Am 14.11.2011 um 20:05 schrieb Bowerbird@aol.com:
keith said:
It is true that publishers have to change towards the digital to survive. Yet, the complete demise of the printed book is still far off.
people conflate "publishers" with "the printed book".
what a huge mistake.
is there a printer attached to your computer? if there is, and you have enough paper on hand, you can print a book. O.K. I will bite! You call that what comes out of a consumer printer a book! Nahhh! just a bunch of loose sheets of paper. Even if I had a binding machine (true there are copy shops), and the high quality paper for those nice color spreads (costs to much for normal consumers), why print it! I am very happy with sitting in bed, on the couch, or where ever reading on my 17" lap top. The earth disapating from its bottom is, almost as good as a warm fire place(I do not have one).
Why would anyone waste all that paper. As for me I do not print anything any more unless I have to. It is just a waste. I had a friend (has died), he use to print his emails and read them from paper. He simply could not get himself accostumed to reading off a computer screen/monitor. As for me I am pretty much digital.I can carry very thing I need around with me. Thousands of songs, pictures and hundreds of books, also some that I do not need very often. Quite practical.
you could print a few of them, every day, each and every day, for a year or two, enough printed books to overflow your house.
and speaking of your house, is there a copy-shop down the way?
if there is, it could print enough books in a week or so to overflow every house on your block, and then the next block over, and so on.
in the future, every book written has a chance to be "a printed book", not just those which publishers think they can sell for profit, meaning we will have _far_more_ "printed books" than we've _ever_ had before…
Sorry, I think the future should be digital. regards Keith.