eBooks and horses

In returning to The Infernal ebook topic of January, I am reminded that I have been told over and over again by people sceptical about a future with ebooks that nothing can replace the book - the feel the smell etc. etc. Well people used to feel that way about horses. When horses were ubiquitous in the community, they were generally valued and even loved (the feel the smell etc. etc.) and few people could imagine life without them. It took about two decades for the automobile to largely replace the horse in our community. We won't have that much time to adjust to the ebook. So it would be a good idea for people to have a calm and dispassionate look at what ebooks have to offer: especially if they are involved in education. This is not a for and agains argument but a little list of what ebooks offer in addition to that which books offer.

Storage: fifty or a hundred books stored in a package that weighs less than one hardcover book.
Accessibility: immediate acces to any part of any of these books; bookmarking and notes 'in' the text.
Integration: for web capable ebooks like the iPad, one device for internet research, reference (ebooks) and creative tools.
Portability: see Storage
Cost: too early to tell; they are generally about 20% cheaper, and there will probably be dramatic reductions in some texts that are purchased in large volumes. Many ebooks are free. Education systems will be motivated to produce their own texts to support some curriculum.
Reading Experience: In my experience most of the critics have never read an ebook. I have only used a small screen such as an iPhone, and I find a book a slightly better experience. But when the ebook costs $20 and the book $26, I buy the former.
Sharing: Books are easier to share, but this may change as purchase options change with ebooks. Some libraries are finding lending ebooks on line just like a real book to be very popular.

To return to the horse - automobile analogy, I think it likely that in ten years it may be a strong one, with paper books being an expensive and a slightly exotic way to give someone a special present. But if book printing-on-demand really takes off, then the balance of paper and digital books will be much more complex.

Infernal technology 2: eBooks!

In Sept 2007 I wrote a post in the form of a facetious letter to the editor in 1899 about the shortcomings of the automobile compared to horse transport and bicycles and walking. It was inspired by the constant dribble of complaints about new technology based on a similar argument: that everything old is necessarily superior to new ways of doing things.

Over the last few years I have had numerous conversations with people who have never read an eBook - a book on a screen, but are quite convinced that they will never catch on, because the person just loves the feel and the smell and the touch of a book. Well so do I, but have read quite a lot of books on various small devices and I can tell you that it is a pretty good experience.

I am currently nearly finished a 500 or so page non fiction book on my iPhone, which is about a third of the page area of a paperback book, and I can testify to it being a darn good experience. I read it in bed, lighter than a book and does not require a bed light at 3 am, and I read it for 45 minutes while waiting for the RAA to arrive, and I have marked selected sections with Notes, and it cost less than a paper book, arrived in abut 1 minute and did not involve a trip to the library. I can't share it with others, so it isn't perfect in every way, but you ought be open minded to the possibility of eBooks, because like the automobile they are here to stay, and probably dominate reading in the very near future.

The image is what you see on the screen. The display can be rotated to landscape view as well.