11-30-2007, 08:08 AM | #1 | |
Uebermensch
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E-book basher turns e-book lover, thanks to Kindle
Remember the rant against e-books by Mike Elgan from ComputerWorld? Well, the same guy who called e-books an eternal failure has now fallen in love with his Kindle:
Quote:
Of course this doesn't make any sense. In his rant article, Mr. Elgan asserted that the problem with e-books was that you could not touch them like paper and that people didn't want to curl up with a "battery-operated plastic screen". He said they'd never catch on. And today, a couple of months later, the Kindle is the "hottest holiday gift you can buy"? So much for journalistic integrity. |
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11-30-2007, 08:41 AM | #2 |
When's Doughnut Day?
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I agree it's not a very credible change of opinion but let's be correct. He writes articles which contain both information and his own opinions. So he's a columnist, not a journalist. I don't think I hold columnists to anything like the same standards as someone who's job it is to be accurate and dispassionate. But he just might be a rather foolish columnist.
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11-30-2007, 10:15 AM | #3 |
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I guess Mike never saw the 505. So why would he rant about a topic he knows nothing about?
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11-30-2007, 10:26 AM | #4 | |
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Quote:
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11-30-2007, 12:46 PM | #5 |
Lovin' the e-book life...
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Kudos to him for admitting he was wrong about ebooks though. He actually says: "This week, I set out to deflate the hype about Amazon's new Kindle e-book reader and to tell you why it will fail. But while researching this column, I became convinced of the opposite...."
So it's cool that he admitted that he was wrong. But why the Kindle changed is mind, rather than e-ink, is a bit off. But at least we have someone switching over to the e-book side. |
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11-30-2007, 08:23 PM | #6 | |
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I don't agree
Quote:
Give the guy a break.. I feel strongly about this, but I reserve the right to have a different opinion later on. . This in no way constitutes a lack of integrity on my part.. Gino. |
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11-30-2007, 09:06 PM | #7 |
Uebermensch
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Gino, of course there is nothing wrong with changing one's mind.
But if someone claims "e-books are destined for failure", this person needs to have some very good arguments to support his controversial claim. So what were his arguments?
Now we got the Kindle. But what has really changed in respect to his arguments? When I talk about journalistic integrity, I talk about common journalistic standards which include objectivity and a balanced point of view. |
12-01-2007, 03:08 AM | #8 |
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12-01-2007, 09:06 AM | #9 |
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Let's examine one of those arguments: "ebooks are expensive"
Last year I spent $692 on 34 books purchased on Amazon or at my local Borders. (Not too bad - only a little over my $50 a month book budget.) If I buy the same number of ebooks next year at $10 a piece, and spend $400 on a Kindle, that will be $740. Now, paper books are obviously cheaper in my case, especially when you consider that I could, in theory, resell some of those books. (In reality I don't. Some sit on my ever-growing bookshelf in my office and others pile up at home until I finally take a box of books somewhere to give away.) But - the difference is not that significant. And consider year two! If I keep my Kindle as my primary reader until the end of 2009 (my wife is rolling her eyes and saying, "I'll believe that when I see it.") ebooks will cut my budget in almost half that year. So, with the advent of $10 ebooks I'd say the "ebooks are expensive" argument is not very strong anymore. |
12-04-2007, 12:18 AM | #10 |
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12-04-2007, 08:15 AM | #11 |
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12-04-2007, 12:37 PM | #12 |
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LOL. Yeah. I've had this thing since Thursday and I'm already on my 4th purchased book. This could get expensive.
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12-04-2007, 02:04 PM | #13 |
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Hmm... possibilities...
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12-04-2007, 03:01 PM | #14 |
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His original article really failed to make the case against e-books, deliverying bold statements without proper supportive material. Now his subsequent article is just as weak, giving more bold statements without support. Someone should explain to him that when you put forth a hypothesis, you are supposed to offer a proper proof to support it, not throw out secondary information that doesn't make your case (but I guess makes you sound smart).
eBooks have the potential to replace all books when they reach a threshold that meets all the consumer's core expecations of a book and gives the core improvements are expected from a book's replacement. When/how that threshold is met (if ever) is is the true question. For some it has already been met. For others, they have some additional requirements that have not been met yet (price, interface, ease of use, content, display, etc.). Manufacturer's will continue to progress towards those requirements as their market share increases. We tend to call gadgets revolutionary (like the iPod) when they are able to meet enough new requirements that they get a disproportionate increase in market acceptance. But there are still many people listening to CDs (even LPs), so obviously even the iPod did not completely replace previous players. The Kindle is a step forward that pushes us closer to that ideal, how close only sales will tell. But for some, like myself, it has finally met my core requirements to move me forward enough to replace most physical books and newspapers (though not all yet). Is one better than another? That all depends on your personal requirements. |
12-04-2007, 03:42 PM | #15 |
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