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The Evolution of Reading In the Digital Age
Doofus writes "'Print is dying. Digital is surging. Everyone is confused.' is the subtitle of Craig Mod's thoughtful discussion aboutthe evolution of reading material from printed dead-tree to flowing digital content. I stumbled upon his blog post from a related NYTimes article, Former Book Designer Says Good Riddance to Print. He breaks reading material down into two basic categories: 'Formless,' in which the content and meaning of the writing has no dependency on presentation, and 'Definite,' in which layout and presentation play a role in conveying meaning. Mod makes the point that as digital presentation improves, devices such as the iPad will bring authors newer and improved platforms upon which to display Definite content. Despite this, he says, some works will be better consumed in physical print because 'They're books that embrace their physicality or have stood the test of time. They're the kinds of books the iPad can't displace because they're complete objects.'"
From TFA: We’re losing the dredge of the publishing world: disposable books.
Sounds like "dregs" I guess--if you talk like Sean Connery. I stopped reading right there. That's just a bit too much illiteracy for an article about books.
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Electronic books are probably one of the iPad's killer apps. Maybe not the ones we'll see immediately -- the ones basically just ported from the Kindle or something -- but the next generation of books, or the ones after that. Interacting with the book is where the technology will really shine. Think about A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (from The Diamond Age).
Actually, DRM enables e-book libraries. There are quite a few libraries actively loaning out e-books.
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I think it's even further off than that. It's unlikely to happen until everyone who comes across it already has one, and isn't just a prick. (There are lots of those...)
It's more akin to leaving a bookshelf of all your books, and room for new books to be added as well, complete with a dolly for easy carrying by one person -- much more valuable than just one tattered eared paperback.
Well, there are a few other things that seem to fall out when you go to ebooks, diagrams and pictures can 'move' if you want. The book's language can change. If your eyes are tired, the book can read to you. The book can remember what page you last read. It can find related material regarding any of the characters, both fictional and real. It can find a map for you of the country the story is set in. The list gets longer if you want, and all things you can't get from a printed version. When people eventually have fond memories of sitting in the front room reading a story on their ebook, paper books will be a thing of the past. When there is an ebook laying in a basket in the bathroom with Readers Digest and that almanac thingy on it, paper books will be a thing of the past. When you can go to a library and 'borrow' a cartridge with a book or two on it, paper books will be a thing of the past. The problems are part cultural and part functionality. Both will be overcome. ebooks have the capability of combining moving images with text, creating an art form that does not yet truly exist. Remember when people used to say the book was much better than the movie? Any of these features can increase the value of the media, the price, or the DRM capabilities. Publishers will have to get over the desire to sell a separate copy to every person who reads and just let them share. Anyone remember when they thought photocopiers were going to ruin their business? This is more or less the same thing.
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Regarding libraries - I think there's actually a fairly simple solution (though the publishers may dislike it):
A library buys a digital copy of a book when someone requests it for the first time. They have a "check out" iPad application (and/or other application) that will log in a database that the book is checked out for 2 weeks, and not let that copy be checked out until that copy is either manually checked back in or it automatically expires after two weeks. When a book is attempted to be opened in the application it makes sure that the check out is still valid before allowing the book to be opened. If there is more than a 2 - 3 month wait for a book, another digital copy is purchased and added to the pool. This could easily be a national library as there are no physical copies to store (only servers storing the files) and no need to check things out in person. I would love this system and would probably use it even if it was not government funded and had a monthly fee. I'm aware of safari books online, but I'd like something with a broader appeal.
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So do I. I never use library for several reasons:
-The books are ripped off, broken or people wrote on them.
-Last time I checked the 3 libraries close to me, they had less than 30% of the book I have at home.
-I think book is one of the cheapest entertainment. I read approximatively a page in 1 minute to 1.5 minutes (non native english speaker). The last 3 books I read are "halting state" by charles stross, 8 USD for 324 pages, "the dreaming void" by peter hamilton 9 USD for 600 pages and "the engines of god" by jack mcdevitt 8 USD for 418 pages. The price per hour are respectively 1.18 USD, 0.72 USD, 0.91 USD. This is approximatively 5 time cheaper than a movie at the cinema (just for me, not talking about my gf that join me for this 'boring science fiction' movie or if I join her to the latest 'same over again love story' ).
-I can still lend them to friend or even give them as gift.
-(Call this one luxury if you want) I like to have at home several books that I haven't read yet but that I will so that when I want to read a book, I can just pick the one that fit my mood NOW.