The publishing industry is crazy. Figure it out here.
The beauty of not owning books
Here's a completely different take on the ebook argument. All too often, we are bludgeoned with the importance of "owning" your digital products. DRM is the devil. We live in an age of leased items, and the only things we truly own are from a previous generations' tech. Tapes. Records. physical books. But what if this progression into a leased world is actually, well, progress?
That's what Kent Anderson thinks:
One of the benefits many Kindle owners cite right away is that their nightstands are less cluttered. Suddenly, there’s something nice about not owning books. When they travel, they can impulsively carry, purchase, and transport dozens of books if they choose while increasing their load not at all. They can preview a half-dozen books in 30 minutes in the airport, all wirelessly. Then, they can locate and purchase books no newstand or bookstore nearby would ever carry. Finally, through subscriptions to blogs, magazines, and newspapers, information updates are delivered as they sleep but no paper accumulates.
Consider how many encyclopedias you’ve purchased in the past 20 years. Will you ever buy one again? Of course not. Wikipedia and Google have combined to make ownership of an encyclopedia irrelevant. The same thing is happening to atlases (Google Maps and GPS), and will soon start happening to cookbooks (Epicurious, anyone?).
The Kindle, with its wireless, is another factor in the world that is making ownership optional. I think this is a trend users will embrace. They’ve already embraced it with music and movies.
I’ve read dozens of books on the Kindle. I own none of them. I’ve loaned none of them. I’m fine with that.
Thoughts?
That's what Kent Anderson thinks:
One of the benefits many Kindle owners cite right away is that their nightstands are less cluttered. Suddenly, there’s something nice about not owning books. When they travel, they can impulsively carry, purchase, and transport dozens of books if they choose while increasing their load not at all. They can preview a half-dozen books in 30 minutes in the airport, all wirelessly. Then, they can locate and purchase books no newstand or bookstore nearby would ever carry. Finally, through subscriptions to blogs, magazines, and newspapers, information updates are delivered as they sleep but no paper accumulates.
Consider how many encyclopedias you’ve purchased in the past 20 years. Will you ever buy one again? Of course not. Wikipedia and Google have combined to make ownership of an encyclopedia irrelevant. The same thing is happening to atlases (Google Maps and GPS), and will soon start happening to cookbooks (Epicurious, anyone?).
The Kindle, with its wireless, is another factor in the world that is making ownership optional. I think this is a trend users will embrace. They’ve already embraced it with music and movies.
I’ve read dozens of books on the Kindle. I own none of them. I’ve loaned none of them. I’m fine with that.
Thoughts?
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