Attacks on electronic books

[jbcohen]

Interesting steven are you seeing analysis of the situation? I am yet to see an analysis of the electronic book and/or instances where one is better then the other.

Sweet Pea is correct about hte pages, however is that enough to warrant the change over in technology?

I wish these things were around back when I was an undergrad, I can quite clearly remember walking from the dorm to class with a two ton backpack or going to the book store to pick up a volume I need for a class and finding that the book store is out of that one. I would have loved carrying call my text on one device that weighs mear grams rather than tons and the electronic book store not having the text I need, that doesn't compute. As a grad student I would be running to class with several 200 pound text books and simply not able to make it to class because of the weight. Now I would tuck a one gram reader in a pocket a dash off, sounds great compared to what I did.

[Tome Keeper]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i wish the out of print books that i want have digital versions, but i don't think i will ever see that coming so i'm buying rather costly used copies.

Don't loose hope. One of my favourite authors just released his entire back catalogue on Kindle, even the out-of-print ones. Has saved me a bomb.

[witeowl]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

One huuuuuge advantage of ebooks: you don't get dog-eared ones... If there's one thing worse than writing in a book, it's folding its pages...

True. Then again, since you'll rarely have the opportunity to "read" a used ebook, that's connected to a serious flaw in ebooks.

But I'm with you: I swear I die a little inside every time I see that Kindle commercial with the woman so purposefully dog-earing a page.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by witeowl

True. Then again, since you'll rarely have the opportunity to "read" a used ebook, that's connected to a serious flaw in ebooks.

No, it is not. It is a serious flaw in the business model of some ebook publishers. It is absolutely, positively not an inherent flaw in ebooks themselves.

It could be fixed, or at least greatly mitigated by tweaks to the digital restrictions and/or setting prices to more realistically reflect what is being sold.

At some price, which will vary from person to person, it does not matter whether it can not be lent, or even can not be downloaded to an additional or replacement device.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

No, it is not. It is a serious flaw in the business model of some ebook publishers. It is absolutely, positively not an inherent flaw in ebooks themselves.

It could be fixed, or at least greatly mitigated by tweaks to the digital restrictions and/or setting prices to more realistically reflect what is being sold.

Exactly. There are ebook publishers who actually sell ebooks the way books are sold, rather than using the software model. For example, in the front of BeWrite's offerings, you will find that you can in fact resell or loan as long as the conditions are met:

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s or author’s consent in any form other than this current form and without a similar condition being imposed upon a subsequent purchaser.

Emphasis mine. Most publishers basically stop at "otherwise circulated".

[aktarian]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

The problem is that a paper book is a single format customized for a single content. I have books as small as 3" x 3" and as large as 12" x 16". The printed book can have any size and shape, but it's limited to a single content. Essentially, you're buying a new "display device" each time you buy content in paper form.

So, what size of ereader screen would accommodate my 12" x 16" book which, by the way, is full color and has pages that fold out to 15" x 21" (and weighs 13.5 pounds) as well as my 3" x 3" book?

It's just silly to think that any one ereader would fit all content any more than any one size of print book would do. When I keep reading "the Kindle does not do textbooks or 'whatever' well" I just slap my forehead and go, "Well, duh! Here's another newsflash: Your Vespa scooter won't tow a boat!"

As I said, it comes down to content. Right now ereaders can replace text-only books. 6'' screen is not that smaller than ~A5 format in which most such books are printed. It's small enough to neatly fit in your purse, bag, back pack... and big enough to be read easily.

As for books being single content, that depends on your definition of content. If you consider pictures and text same thing then yes, if not then no. I think that in near future most of "attacks" will focus on such differences and bad presentation of non-text format. Until readers with bigger screens become available on mass market, then people will complain that they are too big.

As for "Kindle does not do textbooks" I guess that is partly due to people being to hyped up by Amazon marketing on how you'll be able to read books anywhere, how you'll have them stored in reader and not need to drag paper books with you etc. I guess people then expect to be able to read any book and either don't look into details (screen size....) or don't understand how this is important. OTOH every company will promote the good side of their product, not bad one.

[witeowl]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

No, it is not. It is a serious flaw in the business model of some ebook publishers. It is absolutely, positively not an inherent flaw in ebooks themselves.

True enough. I guess I meant to say "ebooks as they are currently marketed and licensed by the major publishers and retailers". But "ebooks" was just so much shorter to type.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Interesting steven are you seeing analysis of the situation? I am yet to see an analysis of the electronic book and/or instances where one is better then the other.

I'd have to search back a bit to find an honest, even analysis of printed vs ebooks... I know I haven't seen or heard one for quite a while. Everything I've seen of late has been along the lines of "But you can't do X, which is why paper is better." Perhaps some periodical like Consumer Reports has done a better job at legitimately comparing the two media... but everyone else seems to be more interested in polarizing readers with contentious and one-sided arguments (which, after all, does seem to sell a lot of magazines).

Originally Posted by witeowl

True. Then again, since you'll rarely have the opportunity to "read" a used ebook, that's connected to a serious flaw in ebooks.

I don't see the potential disappearance of "used" books as an ebook flaw; I see the increased availability of older books, presented as clean and new as recently-published material, as an ebook strength.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by aktarian

I think that in near future most of "attacks" will focus on such differences and bad presentation of non-text format. Until readers with bigger screens become available on mass market, then people will complain that they are too big.

I agree that future negative comments will highlight bad presentations of non-text formats (like magazines). However, clarity is more of an issue than size; devices like the Nook Color and iPad actually do good jobs of presenting magazine content.

I believe that, down the line, the digital magazine will evolve to a format better suited for screen display, and less a "PDF display."

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

I believe that, down the line, the digital magazine will evolve to a format better suited for screen display, and less a "PDF display."

to HTML (particularly 5), in other words. And consequently, to zipped html, AKA ePub.

[FatDog]

What can we conclude about the recent attacks on electronic books from such places as wired.com and Andy Rooney and others?

Well.. if it was someone important and not a professional curmudgeon, or a magazine that was respected and not heading for chapter 11 with dwindling ad revenue, then I might worry.

("Wired"! Seriously? Just because you can put 4,000 color graphics on every page in eye-searing contrast does not make up for lack of content - but it tries.)

Amazon, Steve Jobs, Barnes&Noble, O'Reilly - they have a different opinion on ebooks and get more of my money and attention.

[Leyor]

Do you have some links to refer to?

Not a reader of Wired, and a quick skim didn't really net me anything.