The eBook Backlash 418
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that people who read ebooks on tablets like the iPad are beginning to realize that while a book in print is straightforward and immersive, a tablet is more like a 21st-century cacophony than a traditional solitary activity offering a menu of distractions that can fragment the reading experience, or stop it in its tracks. 'The tablet is like a temptress,' says James McQuivey. 'It's constantly saying, "You could be on YouTube now." Or it's sending constant alerts that pop up, saying you just got an e-mail. Reading itself is trying to compete.' There are also signs that publishers are cooling on tablets for e-reading. A recent survey by Forrester Research showed that 31 percent of publishers believed iPads and similar tablets were the ideal e-reading platform; one year ago, 46 percent thought so. Then there's Jonathan Franzen, regarded as one of America's greatest living novelists, who says consumers have been conned into thinking they need the latest technology and that e-books can never have the magic of the printed page. 'I think, for serious readers, a sense of permanence has always been part of the experience. Everything else in your life is fluid, but here is this text that doesn't change.'"
Expensive (Score:0, Informative)
Maybe people are figuring out that ebooks are way too fucking expensive.
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:5, Informative)
We'll probably eventually get decent colour out of e-ink, although I doubt the refresh rate will ever be fast enough for real-time motion. The whole "physically moving around ink capsules" probably would prevent that sort of thing. And you know what? That's fine. I don't need fast refresh rates on my e-reader, just fast enough to make page turns workable. The current speeds are good enough, although I wouldn't complain if they got bumped up anyhow.
I'm much happier reading on my Kindle 3 than a "real" book, particularly when comparing to a hardcover. My kindle is a fraction the weight and size of a hardcover. I can slip my kindle into a pocket or backpack, while a good sized hardcover is not nearly as portable. My kindle is also far easier to read in bed than a hardcover.
The advantages are less when comparing to paperbacks, but there are still size advantages there, not to mention durability; a lot of my older paperbacks are pretty worn out from re-reading, while an eBook (particularly a DRM-free one from Baen) will never wear out.
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:2, Informative)
If I had a vote to give, I would vote you up for this. Saying that full-fledged tablets are not ideal for reading is one thing, using that to bash the ebook idea entirely is another. Kindle (and similar, I assume) eReaders provide a very book-like experience for me. I still buy hardbacks for my favorite authors because I like to have their books on my shelves, but the Kindle has been great for reading and discovering new series.
Re:Expensive (Score:5, Informative)
Depends on the publisher. Macmillan? Yeah. I paid $16 for the latest eBook in a series by a popular scifi author. Baen? No. They never charge more than $6 for a brand new book, and settle down to $4 or $0 in the long run.
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:5, Informative)
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:5, Informative)
I'm writing this from my tablet as we speak, but personally I don't get why 'distractions' are such an issue. I'm quite content to simply read an ebook and I have enough discipline to avoid distractions if I want. Usually however simple distractions like an IM from a friend are equally distracting on my tablet and for a real book. I may opt to answer a message or not on either, but those simple distractions are not really bothersome to me either way.
On the other hand a tablet makes a very nice computing device for other things I may want or need to do and not just for reading books. The fact that I don't need to own multiple computing devices that can only handle a single function is very important to me.
Re:Expensive (Score:4, Informative)
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:5, Informative)
Completely agree on the text. After reading a few books on my iPhone, reading on the Kindle is like reading a normal book page. I can go for hours without any eye strain. One thing that sold me on the Kindle was the "Free Sample" you can get with most books. Could be anything from 10 to 100 pages of a book, but especially in the dodgy-writing realm of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, it's key to be able to sample the writing before buying. Bookstores let you do that, and the Kindle does as well. There are also authors giving away free books which opens up a whole other world.
Chris
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, I believe this article belongs in the "No Shit" category. Tablets are back lit devices that are not well suited for lengthy reading to begin with, let alone the fact that such a multifunction device is distracting to use. That said, I think they are fantastic for research reading, where having quick access to a variety of sources of information is ideal. For casual or relaxed reading however, e-ink is the go to technology if you are looking to lose the paperback.
Re:Newsflash! (Score:4, Informative)
So what we need is a game that pops up a bunch of buttons, links, ads, and challenges the user not to click on any of them.
Yes! And we can call that game "Facebook".
Re:Colour is coming this year (Score:4, Informative)
I paid for my Kindle within 6 months, purely from the difference in retail prices for books (in Australia we have ridiculously high prices for books because we have retarded protectionist laws on book publishing). I'm paying $10ish for a download to the Kindle, $25 for a dead tree paperback...doesn't take many books to pay back the cost.
There's third-party library management software (I use Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/ [calibre-ebook.com] ) that will manage your library on the PC and allow you to format-shift which then allows you to email the books to friends (provided they've got an e-reader of course).
And then of course I discovered that most of the pirate sites have a few thousand ebook torrent links. Not being able to sell second-hand books becomes pretty irrelevant when you can just grab what you want from the tubes for free, send it to your friends for free (and still have your copy available too of course).
I understand why a published author dedicated to the appreciation of fine literature would be worried about ebooks. The business model for novels is pretty much screwed by ebook piracy. However, as usual, I think all we'll lose is the commercial shite and the people who really want to write will continue to write. It's just harder to see how they'll get paid to do it.
Re:Oh my brother! (Score:4, Informative)
What I've been doing is creating my own ebooks from websites that have a lot of material that I need to read. I just can't read on a monitor if it's a large amount of text. This is what I do: either use a conversion website or Sigil [google.com].
Another good tool is calibre [calibre-ebook.com], which, among tons of other functions, such as being an e-library manager and providing the ability to automatically strip DRM out if you're so inclined (and manage to find the 3rd party plugins required), allows one to automatically download new blog entries and transfer them to an e-reader on a regular basis. As for individual long web pages, I really like Instapaper [instapaper.com], configured to send the pages I queued to my Kindle once a week (it provides a daily option too).
Re:This is why I prefer the iPad: (Score:4, Informative)
Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle (Score:4, Informative)
This is really something to consider - lighting. When I read in bed a bit of backlight would be good, but when I'm sitting in my car (only place I can find peace and quiet) during lunch, no backlighting is required, but ability to read in full, partial sunlight or shade would be desireable.
You don't want backlight. You think you want backlight because for decades there was no way to make a decent display unit that wasn't either emissive (like CRTs, VFDs and LEDs) or transmissive (like LCDs), so you grew used to having the display throw light at you. What you actually want is a reflective display (like electronic paper) and sufficient ambient light to read by. Amazon sells covers with integrated reading lights for 3rd and 4th generation Kindles; they work beautifully, and don't require separate batteries, as they draw power from the Kindle itself through the latches that attach it to the cover. They do shorten battery life somewhat, but not enough to be a problem—you just have to charge your Kindle once a week instead of once a month.
I'm pretty sure that it's only a matter of years before we have full-color 600 DPI electronic paper with no noticeable refresh delay, although I don't know if we'll ever be entirely comfortable watching video on reflective displays, and there will probably always be applications (such as cell phones, or their future equivalent) where emissive or backlit transmissive displays are preferrable to reflective displays.
Re:Because I'm in control. (Score:2, Informative)
Come on, it's basic psychology. The closer to hand distractions are the more distracting they are.
Blaming people for human nature is nor very helpful or fair.
Re:This is why I prefer the iPad: (Score:4, Informative)
As an ebook reading person I agree with much of what you have recently posted, except one point stuck out:
The cloud.
Relying on your data being stored "in the cloud", which really means some other guy's computers, should never be considered reliable storage. What happens when Apple goes under (don't laugh, stranger things have happened) or Amazon have a 'glitch' or just decide to pull the plug?
I keep my library on an SD card in my Sharp Zaurus, and make regular archival backups to my desktop computer, with regular offsite backups on physical media.