Just the facts please
Mar 17 '00
Most of the comments here seem to be the usual fear of change and fear of the unknown. Yes at the moment "dead tree books" are more comfortable and easier to read, probably the people who wrote the "dead sea scrolls " felt the same way.
Leather bound books with great bindings and quality paper are the result of centuries of refinement. The current paperback books which made books accessible and affordable to the masses are really only about fifty years old. You can bet that idea met with opposition too and some of the same arguments were made, such as lowering the quality of information.
"So great! Now everyone can be an author, now we have to listen to everyone."
There is some truth to this statement but I doubt that the introduction of paperbacks did anything but create more readers and a bigger publishing industry. As the old saying goes "the cream will rise to the top." So don't worry about the junk that is published.
(By the way this is a very old saying made originally before pasteurization. If you do not understand it try doing a search under "cream dairy.")
The question of "investing" in e-books is odd. But for the moment I would not invest in an e-book in the same way I would invest in a hard bound book which I intended to make a part of my library. Part of that investment is in the aesthetic appeal of the book itself. However I would "invest" in an e-book that provided needed information on a particular topic. An especially good example is in the field of changing technological information. There was a time when I purchased a book called "Using Microsoft Works" (mind you this volume boasted that it "covers through version 2"). Do you think there is a market on ebay for this baby?!?! Imagine being the publisher who happened to print 20,000 copies too many. This is a good e-book alternative. In other words when you need "just the facts," give me an e-book.
Meanwhile in the coming weeks, months and years inventors, marketers and manufacturers will develop ways to make the process of reading your e-book more tactile until you will feel as warm and fuzzy about it as you do about your old beat up copy of "Tom Sawyer" or "War and Peace."
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Chi106
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Location: Chicago,IL
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