realheadcrusher
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- Jul 19, 2003
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I'd love this whole mess if it meant I could go to the library and check the ebook out for 2 weeks. After the said time period it deletes itself... My god, a practical use for DRM!
To those who haven't been to a library since 1992, you can order any book that is in that library's book network. Just ask the person at the front desk. If they don't have it, they get it shipped to them in a week or 2 on barrow. So far, I have yet to stump my librarian on a reasonably (~75 years) aged book. Large, incredibly old, reference books can even be had!
To those who haven't been to a library since 1992, you can order any book that is in that library's book network. Just ask the person at the front desk. If they don't have it, they get it shipped to them in a week or 2 on barrow. So far, I have yet to stump my librarian on a reasonably (~75 years) aged book. Large, incredibly old, reference books can even be had!
demonhorde665
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- Jul 13, 2008
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personally i think a "deal" involving eitehr of these companies is any thing BUT in the interest of consumers/readers
The main problem with digital content is that you need a complicated electrically-powered device to read it. Books can be read without high technology; you pretty much only have to worry about fire, moisture, termites, paper-eating microorganisms, acids in the air...hmm...maybe paper-based books are just as bad. 
But seriously we need some ultra-futuristic answer to how to store and keep the knowledge we've acquired for much longer than we can now. Something thin but sturdy (silicon-based?), simpler than electronics today and powered by solar energy.
Its mind-boggling when you think about the number of books and other media there are available today and not just in the U.S. I wonder if something so mundane (now) as an episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight show will even exist 500 years from now.
And to think, it hasn't even been 100 years really since electronic-based media has been around and now look at how much of it there is!
We surely live in amazing times...Who knows, if this nfo isn't preserved we may be thought of as a lost Golden Age in a few thousand years.
Ugh...sorry for the rambling, was bored and got into 'deep thoughts' mode.
But seriously we need some ultra-futuristic answer to how to store and keep the knowledge we've acquired for much longer than we can now. Something thin but sturdy (silicon-based?), simpler than electronics today and powered by solar energy.
Its mind-boggling when you think about the number of books and other media there are available today and not just in the U.S. I wonder if something so mundane (now) as an episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight show will even exist 500 years from now.
And to think, it hasn't even been 100 years really since electronic-based media has been around and now look at how much of it there is!
We surely live in amazing times...Who knows, if this nfo isn't preserved we may be thought of as a lost Golden Age in a few thousand years.
Ugh...sorry for the rambling, was bored and got into 'deep thoughts' mode.
I live in Hong Kong. After about 6 months. Temperatures in summer top 30 degrees, and the relative humidty approaches 100% regularly. All my books are now yello.
Air-conditioning helps but unless you leave it on 24 hours a day 365 days a week, cool books when introduced back to humidity become damp books, which in turn breeds mold.
My point being is that physical media despite it's benefits don't last as long as you might wish.
Air-conditioning helps but unless you leave it on 24 hours a day 365 days a week, cool books when introduced back to humidity become damp books, which in turn breeds mold.
My point being is that physical media despite it's benefits don't last as long as you might wish.
You know, people were writing books and music way before amazon or whoever started to make money on them. And it somehow worked, didn't it?
If you are not into piracy, there is Guttenberg Project:
http
/www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
If you are into piracy, and speak Russian:
You can easily get about 10 gig archive with 100'000+ books. Or if you are lazy, just go to lib.rus.ec and get pretty much any book you need. There are English books as well, but not in vast numbers.
If you are not into piracy, there is Guttenberg Project:
http
/www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_PageIf you are into piracy, and speak Russian:
You can easily get about 10 gig archive with 100'000+ books. Or if you are lazy, just go to lib.rus.ec and get pretty much any book you need. There are English books as well, but not in vast numbers.
HolyCrusader
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- Jun 28, 2006
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I never liked the Kindle - it's too expensive for the little bit it does. My old Palm T|X, although a little aged now, is much more versatile and less expensive. My big sticking point is that Amazon controls the content, not me. I can't upload and edit my own documents to it if I want (I do my own writing sometimes). I can't back-up the data on the Kindle, and there's even a slight chance (as was proven recently) that Amazon can and will delete content from the device at-will.
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