am just taking notes, and how detailed my notes are. Mind you I always clear this with the teachers at the start of each semester anyway. Most teachers now, are technologically ignorant by the large, even younger ones.

purl4peace · 08-17-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

Great. Then, respect is due to the teacher, who has certain not unreasonable rules in his/her classroom.

I agree. Respect ANY teacher -- including those that may have unreasonable rules -- because they have a job far harder than most that I know of.

My post did not (mean to) imply disrespect for the teacher... simply a lack of understanding of their logic and or reasoning and/or difference of opinion.

Or do you believe simply questioning a teacher's rules/policies indicates lack of respect? Questioning and not agreeing is not the same as lack of respect.

(I hope that question wasn't disrespectful)

calvin-c · 08-19-2009, 12:25 PM

Getting back to the original subject, I just don't think reading devices will become mainstream until a solution is found to the DRM problem.

Of course when we talk about problems we need to define the market. One split is between people who read books & people (like my kids) who almost exclusively read only news & magazines (mostly trash, IMO). For entertainment, they watch movies.

eBook news/magazine subscriptions aren't likely to become mainstream, IMO, until I can read an article & talk to somebody else about it-without needing to read the entire article to them. To use the Web as an example, if I read an article on CNN I can include the link in the email I send to someone talking about the article. If, on the other hand, I read the article in a DRM-protected subscription then it doesn't matter whether I send them the article or not-they still can't read it.

That's what I see as the DRM problem. I don't have a problem with the basic concept of DRM, but I do believe the underlying 'rule' should be to treat the eBook the same as you'd treat a hard-copy. If you subscribe to a magazine & want to show somebody an article you read in it, what do you do? You give them the magazine. DRM needs a way to transfer 'eBooks' between people. Not copies, but transfers. Nothing I know of supports that.

Even for books, DRM is inhibiting sales-and I'm not talking necessarily about the 'format wars'. I suspect that most people who read eBooks very often fairly soon settle on their preferred format-whatever it is. No, my problem is that I have a fairly large library that I'd like to leave to my heirs. The fact that my kids probably won't read is irrelevant-they can sell the books or maybe their kids will like to read. Whatever, I've invested considerable money in building that library (over 5000 volumes) and would like to leave it to my kids.

Now take my eBook library. Do you think I'm going to invest the same amount of money in building that library? Certainly not-because it's not an investment, it's an expense. Under the current DRM policies (that I know of) an eBook is not an asset, it's a consumable. That, IMO, needs to change. The media shouldn't matter-all books should be treated the same. (FWIW I've seen, believe it or not, attempts to treat hard-copy books the same as eBooks. Can't remember where right off, but I remember seeing a book that included a printed license agreement prohibiting the purchaser from transferring the book to anybody else. Doubt if it's any more legal than the DRM policies are-but I also don't know of any court cases on the issue. Maybe when I die my estate will file the first one-because I do intend to leave my library, including my eBooks, to my heirs.)

Amalthia · 08-19-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

Great. Then, respect is due to the teacher, who has certain not unreasonable rules in his/her classroom.

Not being allowed to read when finished with assignments is unreasonable! and I have a hard time respecting teachers who discourage reading as a means of staying quiet in class and allowing their classmates to finish their assignments in peace.

geneven · 08-19-2009, 07:51 PM

"You don't always buy what you need.
You don't always buy what you need.
But if you try sometimes, you just might find,
you buy what you want."

Apologies to what I guess is the Stones song.

GA Russell · 08-19-2009, 09:20 PM

As I recall, in 1972 there were plenty of people who saw the wow-factor in the new pocket calculators, but didn't think that they would ever get one because they weren't accountants.

I think that price has a lot to do with it. When the price of the eBook reader drops like the price of a pocket calculator has dropped (from $99 in 1972 to $1 in 2009 for basic models), I imagine that plenty of people who don't read much will want one and use it, perhaps for the equivalent of current newspapers' Style or Cooking sections, or even the Monday Sports section.

Lemurion · 08-20-2009, 05:21 PM

Most people don't read enough to want or need an e-Reader.

However, of those who do, a majority appears to find that an E-Ink screen is superior to currently available LCD displays for reading fiction. I know I do, and anecdotal evidence from this forum shows that I am not alone.

I have been approached by strangers about the device, and the majority have been impressed. It's not perfect - but it's a good solution for the problem.

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08-17-2009, 02:49 AM	#61
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,592 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	I remember when me and my brother were in school, my parents were getting calls from the teacher and principals a lot, because we were too advanced in comparison with the rest of the students. You figure that is a good thing, no? Well, they wanted us to not try so hard, since it "made the other children feel inferior". Is it a problem that kids are already writing cursive in kindergarten, or reading at a 6th grade level when in the first grade? As far as using technology in the classroom, I'm currently a college student, and I regularly use a PDA or laptop to write my classnotes on, and use ebooks instead of paper classbooks (my school offers them, so why not? easier to search through, and less money). I do so partially because I suffered permanent injuries to the hand which I write with, and cannot write well with my other hand. While I can write somewhat legibly, I cannot do so for extended periods of time before I lose feeling and control in my right arm. I've had issues with teachers before, because I use the electronic devices in class before. They yell at me for goofing off, "texting", etc. I have to go up and show them that I am just taking notes, and how detailed my notes are. Mind you I always clear this with the teachers at the start of each semester anyway. Most teachers now, are technologically ignorant by the large, even younger ones.

08-19-2009, 12:25 PM	#63
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	Getting back to the original subject, I just don't think reading devices will become mainstream until a solution is found to the DRM problem. Of course when we talk about problems we need to define the market. One split is between people who read books & people (like my kids) who almost exclusively read only news & magazines (mostly trash, IMO). For entertainment, they watch movies. eBook news/magazine subscriptions aren't likely to become mainstream, IMO, until I can read an article & talk to somebody else about it-without needing to read the entire article to them. To use the Web as an example, if I read an article on CNN I can include the link in the email I send to someone talking about the article. If, on the other hand, I read the article in a DRM-protected subscription then it doesn't matter whether I send them the article or not-they still can't read it. That's what I see as the DRM problem. I don't have a problem with the basic concept of DRM, but I do believe the underlying 'rule' should be to treat the eBook the same as you'd treat a hard-copy. If you subscribe to a magazine & want to show somebody an article you read in it, what do you do? You give them the magazine. DRM needs a way to transfer 'eBooks' between people. Not copies, but transfers. Nothing I know of supports that. Even for books, DRM is inhibiting sales-and I'm not talking necessarily about the 'format wars'. I suspect that most people who read eBooks very often fairly soon settle on their preferred format-whatever it is. No, my problem is that I have a fairly large library that I'd like to leave to my heirs. The fact that my kids probably won't read is irrelevant-they can sell the books or maybe their kids will like to read. Whatever, I've invested considerable money in building that library (over 5000 volumes) and would like to leave it to my kids. Now take my eBook library. Do you think I'm going to invest the same amount of money in building that library? Certainly not-because it's not an investment, it's an expense. Under the current DRM policies (that I know of) an eBook is not an asset, it's a consumable. That, IMO, needs to change. The media shouldn't matter-all books should be treated the same. (FWIW I've seen, believe it or not, attempts to treat hard-copy books the same as eBooks. Can't remember where right off, but I remember seeing a book that included a printed license agreement prohibiting the purchaser from transferring the book to anybody else. Doubt if it's any more legal than the DRM policies are-but I also don't know of any court cases on the issue. Maybe when I die my estate will file the first one-because I do intend to leave my library, including my eBooks, to my heirs.)

08-19-2009, 07:51 PM	#65
geneven Member Retired Posts: 124 Karma: 340 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Nokia N800, N810, Kindle 2	"You don't always buy what you need. You don't always buy what you need. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you buy what you want." Apologies to what I guess is the Stones song.

08-19-2009, 09:20 PM	#66
GA Russell Ticats win 4th straight Posts: 7,694 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	As I recall, in 1972 there were plenty of people who saw the wow-factor in the new pocket calculators, but didn't think that they would ever get one because they weren't accountants. I think that price has a lot to do with it. When the price of the eBook reader drops like the price of a pocket calculator has dropped (from $99 in 1972 to $1 in 2009 for basic models), I imagine that plenty of people who don't read much will want one and use it, perhaps for the equivalent of current newspapers' Style or Cooking sections, or even the Monday Sports section.

08-20-2009, 05:21 PM	#67
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	Most people don't read enough to want or need an e-Reader. However, of those who do, a majority appears to find that an E-Ink screen is superior to currently available LCD displays for reading fiction. I know I do, and anecdotal evidence from this forum shows that I am not alone. I have been approached by strangers about the device, and the majority have been impressed. It's not perfect - but it's a good solution for the problem.

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