I have an 8-month old son. I hope he grows up to enjoy physical books rather than eBooks. My reasons are many.
1. Most eBooks today are DRM-laden and try to lock you into a specific vendor. Since I'm sure most readers here are well aware of problems with books and DRM, I will leave it at that. (defectivebydesign.org) If you can find DRM-free eBooks, this is not an issue.
2. I stare at a computer/device screen all day and he will likely be doing the same by the time he has an opinion on eBooks. I enjoy the feeling and look of actual sunlight or a lamp reflected off of the page. That said, you could get a device with e-ink to solve that issue. The problem then is, if you're a free software user, your choices are limited / you will install another OS on your device, in which case your money is still going to support the proprietary software originally on the device.
3. Texture, smell, etc. People call me weird when they see me crack open a new book, complement (or express my disgust at) the quality of the pages and appreciate that new book smell. I appreciate the weight of the book. Books are beautiful things (minus the dead tree part --- that alone is enough reason for some to ditch physical books). You do not get that experience with eBooks.
- What also of certain childrens' books like pop-up books, or the books with the different textures to feel the fuzzy lion or rough brick? Sure, your books isn't going to animate itself in the sense of a video, but there's an entirely different experience.
4. Size. This article mentions it. Any eBook I do read, I do so at my PC. Otherwise, I grow incredibly frustrated. Which leads into my next point:
5. Spacial memory. Even if I cannot remember the details of a particular paragraph, I can remember roughly where that paragraph was. I can estimate the location of the page, open up to it and flip around a little until I find it. The argument against that would be the fact that you can search on an eBook --- and yes, that is immensely helpful, to the point where I would I have eBook copies of certain physical books I use for reference. But eBooks destroy that spacial memory --- everything is just on a flat screen. Therefore, it feels different when I read an eBook.
- This same concept applies to, for example, code. When I develop in vim, I do so across multiple monitors with many splits. I can remember where my code is specially in that sense, per file. However, it does not help me for the contents of the file, as that still requires scrolling within the windows. Therefore, if I am doing a code review, for example, I will print out the code. I can easily reference certain portions and annotate it. I can lay out all the code and look at it as a whole.
6. Annotations. I have a writing/drawing tablet. I can annotate documents on my PC and I find it especially useful for doing so. I annotate my books heavily. Heavily. No page goes untouched. If I were ever to lose my book (theft, fire, carelessness, etc), I will have lost countless hours of work and research. ...so what's the problem? Is the annotation format both free and standard? Can I view it on any device without saving it as a PDF/image/etc? Not usually.
eBooks are good for certain things. It's great to have both an eBook and a physical copy, so long as it is DRM-free. I just cannot make the switch, partially due to quirky reasons. Perhaps, by the time my son is old enough to have an opinion on the manner, devices will evolve to a point that eliminates many of the above points. Until then, the guy who spends the majority of his day at a PC would rather have a physical book to enjoy.
FYI, all modern Nooks run Android. The original model ran a proprietary system, but the modern Nooks are all Android and Barnes & Noble even has an unofficial policy of helping people root the tablets if they want to.
I'm aware (my girlfriend owns a color one), but they still run their own proprietary software atop of the OS, in addition to providing DRM-infected eBooks (but you have the option to put your own eBooks on the device, which can be DRM-free). Their TOS also states that they can remotely access your device at any time (stating that the act of doing so to apply upgrades may possibly harm your device), among other details I do not want to begin ranting on here.
1. Most eBooks today are DRM-laden and try to lock you into a specific vendor. Since I'm sure most readers here are well aware of problems with books and DRM, I will leave it at that. (defectivebydesign.org) If you can find DRM-free eBooks, this is not an issue.
2. I stare at a computer/device screen all day and he will likely be doing the same by the time he has an opinion on eBooks. I enjoy the feeling and look of actual sunlight or a lamp reflected off of the page. That said, you could get a device with e-ink to solve that issue. The problem then is, if you're a free software user, your choices are limited / you will install another OS on your device, in which case your money is still going to support the proprietary software originally on the device.
3. Texture, smell, etc. People call me weird when they see me crack open a new book, complement (or express my disgust at) the quality of the pages and appreciate that new book smell. I appreciate the weight of the book. Books are beautiful things (minus the dead tree part --- that alone is enough reason for some to ditch physical books). You do not get that experience with eBooks. - What also of certain childrens' books like pop-up books, or the books with the different textures to feel the fuzzy lion or rough brick? Sure, your books isn't going to animate itself in the sense of a video, but there's an entirely different experience.
4. Size. This article mentions it. Any eBook I do read, I do so at my PC. Otherwise, I grow incredibly frustrated. Which leads into my next point:
5. Spacial memory. Even if I cannot remember the details of a particular paragraph, I can remember roughly where that paragraph was. I can estimate the location of the page, open up to it and flip around a little until I find it. The argument against that would be the fact that you can search on an eBook --- and yes, that is immensely helpful, to the point where I would I have eBook copies of certain physical books I use for reference. But eBooks destroy that spacial memory --- everything is just on a flat screen. Therefore, it feels different when I read an eBook. - This same concept applies to, for example, code. When I develop in vim, I do so across multiple monitors with many splits. I can remember where my code is specially in that sense, per file. However, it does not help me for the contents of the file, as that still requires scrolling within the windows. Therefore, if I am doing a code review, for example, I will print out the code. I can easily reference certain portions and annotate it. I can lay out all the code and look at it as a whole.
6. Annotations. I have a writing/drawing tablet. I can annotate documents on my PC and I find it especially useful for doing so. I annotate my books heavily. Heavily. No page goes untouched. If I were ever to lose my book (theft, fire, carelessness, etc), I will have lost countless hours of work and research. ...so what's the problem? Is the annotation format both free and standard? Can I view it on any device without saving it as a PDF/image/etc? Not usually.
eBooks are good for certain things. It's great to have both an eBook and a physical copy, so long as it is DRM-free. I just cannot make the switch, partially due to quirky reasons. Perhaps, by the time my son is old enough to have an opinion on the manner, devices will evolve to a point that eliminates many of the above points. Until then, the guy who spends the majority of his day at a PC would rather have a physical book to enjoy.