Adobe opens e-book store

TalkBack 9 of 10:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

RE: The only value E-books have

>If I could purchase several E-Books for a fraction of the cost of the actual book then I could find out which ones are good enough to puchase for a refernce.

>For programming a new book can cost upwards of $100...

That and text books (mentioned in a previous post.) If e-readers got a whole lot less expesive and there were ways to highlight and bookmark areas of text, and there were solid built-in search capabilities (imagine having 4 or 5 textbooks concerning information management, databases, etc., then another 2 or 3 programming reference books on MS SQL, and yet another 2 or 3 for Oracle/PLSQL... then a robust boolean search function that could nto only find matches in all the texts, but even cross-reference them, etc... now THAT would be worth buying!)

Until those types of things begin to happen, I can't see e-readers/e-books taking off. The biggest problem with an e-book, as I see it, is it offers no distinct advatage over traditional books. They're not terribly cheaper than traditional books (maybe a couple bucks, but how many do you have to buy at that rate before you make up the cost of the reader?) They're not easier to read. They're definitely more difficult to share. The list goes on and on.

Beyond all that, there is a certain sense attached with owning a book. How many people still buy hardcopies even when paperbacks are available for much less? There's a certain 'magic' to seeing a collection of books filling a large bookshelf or small library in a home office. I don't it myself, but many people enjoy reading poetry, or childrens stories, aloud (something you are apparently forbidden to do with this new format.)

In 10 years, if the format hasn't dies some painfully miserable death, I'll revisit it to see if it offers half of what I look for in a book. If it does, maybe I'll consider buying into it then. or now, it doesn't approach any sense of value.

Posted by: JakAttak   Posted on: 12/18/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Email Security and Archiving - Clearer in the Cloud Google The time is NOW for businesses and organizations of all sizes to implement ... Download Now
• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software VMware VMware virtualization enables customers to reduce their server TCO and ... Download Now