The best new gadget of 2008...
Well, its not really the best new gadget of 2008, but it does seem to be the year that it is finally gaining traction in the market place. I am referring to the ebook reader.
Frankly, most gadgets have their moments of coolness, but ultimately fade into the mass of gadgets that we have that have but a small impact on our lives. Only occasionally, say every 3-5 years, does something come along that, I feel, really changes how things work. Blue Ray, for example is great, but it is not fundamentally different than DVDs, which in many respects was not a huge change from VCRs... All enabled people to watch movies in their own homes. Hi-Def TV, likewise is not really all that big of a step compared to the first time people could turn box on and see Uncle Milty come into their homes. The computer and the cell phone were really the last devices (in my opinion) that really did that. I personally feel that ebook readers could do that as well...
Of course, one might ask why when reading is not exactly sweeping the world for the first time and in fact many people rarely read in their free time at all... not when their are video games, TV, youtube, itunes and a host of other things competing for our increasingly short attention spans. And I will admit for the mass of people who rarely read, they will probably barely notice ebooks or ebook readers. That being said, for those who do read, the ebook reader, whether a device like the Kindle, or software like Stanza on the iPhone, makes books far more readily available and convenient than they have ever been before.
Whats more, thousands of titles are available to read on these ereaders.. in fact there are probably more books available than even a serious reader is likely to read in their lives. Thanks to the efforts of the good people at Project Gutenurg, Manybooks and Feedbooks, there are well over 20,000 English Language books available for free (these books are in the public domain or are in free release by the publishers or authors of said books). There are tens of thousands of other (usually newer) titles available at fictionwise, amazon, manybooks.net and others.
All of this makes books easier to acquire (you need wait only seconds for most books to download from any of these sites and from the free sources you don't even need to pay) to store and often to bring with you. The average ebook is small so 1000 or more might fit on a single 2GB SD card... Imagine going on vacation and being able to bring your library with you. I have also found ebooks more convenient for reading on the gym and I suspect public transport as well... and put your ereader in a plastic ziplock bag, and reading in the bath has never been so easy :).
Well, thats all I have for now. But anyone who wants to learn more, I suggest they check out teleread.org and mobileread.com.
Frankly, most gadgets have their moments of coolness, but ultimately fade into the mass of gadgets that we have that have but a small impact on our lives. Only occasionally, say every 3-5 years, does something come along that, I feel, really changes how things work. Blue Ray, for example is great, but it is not fundamentally different than DVDs, which in many respects was not a huge change from VCRs... All enabled people to watch movies in their own homes. Hi-Def TV, likewise is not really all that big of a step compared to the first time people could turn box on and see Uncle Milty come into their homes. The computer and the cell phone were really the last devices (in my opinion) that really did that. I personally feel that ebook readers could do that as well...
Of course, one might ask why when reading is not exactly sweeping the world for the first time and in fact many people rarely read in their free time at all... not when their are video games, TV, youtube, itunes and a host of other things competing for our increasingly short attention spans. And I will admit for the mass of people who rarely read, they will probably barely notice ebooks or ebook readers. That being said, for those who do read, the ebook reader, whether a device like the Kindle, or software like Stanza on the iPhone, makes books far more readily available and convenient than they have ever been before.
Whats more, thousands of titles are available to read on these ereaders.. in fact there are probably more books available than even a serious reader is likely to read in their lives. Thanks to the efforts of the good people at Project Gutenurg, Manybooks and Feedbooks, there are well over 20,000 English Language books available for free (these books are in the public domain or are in free release by the publishers or authors of said books). There are tens of thousands of other (usually newer) titles available at fictionwise, amazon, manybooks.net and others.
All of this makes books easier to acquire (you need wait only seconds for most books to download from any of these sites and from the free sources you don't even need to pay) to store and often to bring with you. The average ebook is small so 1000 or more might fit on a single 2GB SD card... Imagine going on vacation and being able to bring your library with you. I have also found ebooks more convenient for reading on the gym and I suspect public transport as well... and put your ereader in a plastic ziplock bag, and reading in the bath has never been so easy :).
Well, thats all I have for now. But anyone who wants to learn more, I suggest they check out teleread.org and mobileread.com.
