I had a Palm Tungsten E that I did a lot of ebook reading on (those PDAs are perfect for reading ebooks because they're the size of a paperback book) but I was really irresponsible and left it at school once :( Haven't seen it since. I have a bad habit of leaving stuff around, even something as expensive as that Palm Tungsten. I do agree with the fact that ebooks are more of a novelty right now, partly due to the fact that handhelds (and some ebook readers) are nOT CHEAP. Plus, people like to have devices that can do several things, and PDAs do that. They just cost a pretty penny for most models. My Tungsten cost me nearly 200 dollars. Jared Greg Newby wrote on 5/17/2005, 10:40 PM:
On Tue, May 17, 2005 at 06:00:41PM -0400, rvijay07 wrote:
I spoke to about 10 people in the last week that I personally know.
The aged are hesitant to stay long infront of the Computer due to eye strain etc.,
Those who go to school etc., are busy with their studies.
In general society still hasn't got comfortable with the idea of
EBooks. It is something that they will read if they have to or have no other choice it appears.
Even I myself started liking EBooks only like a month ago. Hence, PG
may have a bumpy growth as and when more people get comfortable with using EBooks. These people by the way are not familar with ebook readers as well and the advantages that they offer.
I question whether this is resistance to eBooks, or just a combination of (a) not liking to read much, or to read older literature; and (b) lack of technical facility or equipment.
For (a), I admit that most of my pleasure reading is in contemporary stuff. If I could get all the titles I'd like for my EBookWise reader, I would...but instead I purchase dead trees, mostly via mail order. But I do read through several PG eBooks per month, and skim several more per week.
Here, we're all (presumably) interested in reading. But there are lots of people who only read one or a few books per year, if that. In the US, the advertised literacy rate of 97% always seemed a little generous to me, given how few people seem to spend any significant quantity of time with a book.
For (b), I sit in front of one of my 1600x1200 20.1" LCD displays (one at home, identical one at work)....or the screen on my rather expensive 17" Powerbook. When I need to use someone else's ~14" laptop, or an older smaller CRT, I get eye strain almost immediately. Between my chair, my desk, my monitor, my keyboard, etc., plus high-speed Internet all around, I've got a pretty darned satisfactory environment for reading stuff on computers.
I use ad blockers in my Web browsers, and know how to use them to zoom in, download to a file for later reading, etc. Where does all this put me? Pretty average for our high-end volunteers and readers, I'd imagine.
But for folks on a modem, with a small monitor, poor ergonomics, and (most importantly) little ability to really take control of their computers, I can see where just doing email would be miserable... (And often is!! Who doesn't know people who change email addresses periodically, just to escape the spam they can't deal with anymore?)
Between (a) and (b), I'm not surprised that many people have little interest in reading eBooks on their computers. Add to that the difficulty of finding one -- or even knowing if the book you want is out there -- and even those predisposed to read eBooks on their computers might not realize they're out there (and, at PG, free!). -- Greg
PS: This isn't to say that eBooks aren't the Last Great Hope to save Civilization, and all that good stuff!! I'm still in this to help empower people through literacy. But I see how eBooks still have a ways to go before their role challenges their dead trees counterparts for vast numbers of the world's population. We just need to keep a'workin.
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