Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why I do not yet own an e-book reader
http://wmbriggs.com/blog/2009/03/12/why-i-do-not-yet-own-an-e-book-reader/ ^ | William Briggs

Posted on 03/12/2009 4:37:51 AM PDT by mattstat

Clever readers will have noticed the modifier yet. Because it seems inevitable that someday we will be forced to own one.

Plenty of reviews of the two main readers exist: Sony’s e-reader and Amazon’s Kindle2. But these reviews miss two essential points.

The first is standard creep. My ma loves Guys and Dolls and originally bought the movie on Video Disk. Remember those? They were like record players for television. We had Star Wars, too.

But Video Disk players became obsolescent fast, so my ma bought another version on Beta tape. Yes, I swear this is true. We all know what happened here: she eventually bought on VHS.

The small, weary voice of my father just kept her from buying the movie again on Laser Disc. But she has since acquired a DVD version. I suppose Blue Ray is next.

Same movie, six implementations—so far. Each shift in technology requires a similar shift of funds from our bank accounts.

Here is the problem with e-books...

(Excerpt) Read more at wmbriggs.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: ebook; kindle
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-42 next last

1 posted on 03/12/2009 4:37:51 AM PDT by mattstat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: mattstat
How about this? I saw Jeff Bezos in an interview say that the Kindle 2 will hold about 15,000 e-books. Then he quickly pointed out that each e-book will cost $10.00 ( I guess he wanted to reassure publishers). The interviewer didn't pause to point out something rather amazing about these two facts considered together: you could potentially have a Kindle 2 that carried $150,000 worth of books on it! Jeez, that's a serious amount of money. I would think that thieves would find it impossible to resist stealing every one that they could get their hands on.

A $150,000 piece of electronic hardware being carried around town, to the beach, etc.? Insane.

2 posted on 03/12/2009 4:45:37 AM PDT by snarks_when_bored
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snarks_when_bored
I use the free e-Book reader available from eReader.com and read my e-Books on my Palm and on an old Pentium 133 laptop running Windows 98SE. I have bought a few e-Books from that source, but most are free e-books downloaded off the net from sites like manybooks.net.

No, I won't be buying a Kindle, or any other device...

3 posted on 03/12/2009 4:52:52 AM PDT by bcsco (Obama says "Buy", investors say "Bye")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: mattstat
I'm pretty much a tech guy, but $359 for this? Pffft... I'll stick with Audible and the occasional hardcover.
4 posted on 03/12/2009 4:59:21 AM PDT by Obadiah (Party - my house - on December 22, 2012!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snarks_when_bored

Most people probably only keep a few books at a time on their device, but aside from that, all the things you buy are also saved in your on-line library so that if you lose your Kindle, you don’t lose all the books you’ve bought. You can download them again at any time.

New books cost about $10.00, btw, while older releases cost about $5.00 and non-copyright things such as classics range from $3.00 to free (at other sites).

In any case, it sure beats trying to carry 15,000 books to the beach with you!


5 posted on 03/12/2009 5:05:31 AM PDT by livius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: snarks_when_bored

I’ve downloaded around 50 books on my new Kindle 2, and they have all been free so far. Working through old favorites like Verne, Burroughs, Poe, Austen, and Cooper at the moment.

I honestly don’t think most thieves would be interested in $150,000 worth of words, to be honest, so that doesn’t concern me.

I love my Kindle 2.


6 posted on 03/12/2009 5:22:23 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

I’m with you. There are plenty of free books out there, so the Kindle allows one to carry around a lifetime’s worth of reading at no cost (other than the unit itself). And because books are archived digitally, even if you buy a book for $10 you cannot ever really lose it. It’s a pretty neat product.


7 posted on 03/12/2009 5:45:24 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (American Revolution II -- overdue)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius
Working through old favorites like Verne, Burroughs, Poe, Austen, and Cooper at the moment.

Those names are probably next on my list. Being a lover of Westerns, I've been working through Zane Grey, Charles Mulford, Max Brand, etc. But, a few more an I'll have to expand my horizons...

8 posted on 03/12/2009 5:49:18 AM PDT by bcsco (Obama says "Buy", investors say "Bye")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius
I honestly don’t think most thieves would be interested in $150,000 worth of words, to be honest, so that doesn’t concern me.

Thieves are interested in the money they get from selling the things they steal to people who want those things at a discount, so to speak...

9 posted on 03/12/2009 5:50:23 AM PDT by snarks_when_bored
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: livius
Most people probably only keep a few books at a time on their device, but aside from that, all the things you buy are also saved in your on-line library so that if you lose your Kindle, you don’t lose all the books you’ve bought. You can download them again at any time.

"Most people probably only keep a few books at a time on their device,..." The thieves won't pause to check whether the Kindle 2 is full or rather empty.

I did surmise that you wouldn't lose access to the books you bought if your Kindle 2 were stolen. However, that doesn't reduce the incentive for thieves to steal the darned things...

10 posted on 03/12/2009 5:52:50 AM PDT by snarks_when_bored
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius
Funny you mention Burroughs. I wanted to re-read all of them, hadn't read them since I was a kid and it turned out it was almost as cheap to get the Kindle and get the content for free rather than buy all of them even used.

Of course I could have read them on the computer but somehow reading fiction I like to be sprawled out on the couch or laying in bed, sitting at a desk just doesn't do it for me and then there's the portability factor. Read a good chunk yesterday waiting for the car to be fixed.

11 posted on 03/12/2009 5:58:07 AM PDT by Proud_texan (Scare people enough and they'll do anything.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: mattstat

I go to the library.


12 posted on 03/12/2009 6:11:52 AM PDT by beejaa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snarks_when_bored
Ten bucks for a book is crazy. Since e-books avoid the expense of paper, ink, and carting them all over the country, the real price will settle at about three bucks. That's a buck for the retailer, a buck for the publisher, and a buck for the author.

iTunes is the example for this, if you sell songs cheaply enough, people will buy them. If Bezos tries to get ten bucks per book, there will be a massive incentive to break the encryption on them, and then publishers, authors, and retailers will make zip.

13 posted on 03/12/2009 6:17:11 AM PDT by hunter112 (SHRUG - Stop Hussein's Radical Utopian Gameplan!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: hunter112

The books that go for around $10 are new releases for the most part. Older books are around $2 to $3, and most classics are free. Even if you can’t find them on Amazon, you can go to www.gutenberg.org and download the .txt versions of old works for free, move them over to the Kindle, and start enjoying them right away.

I did that with “Consolation of Philosophy”. Yes, it was the first item I put on my Kindle. :)


14 posted on 03/12/2009 6:25:30 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius
The books that go for around $10 are new releases for the most part.

And there have always been people with plenty of money who don't mind dropping into Barnes and Noble to plunk down $25 or $30 for hardcopy editions of new releases, who probably find ten dollar e-books a bargain. It's just that those weighty tomes don't easily lend themselves to copying, and e-books might just be more vulnerable.

My prediction is that the freebie books will make up a very large proportion of e-books on people's devices as long as new releases are in the ten dollar range. At least if we're talking about legal copies.

15 posted on 03/12/2009 6:33:20 AM PDT by hunter112 (SHRUG - Stop Hussein's Radical Utopian Gameplan!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: snarks_when_bored

I own somewhere around 4,000 books. Tons of classics, many collectibles, home educator’s library and hundreds of extremely useful ‘how-to’ titles, manuals, trade and craft publications from 1960’s back to the 19th century. These examples of enduring technology will never be phased out - well, careful use and care will ensure about 100-150 years of utility. They’re hell to move, but once installed they work great.

I pity the poor fools that think e-books are books.


16 posted on 03/12/2009 6:35:36 AM PDT by WorkingClassFilth (Actually, it all started back in Mayberry. Helen Crump was a traveler and Floyd, well, you know...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: hunter112

I don’t think Amazon is worried about illegal copies. I can go to my Kindle, save out the book file to my computer, e-mail it to you, and have you move it to your Kindle with no problem whatsoever.

No security that I can see.


17 posted on 03/12/2009 6:35:55 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Anitius Severinus Boethius
Interesting, I didn't know that, since I've never looked into the concept. I would have figured that they would have had some simple security that would keep honest people honest.

If that's the case, then the ten dollar book absolutely will not last.

18 posted on 03/12/2009 6:41:57 AM PDT by hunter112 (SHRUG - Stop Hussein's Radical Utopian Gameplan!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: hunter112

That’s like saying Barnes and Noble will go down because the library is free.

There will always be people who will pay for the first day release and there will always be those who borrow their friend’s new album and use a blank tape to get the same music.

Believe me, Amazon isn’t going to lose money on this.


19 posted on 03/12/2009 6:44:42 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: WorkingClassFilth
As someone that loves books; the look of them, the feel of them, the worth of them, I veiw this push as yet one more thing of beauty and simplicity being flushed down the toilet of convenience. This is not about making literature and writing more available but rather a move to take over publishing.

Has music gotten better since the emergence of the ipod? Computers are now writing pop music, how brilliant is that?

Steve Bezo, having made billions on books is now trying to destroy books as a universal medium. There's no lower life form than one that will bite the hand that feeds it.

20 posted on 03/12/2009 7:27:32 AM PDT by Pietro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-42 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson