From: dr d b karron (karron@casi.net)
Date: Tue Apr 02 2002 - 15:25:57 MST
We are in the process of converting my entire libary to scanned images
(.pdf).
We run our scanner day and night, and my entire science magazine collection
going back to 1966 is slowing
being reincarnated on the 1 TB raid.
The problem is no one wants to proof millions of pages if we ever OCR all of
this stuff.
My office used to consist of floor to ceiling periodicals and books and
papers. The reduction in volume converting
all that paper to electronic format is wonderful, and my students can still
look stuff up in the office.
I am less thrilled about doing recreational reading electonically, I guess
because my entire life is being
overtaken by electronic displays...
Dr. K
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-extropians@extropy.org
[mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]On Behalf Of Samantha Atkins
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 2:56 AM
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Re: When Elephants Dance
I LOVE books! I have been utterly nuts about them since
pre-school. So much so I used to hoard the best books in school
lest I not be able to access them when I needed them. <not
appreciated> I am one of Amazon's best customers. I read
usually 2-3 books or the equivalent a week. Sometimes it is
hard to keep track because I may have up to 9 or 10 open that I
am reading from. I've averaged a book a week or better since I
was 8 or 9.
But I am a convert to digital books. I read entire books on my
Compaq IPAQ and have been known to do the same on a Palm (more
painful until recently). I love the feel of regular books
EXCEPT that I have had to pack half of a large moving truck with
all my paper books one time too often. And I always want some
book or other when I am away from my collection and haven't put
it in my backpack. And I get tired of the linear nature of
conventional books with only as much lookup as they thought to
put in the index or that I can simulate with hyper-skimming.
Some of the e-book readers allow multiple bookmarks, notes, keep
track of how far I've read in each book in my collection and so
on. If I could I would cheerfully convert my entire library
except a few collector quality volumes into electronic form. I
especially wish all my reference books were online and
preferably in a form I could mark up with html to get linking
and so on.
Books ideally should be input devices of
information/entertainment and auxillary (to your brain) storage
of the same. Physical paper books just aren't the most
efficient form for satisfying those needs.
- samantha
Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
>>(spike66 <spike66@ATTBI.com>):
>>
>>I have purchased exactly two hardbound books in the last
>>12 months (both of them written by Damien Broderick).
>>I used to buy average 30 to 50 books a year.
>>
>
> That is an interesting statistic. I probably a book a week
> or so even today; in fact I've bought about 8 in March (sorry,
> Damien, none of yours; but I already have Spike in hardback
> and White Abacus in paperback). I don't know if that will
> change if technology does. Maybe it will. But it is
> evidence that there is still value in things other than the
> mere information: the sensual experience of a book and of a
> bookstore; the easy handling, universal reliable access and
> long-term storage; the ability to give as physical gifts,
> and many other benefits of real books-as-product. One could
> probably say the same kinds of things about live performances
> of music. None of those things is going away because of
> technology--just becoming valued for different reasons.
>
>
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