05-22-2010, 12:55 PM | #21 | |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ
Posts: 6,433
|
Quote:
But I disagree that anything on old machines would automatically be lost. Texts that people value will be transferred to newer data storage systems, and we're more than capable of replicating old technology if we really need to 'get at' something on an old system. I also disagree that marginal notes would be lost... after all, it's likely that you will soon be able to go in and directly modify the content. Or the author might even be able to go in. Particularly for educational tests, an e-reader would make updating, correcting, etc. much easier to do. Rather than needing marginal notes, we could just go in and fix what was mistaken or add the notes we need to the actual text . |
|
05-22-2010, 01:03 PM | #22 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
I didn't get any cool old books from them; they might as well have.
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
10-18-2010, 09:34 PM | #23 | |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 401
|
Quote:
I believe that because the information in an e-book is temporary, it will be temporary to our minds. One can easily switch the page of an electronic book, download a new story, or delete one. When you turn the page of a material book, however, the previous page is still there. When you are finished reading the book, it goes back to your shelf or to the library; it remains existing, accessible, and the same. The story cannot be replaced. The information is its own. When you read an e-book, it's disposition has an affect on you, whether you realize it or not. You are in control of the information. You can replace and delete it. But even when you burn a paper book it's still there. There is something material, something independent of your control; information you cannot delete. And there are others like it.
__________________
Elleth Valatari "We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil." — J.R.R. Tolkien Last edited by EllethValatari : 10-18-2010 at 09:39 PM. |
|
10-18-2010, 10:00 PM | #24 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
You are probably on to something with the form affecting its influence. My inner pomo says you can't divorce anything from its context, and our own appropriations to and reactions of something are nuanced with infinite subtlety by circumstances, expectations, etc. too many-splendored to be exhaustively accounted for.
However, I have to say, I think the temporary/permanent thing does not work. Generally speaking, deleted items remain, in some form, on the drive from which they were deleted, and are rather more retrievable than the words on a charred page, so that the ebook would actually be more permanent.
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
10-18-2010, 10:13 PM | #25 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 401
|
I hope I'm on to something. I've been noting little tid-bits here and there when I think about the topic and finally drew up the courage to post them.
I agree with you, GW, in a way. But do you not find it ironic that, in an age where the amount of information accessible doubles every second, the amount we are able to retain has decreased. The information in an e-book is available, but not permanent.
__________________
Elleth Valatari "We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil." — J.R.R. Tolkien |
01-01-2011, 05:08 AM | #26 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 401
|
Anyone get a Kindle or any other e-book for Christmas?
__________________
Elleth Valatari "We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil." — J.R.R. Tolkien |
01-04-2011, 02:36 PM | #27 |
Quasi Evil
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Maryland, US
Posts: 4,634
|
Yep. Seems like everyone in my family did... Dont know how much Ill use mine though. I already have like 30 books I own that I havent started or finished yet. So no need to buy more right now. Although it seems like it would be useful for getting books that you would likely not get at more expensive book prices and also for reading when traveling light. And hopefully someday text books will become common place electronically and you wont be held hostage by the ridiculous exorbitant prices that you have to pay for text books currently. Thats assuming the electronic book folks can crack the text book mafia who is in cahoots with the schools to force kids to spend hundreds of dollars for the same book every year by adding three words and calling it a "new edition" that you must have to take the course...
__________________
"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
01-05-2011, 03:48 AM | #28 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden
Posts: 9,481
|
In many ways this enthusiasm for things digital might just backfire when people figure out that ones and zeros can easily be deleted. Paperbooks may be burnt, text worn out, covers damaged etc, but it has been shown, time and again, that printed material has a longer life than any computorized information.
Ease of access for everyone is the main reason stated for the introduction of electronic books. That is all good and well. The next generation will not know what it was like to hold a new printed book in their hands. The very real feeling of paper underneath your fingers, the more alive and inspiring knowledge that the text has been printed with a bit more care than any other media, imho, far and wide surpasses the flat, unyielding and dead screen with its digitalized text. Last edited by Grey_Wolf : 01-05-2011 at 08:19 AM. |
01-05-2011, 07:05 AM | #29 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Durham, England
Posts: 694
|
Yes all very nice and shiny. But I'll file any predictions about the death of books alongside "paperless office", "cash-free society", "a meal in a pill" and "everyone will have a personal gyrocopter"...
__________________
I'm beset by self-doubt ....or am I? |
01-05-2011, 02:19 PM | #30 |
Quasi Evil
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Maryland, US
Posts: 4,634
|
Wheres my jet pack!
__________________
"People's political beliefs don't stem from the factual information they've acquired. Far more the facts people choose to believe are the product of their political beliefs." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |
01-05-2011, 07:00 PM | #31 | |
Cyber Elf Lord
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Left of Rock, Right of Hard Place
Posts: 986
|
Quote:
Are the books you buy yours? Can you give your copy to another person either as a loan or gift or sale? (Similar as with regular books) Can someone else delete your copy without your permission? (Regardless of the reason.) Can you print out a selected page or group of pages? (Not a big deal for me, but I am curious) ================================================== ===== With the ease that these ebooks can be changed, can someone or some group work to rewrite history or change what is considered true? (I am thinking along the lines of 1984 or Brave New World.) This is more difficult to do with books. ================================================== ===== I think there could be many good uses. (School textbooks were one example mentioned) There does exist the possibility of misuse by some people. Interesting question. If the price came down, I would consider getting one.
__________________
Sincerely, Anthony 'Many are my names in many countries,' he said. 'Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Drarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.' Faramir What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation? Cicero (106BC-43BC) |
|
01-18-2011, 03:23 PM | #32 | |
High King at Annuminas Administrator
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Wyoming - USA
Posts: 10,752
|
Quote:
* How durable are they? We never like to drop our books, but what happens when you drop your Kindle? * Can something bad happen to the electronic information over time? Can the drive crash and the information be lost? When might it be outdated? Etc? * Is it harder on our eyes to spend even MORE time reading off a screen, as opposed to reading off a page of paper?
__________________
My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! |
|
01-18-2011, 07:06 PM | #33 | |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ
Posts: 6,433
|
Quote:
Found out something interesting... a friend of mine downloaded his music theory textbook onto a kindle, and apparently it's been super helpful because he can make notes "in" the book from class, search for theory terms (like a "super" index), and it's easier for him to flip from exercise to exercise. Plus the theory books are pretty sizable and weigh a lot. |
|
01-18-2011, 08:54 PM | #34 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
Yeah, those readers have specially designed screens, intended to minimize problems with your eyes. They did figure people would spend a good deal of time looking at them.
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
01-22-2011, 03:31 PM | #35 |
Elven Maiden
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,309
|
I bought a Kobo (the Borders e-reader) the other day, and I like it quite a lot. There are some books I'd rather have a hard copy of, but plenty of others I don't mind reading on the Kobo. I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass on it so far, and I enjoyed the experience. You don't have to hold the book open, and it's a lot easier to read lying horizontally with the e-reader. The screen is pretty nice to look at, not hard on the eyes at all (I don't like reading on a computer screen, if I can help it). That's the main thing I like about it, is that it's physically easier to read on it.
Also, I don't worry about losing the books because I didn't pay for any of the books on there and I don't plan on doing so in the future. (It came with 100 free classics.)
__________________
~~eat until you can't anymore, play until you drop, sleep the day away, laugh, cry, yell, just live live live!~~ |
02-02-2011, 02:50 PM | #36 |
Elven Maiden
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,309
|
So even though I have a Kobo now, I went to the library the other day to check out a copy of Sartre's "Nausea". However, the book, which is quite old and full of underlining and notes, is hard to read, due to the text going too far into the middle crack part. So I downloaded it and put it on the Kobo. It is much nicer to see, I can read it at the gym, I don't have to worry about the shadows falling over the page. However, apparently there's no option to skip to a certain page? And since the book doesn't have chapters, here I am, scrolling through the pages, one by one, to get to the middle of the book. As long as they fix that in the next update I'm ok, but for now it's a big problem.
__________________
~~eat until you can't anymore, play until you drop, sleep the day away, laugh, cry, yell, just live live live!~~ |
05-03-2011, 10:24 AM | #37 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
The Libraries Didn't Burn
by Elaine Equi despite books kindled in electronic flames. The locket of bookish love still opens and shuts. But its words have migrated to a luminous elsewhere. Neither completely oral nor written — a somewhere in between. Then will oak, willow, birch, and olive poets return to their digital tribes — trees wander back to the forest?
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
05-03-2011, 05:34 PM | #38 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ
Posts: 6,433
|
That poem is freakin' excellent. O_o
|
05-03-2011, 08:16 PM | #39 |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA
Posts: 10,820
|
I was impressed.
__________________
Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle |
01-17-2012, 11:56 PM | #40 | |||
Halfelven Daughter of the Dunedain, President of Entmoot
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: In trouble. As usual.
Posts: 4,674
|
I got a Kindle for my birthday...
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Now mind you, even though I have a Kindle, I still buy actual books and I'm not going to replace the books I already have in favor of an electronic version. I love the smell of books
__________________
"Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life!"~ inked Don't meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. "Don't be such a sour wolf" Stiles ~ Heart Monitor http://www.wattpad.com/user/IceQueenofMitera |
|||