Posted on 07/12/2013 8:40:47 PM PDT by Perdogg
The abrupt resignation this week of William Lynch, the 43-year-old Barnes & Noble chief executive, was only the latest in a catalogue of troubles at one of the US's biggest book chains. If this were a business whodunnit, nobody could fail to spot the culprit: Amazon.
Still, with bookshops everywhere in retreat as the internet takes an ever greater slice of their trade, it seemed to many that a chain with its own dedicated e-reader – the Nook – could have the answer. But with Barnes & Noble's device struggling to make any headway against Amazon's Kindle, that strategy, and the US bookseller's very survival, are now in question.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
ping
Ereaders are now like toasters or electric skillets. Cheap enough to be disposable and it matters little if one brand name goes away or a new one starts up.
Maintain your library with calibre and keep it backed up.
No kidding.
Are any of these things, not made in China?
That, and the fact that e-readers are unnecessary when you can load a reader app on any smartphone or tablet.
EReaders have a long-term advantage over printed books and magazines because the entire library can go with the reader — including into the john. Regardless, I don’t own one, and it’s just possible that I never will, and I love gadgets and technology. :’)
I certainly hope so.
I love my Kindle. I am on my third model. For me ebooks have replaced paperback books and magazines. I still buy hard back books that I want to keep and pass down to my kids.
Like you I use Calibre. With the right plugins you can even use Calibre to strip off the DRM from Amazon ebooks.
I love my Kindle. I am on my third model. For me ebooks have replaced paperback books and magazines. I still buy hard back books that I want to keep and pass down to my kids.
Like you I use Calibre. With the right plugins you can even use Calibre to strip off the DRM from Amazon ebooks.
Amazon was an online bookstore that looked ahead and saw that eReaders would eventually come and cause an existential threat to their company. Their response was very risky but paid off, they embraced the change and completely redesigned their company. They came up with their own eReader, sold books online, but also became an online retailer for far more than just books, including things you can't download. That way they insulated themselves from the damage eBooks or other e-content could do to the company.
Borders was last to adjust to the changes, and they were first to go. B&N adjusted, but not as much as Amazon, and will be the next to go. The one that survived was the one most willing to make radical changes.
Cells and tablets are harder on the eyes, because because of the bright screen constantly being in your eyes. It’s like looking at a computer monitor constantly.
Tablets are simply easier in the eyes and they are fairly inexpensive. Also, with the discount on the books you usually get, the readers eventually pay for themselves.
In the end, authors will retain their copyrights and sell through many small sights. This is already happening more and more.
Following the same path as music, publishing is fragmenting.
Don’t like ereaders - they give me a headache.
I love the convenience of the Kindle. Ebooks are so far superior to traditional books, there is just no comparison. Portability, ability to change font size and screen color, and being able to read in the dark... Its like comparing a printed book to a scroll, or a piece of papyrus...
OTOH, traditional books don’t require infrastructure... ie, electricity at the very least, and in the case of Amazon, internet connectivity for DRM, and their entire ‘cloud’ server backend, just to read the books.
I have been using a Galaxy Tab for the last couple of years and find it very convenient for a lot of tasks but especially reading Ebooks. I run the Amazon Kindle App along with several other eReader Apps.
Even on Amazon I generally download the complete book rather than leaving it in the “Cloud”. I like to have easy access even when I am in outlying areas.
I actually purchased the Galaxy Tab because it has a built in GPS and the Aviation Apps were superior to both of the Aviation GPS units that we were using in our airplane. There is almost nothing the darn thing won’t do.
I’m committed to the dead-tree version. It never turns off “unexpectedly,” and strange children don’t come up to you asking if they can play Angry Birds on it. They see that it’s just black text on a white page and diddle off to bother someone else.
I’m currently reading Churchill’s The River War on my iPad Mini. It’s a great reader which can do many other things. Like allow me to easily surf and post here.
I love e-books for novels and other books you intend to read from start to finish. For reference materials and non-fiction where you are constantly looking things up or flipping from section to section I much prefer the old paper and cardboard.
You can take my Kindle when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
The next chapter? Used book store.
Half the price, permanent copy. Can pass it around.
I have a Sony e-reader. Some advantages compared to a book, primarily space, but more disadvantages. IMO
You pay almost hardcover price, read it once and, and you’re stuck with it.
Can’t pass it around, sell, trade it.
What’s sorely needed is rent-a-book.
Pay a couple bucks, have use of the book for a month. At the end of the month the book goes away.
The public library has a limited number of titles and a waiting list.
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