[LINK] The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age

[Richard Chirgwin]

Michael Skeggs mike at bystander.net wrote:
> On 05/02/2009, Ivan Trundle <ivan at itrundle.com> wrote:
>   
>> Contextual information also includes jacket covers and fly leafs, and the
>> placement of images in certain places which can easily be referred to either
>> to glance at, or absorb over time. to date, no e-book comes remotely close
>> to offering all of these features, though I know that one day someone will
>> claim that they have achieved this and make millions.
>>
>> Beyond this, I also dislike having to buy a gadget to read: there are
>> enough books in circulation (ignoring current publishing efforts) to keep me
>> busy for a long time to come, and I believe that my environmental footprint
>> will be much smaller by choosing to NOT buy a dedicated book 'reader', with
>> the accompanying development costs, environmental costs, energy costs, and
>> disposal costs.
>>
>>
>>     
> Fair enough, but this argument is very similar to one that says iTunes will
> never work because people want their CD covers (or CDs with their little
> covers will never replace the gatefold LP with its accompanying context).
> People will discard these elements of the 'book' package if there are enough
> incentives to do so. 
I guess - taking the most cynical view - it comes down to this: if I
don't see a reason to abandon the paper book (which is not a criticism
of those who do, merely an observation of my preference), then it's hard
to imagine the incentive.

Is there some imperative that I "ought" to say yes to the incentives, or
discard elements of the book?

Regarding the environmental issue; "whole of life" costs would make for
an interesting comparison. Sure, the *books* are bits (licensed,
ring-fenced, our-way-or-the-highway, Google-dominated, DCMA-enforced
bits, but bits nonetheless), but readers aren't. So; assume a lifetime
of five years for the readers, and compare them to the footprint of
books whose lifetime may be decades ...

RC
> For iPods it was free pirate music and the ability to
> cart around 1000 albums. I suspect for ebooks it will be pirated university
> texts and the ability to cart around a whole library.
> As for the environment, I tend to buy books second hand, indeed only buy new
> books as gifts. Recycled electrons on my palm or iPhone would be even
> friendlier.
>
> Regards,
> Michael Skeggs
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