The Pub Discussion Board

<quote>i just saw an ebook reader that uses eInk that has a cell system built into it so you can download new books on the fly</quote>

Uh, that IS the Kindle, by Amazon. Yes, Amazon, the very same company that had a hosted ebook service, that they canceled and everybody who paid for content lost it all.

1 i just saw that going hu the bus terminal at ney york(its EVERYWERE)
2 I WANT ONE
3 does it work well?
4 how much does it cost?

they only use power when the page changes so they have insane battery life

That's not the whole story though. The unit has a computer that requires power so letting it sit idle will eventually drain the battery. If you properly shut it down when not in use then yes, it has excellent battery life.

So far I've read about a dozen books and to be quite honest, I really like it.

Ace

1. I don't own this thing.
2. I'd like to.
3. Here's the Sony website product page: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto … 1644523779
4. If I've read this correctly, eBooks can be stored on your PC when you're not reading them on the eReader.

I am wary of the impermanence of any digital format as compared to a physical book. I have electronic files a mere decade old that are unreadable because their applications don't run anymore and their format's been abandoned. I have books that are older than I am that I can find, open, and begin reading in minutes.

I'm also a big fan of the printed page. Black ink on white paper (or even yellowed pulp) is high-resolution stuff, very high-contrast and easy to read.

But...

I saw a demo unit of the Sony reader over the weekend. It's lightweight (paperback light) and stupid-easy to use. It's also quite readable -- for an electronic display. To my eyes it wasn't as clear as the last cheaply-printed paperback I read, but it's probably good enough, considering its other advantages.

Advantage One: it's spineless. I've been on a reading binge lately and my left hand hates me. Holding open a paperback is no fun.

Advantage Two: push a button, the text gets bigger. You don't think you need bigger text... until you push a button and it gets bigger and your eyes say "thank you." My 10am eyes are not the same as my 10pm eyes.

I used to think "I'll never get an electronic reading device." A few minutes with the Sony reader in-hand hasn't quite sold me yet, but I'm warming up to the idea.

PS: CD-Rs hold lots of files.

You're right, the problem is proprietary formatting. I believe that most digital formatting is still proprietary, or at least has such a strong short-term bias that it requires extra work if it is to be useful a decade after its creation.

Books are easy to care for. The good ones will last well beyond my lifetime without anything more complicated than storage in the same conditions I require for personal comfort.

Digital formatting requires more maintenance, by a digital mechanic. It's getting better, but booksellers and digital readers are still fond of proprietary formats, so you're left to convert things yourself, and that conversion still requires a level of technical fastidiousness that Eric Storms possess in abundance but most folks don't have. Most "Save to" conversions suck, either stripping some information (ASCII) or larding up with WYSIWYGery that's frighteningly of-the-moment. This has been my experience. HTML seems permanent, but its format too has evolved -- remember the days when nobody used (/P) tags? I have files that passed XHTML 1.0 Strict checking by W3C's engine five years ago -- I checked them two months ago and they failed. PDF looks like a pretty good format, but we've only recently come into desktop displays that can actually give us a readable full-page view of the most common (8.5x11) PDF page size, and neither of the two hot digital readers of today handle it well.

Digital formatting has the potential for endless renewal -- paper books do require progressively more elaborate environmental support and careful handling as they age, particularly if they were cheap to begin with, or if they're from a certain period, but for the most part I don't have to think about it, and my children don't either.

I shouldn't have to think about the digital books I get either, but today, I still do.

Eric Storm wrote:

Imagineer wrote:

I am wary of the impermanence of any digital format as compared to a physical book. I have electronic files a mere decade old that are unreadable because their applications don't run anymore and their format's been abandoned

And the problem here is proprietary formatting, not digital formatting.  With proper care and refreshing, my digital books will last indefinitely.  Your printed book will eventually disintegrate into dust, no matter how much care is taken with them.  HTML is still around.  ASCII is still around.  The open formats will always exist, and chances are there will always be converters from one of these open formats into the new proprietary format of your choice.  (Though sticking with the open formats makes far more sense...)  Don't decry the "impermanence of ANY digital format", when you're really decrying the fact that companies think proprietary formats are a good thing.

PS: If those files are actually unreadable, why do you still have them?

point to Eric on this one i know a programmer who told me she had to learn COBOL to write some stuff for the airlines during the whole Y2K deal


Now the obvious question but be asked: if it can be done would you want e-reader friendly versions of the pub writers work? would you be willing to pay for it?(may be required to pay the license fee but may also be used to support the site)

on an unrelated note: WOW this thread took a while to get going didn't it