Ebook archive in case of the apocalypse? - Page 2

FlorenceArt · 08-14-2010, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adoby

And I see my e-library as a possible resource in the aftermath. Not least because it is highly portable and easy to copy. But the readers are still not quite good enough. But they are getting closer ...

Em... where do you plan to get the electricity to power your reader?

Adoby · 08-14-2010, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Em... where do you plan to get the electricity to power your reader?

From my solar cells and the windmill. Or even from the generator on a bicycle. Don't need much ...

jblitereader · 08-14-2010, 11:40 AM

<edit>

HarryT · 08-14-2010, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livingenzyme

Electronic forms can last a hell of a lot longer in storage than paper copies.

Do you really think so?

We have many manuscripts that are 1000 years old. Let me ask you a question: how, and in what format, would you store an ebook such that you could be confident of it being readable in 1000 years' time?

FlorenceArt · 08-14-2010, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livingenzyme

OK, guys, the point of saving all the books in e-format isn't so we can read them immediately after the apocalypse. The point is so that we can store as many books as possible so that hopefully future generations could get our civilization back on its feet and not lose all the information during the period in between. Electronic forms can last a hell of a lot longer in storage than paper copies.

You see, whatever happens, if we don't save all the information then we'll have to start all over.

You can store as many ebooks as you want, that won't mean much if the technology to read them has been lost. Supposing they are still here to be read, and I agree completely with Harry on this point.

FlorenceArt · 08-14-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adoby

From my solar cells and the windmill. Or even from the generator on a bicycle. Don't need much ...

Oh. And you will make all those yourself? And repair them when they are broken?

Freeshadow · 08-14-2010, 12:01 PM

hmm just half-off topic:
I haven't seen the US Army field manual "Survival" as an (epub) ebook yet, altough some (older editions of it have already been released to the public.
any volonteers?

ardeegee · 08-14-2010, 12:14 PM

Reposting a reply I made in a thread early this year:

Ebooks will be preserved the same way that paper books are-- with effort, by people who care about their survival. Do you think that, once produced, paper books last forever without assistance? They don't. They have to be stored inside buildings-- buildings that must be maintained (a leaky roof will destroy a book as easily as leaving it in the rain.) There has to be someone to keep them away from the rats, and the roaches, and the silverfish, and from sunlight (which will fade the ink and crumble the pages.) They have to avoid being used by people who are less literate or more desperate for fires or for toilet paper, or simply tossed away to make space. They have to survive readers who brutalize them by writing in them and dog-earing pages. They have to be handled carefully or repaired when their glue crumbles, or the pages are made fragile by acid. Keeping books takes effort. There are many, many works of fiction and non-fiction lost in the past, not because they were electronic versions, but because there were too few copies, or too little interest in preserving them, or some monk wanted a prayer book or some encroaching culture/religion wanted the books of the old culture/religion destroyed, or the language died, or the people were too damn busy dealing with war, famine, or collapse of their civilization to bother with them.

Here's what will happen if the power grid goes out-- the majority of the population of the world will die. Those who survive will be the toughest and those already so poor they didn't much notice the difference. There will no longer be taxes to run the governments, and there will no longer be governments to run the libraries. The people will be too busy trying to not die to worry about pampering books. If the power grid goes out, or WWIII happens, the majority of paper books will be moldy, sodden lumps or ashes within one or two generations. Anyone who thinks that, post-apocalypse, digital books will disappear and paper books will be alive and well either isn't thinking or is pushing an emotional argument.

So-- there are TWO things needed for both paper and electronic books-- people who care to make the effort to maintain them, and a civilization for the people to live in.

mjhudston · 08-14-2010, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

That's only in the case the "event" is a thermo-nuclear bomb, right?

actually no, whilst it is a byproduct of nuclear bombs, no one is exactly sure of the source, although some believe it is an interaction with the planets magnetic field.

In MOD experiments, very low levels of emp have been detected in uses of TNT, and other chemical explosives. Therefore it is safe to assume that a massive impact of one object say an asteroid, may cause an EMP burst.

jgaiser · 08-14-2010, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

hmm just half-off topic:
I haven't seen the US Army field manual "Survival" as an (epub) ebook yet, altough some (older editions of it have already been released to the public.
any volonteers?

It's in PDF format here.

jblitereader · 08-14-2010, 12:44 PM

<edit>

mjhudston · 08-14-2010, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livingenzyme

I'm not an expert in electronic storage, so I can't comment on this. What I do know is that for the first time in human history virtually all human knowledge could be stored in something that could be moved around instead of a whole library. Yeah, those manuscripts lasted for 1000 years, but just how much of the originals survived?

Would you rather have the whole library of human knowledge stored somewhere for future generation or would you rather just have a hand full of manuscripts?

my view is the more we keep the better.

Adoby · 08-14-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Oh. And you will make all those yourself? And repair them when they are broken?

No, I don't intend to make them myself. Why should I? I already got them.

Should be good for another 20 years. Most likely I'll update them well before that. They are mainly used for backup power during power outages. One solar panel power an electric fence for horses away from the grid, in the summer. But they could all easily be used to recharge my e-reader.

If need be it is trivial to rig a small generator (from a bicycle for instance) as a electric windmill, to recharge some flashlight batteries.

So I don't expect lack of electricity to be a problem that makes it impossible for us to read books on our e-readers. Ever.

I can also recharge flashlight batteries using wind/solar power. So we can see to cook, read our paperbooks and listen to the radio when the grid is down.

And the grid actually is down, now and then, where I live. Once for three weeks after a severe storm. The only problem with that was the laundry.

rblover · 08-20-2010, 01:29 AM

Of course mankind will survive being decimated. To decimate is to kill 10%...which leaves 90% still alive. The big doomsday will kill 90% in the event, and the rest in the aftermath....no survivors.

hardgainer · 08-20-2010, 02:26 AM

yeah there is an archive all right

but i think nobody will need it... ...posthumously

08-14-2010, 11:40 AM	#18
jblitereader Addict Posts: 248 Karma: 1312 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: jetbook lite	<edit> Last edited by jblitereader; 03-23-2011 at 02:24 AM.

08-14-2010, 12:44 PM	#26
jblitereader Addict Posts: 248 Karma: 1312 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: jetbook lite	<edit> Last edited by jblitereader; 03-23-2011 at 02:24 AM.

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08-14-2010, 12:01 PM	#22
Freeshadow temp. out of service Posts: 2,793 Karma: 24285242 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Duisburg (DE) Device: PB 623	hmm just half-off topic: I haven't seen the US Army field manual "Survival" as an (epub) ebook yet, altough some (older editions of it have already been released to the public. any volonteers?

08-14-2010, 12:14 PM	#23
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	Reposting a reply I made in a thread early this year: Ebooks will be preserved the same way that paper books are-- with effort, by people who care about their survival. Do you think that, once produced, paper books last forever without assistance? They don't. They have to be stored inside buildings-- buildings that must be maintained (a leaky roof will destroy a book as easily as leaving it in the rain.) There has to be someone to keep them away from the rats, and the roaches, and the silverfish, and from sunlight (which will fade the ink and crumble the pages.) They have to avoid being used by people who are less literate or more desperate for fires or for toilet paper, or simply tossed away to make space. They have to survive readers who brutalize them by writing in them and dog-earing pages. They have to be handled carefully or repaired when their glue crumbles, or the pages are made fragile by acid. Keeping books takes effort. There are many, many works of fiction and non-fiction lost in the past, not because they were electronic versions, but because there were too few copies, or too little interest in preserving them, or some monk wanted a prayer book or some encroaching culture/religion wanted the books of the old culture/religion destroyed, or the language died, or the people were too damn busy dealing with war, famine, or collapse of their civilization to bother with them. Here's what will happen if the power grid goes out-- the majority of the population of the world will die. Those who survive will be the toughest and those already so poor they didn't much notice the difference. There will no longer be taxes to run the governments, and there will no longer be governments to run the libraries. The people will be too busy trying to not die to worry about pampering books. If the power grid goes out, or WWIII happens, the majority of paper books will be moldy, sodden lumps or ashes within one or two generations. Anyone who thinks that, post-apocalypse, digital books will disappear and paper books will be alive and well either isn't thinking or is pushing an emotional argument. So-- there are TWO things needed for both paper and electronic books-- people who care to make the effort to maintain them, and a civilization for the people to live in.

08-20-2010, 01:29 AM	#29
rblover Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 26 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none as yet	Of course mankind will survive being decimated. To decimate is to kill 10%...which leaves 90% still alive. The big doomsday will kill 90% in the event, and the rest in the aftermath....no survivors.

08-20-2010, 02:26 AM	#30
hardgainer Invisible Man Posts: 33 Karma: 3454 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: UK Device: Pocketbook360,Kindle K4	yeah there is an archive all right but i think nobody will need it... ...posthumously

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