[FM Discuss] my life with the kill book cult

[Edward Cherlin]

On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 12:41, adam hyde <adam at flossmanuals.net> wrote:
> so...i just thought i would throw some short impressions of my life so
> far with an e-reader...
>
> 3 weeks ago i brought the sony ereader to test the FLOSS Manuals epubs.
> I have always been wary of these gadgets, and although I enjoy gadgets,
> i had talked my way out of buying one of these many times because they
> just didnt seem to make sense to me. this is a rarity. generally i buy
> gadgets and find a way to rationalise it, but not this time.
>
> ...so...i am happy to report that i feel i was kinda right. an expensive
> way to prove it i guess, but despite the interest value, I don't really
> see them as being that handy.

A common reaction.

> so...things i like and dont like :
> 1. i feel awkward reading from them. it makes me feel like i am an extra
> on star trek or space 1999. the guy in the background casually reading
> some REALLY interesting literary masterpiece from something which is
> 'not a book'.
> 2. i dont like reading from it in public as i feel like a dork
> 3. it crashes on some material
> 4. drm is worse worse worse than drm on music...with music you can
> always resort to recording the music off your soundcard if necessary, no
> such luck with drm'ed text
> 5. its like reading from slightly greeny yukky looking paper
> 6. the interface takes more of my own cpu power than a book - which i
> find interrupts the reading process
> 7. you cant read it in the bath
> 8. the formatting is generally horrible
> 9. geeks stare at you
> 10. most ebook readers are not networked (stink! a networked ereader i
> would find MUCH more useful, as then i would subscribe to magazines etc-
> i think)
> 11. i feel irrationally bad about owning another piece of e-junk

I prefer reading on the computer, as long as I have a way to make
notes directly on what I am reading. PDF, OK, with the right software,
such as PDFedit on Linux. DRM, forget it. One of the great advantages
is searching, which is much better on the computer than with a print
index. For Free books, downloading sure beats going to the store or
paying anywhere.

You should try reading books on an OLPC XO. It has a higher-resolution
screen readable in direct sunlight, and is, of course, networked. You
can turn the screen around and lay it flat, and rotate the screen view
to page mode. I don't mean that you would prefer an XO overall, though
some do. I like it for conferences, where I take along a mini USB
keyboard and a trackball.

> okok...the things i like...ummm...the battery lasts longer than a book.

?

> you can um...ok...you can carry lots of books around in 1 'thing', that
> is kinda useful...and, i can impress the super nerdy with it
>
> thats about it
>
> curious to know other peoples experiences are of ebook readers...i see
> some people almost religious about it (including the woman that sold it
> to me)...but i dunno...i dont get it...
>
> adam
>
>
>
>
> --
> Adam Hyde
> Founder FLOSS Manuals
> German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
> Email : adam at flossmanuals.net
> irc: irc.freenode.net #flossmanuals
>
> "Free manuals for free software"
> http://www.flossmanuals.net/about
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.flossmanuals.net
> http://lists.flossmanuals.net/listinfo.cgi/discuss-flossmanuals.net
>



-- 
Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin
Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
http://earthtreasury.org/