I saw one of these up close and personal at the local bookstore the other day. It’s the Sony Reader, a portable eBook that allows you to carry virtually hundreds of books on a tablet that carries a two week (!) charge.
That’s about where the cool factor ended.
The thought struck me as I was carrying this lightweight eBook about how cool it would be to carry all of my books on something so small — how would I go about doing that?!?! All my books? On this?
Turns out that would cost a small fortune, as eBooks can cost anywhere from a few dollars to as much as your run-of-the-mill paperback. What’s more, even if I wanted to spend the thousands of dollars converting my traditional library into a modern digital version, the list of eBooks isn’t all that impressive. In fact, it’s downright puny.
Stack onto it the $400 price tag… and no thanks.
Aesthetics qualities of the traditional book aside, there is nothing better than being able to pass down a book to a friend, a relative, a son or a daughter, or a colleague and say “here — read this and tell me what you think.”
There’s always the old hack that if Microsoft were around during the invention of the printing press, the Renaissance would have never taken place. Well… there’s some truth to that, and the very idea that I couldn’t pass along a book without an EULA angers me mightily.
I’ll keep my impressive array of stackable knowledge, thank you very much.