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This is exactly what I want santa to give me as a gift fo being a good boy this year.
I shall get it from here hint hint darling
I shall get it from here hint hint darling
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Comparing digital and Physical Books
Comparing Books - Digital or Physical
We are blessed to be living in an age where education is more accessible than it has ever been before.
Years and years ago, the ability to read and the knowledge it brought was purely the domain of the rich nobility and their priests. That is why every single document that exists that is over 150 years old is religious, be it analysis of religions texts or translations of them into various languages.
Throwing off the religious yoke is but one of the advantages of the spread of knowledge that Gutenberg gave us all those years ago.
The Internet has been named the next great leap forward in the spread of knowledge to every person in the world. It has given every person with a computer and a phone line access to the entirety of human knowledge at the very tips of their fingers.
The availability of books online, be they HTML or ebooks, can be seen as nothing but good, unless you are a book publisher of course.
That said, there is something to be said for having a physical book in your hands. The feel of the paper, the fragrance of the ink. It is somehow cathartic to hold a book and have it take you away with its words.
But digital books have a great number of advantages going for them as well.
I have been thinking about this for a while, comparing books and their digital equivalents, and here are the por's and cons as I see them.
Books
Traditional books maintain a good resale value compared to their e-equivalents. First editions are hugely collectible, where as the idea of a first edition of a digital book is ridiculous.
The Smell. Many people laugh at me when I take them into a book store, and the first thing I do is to sniff the book. The smell of a new book is something very special. Its like a drug to me.
You dont need to charge them to be able to enjoy them.
Used book stores, who doesn't love the atmosphere of these.
Digital Books
Readers can bring the books with them without having to lug around something large and heavy. One eReader can carry hundreds and thousands of books at a time. Literally.
To have a well-organized book collection, you do not need to be a librarian.
When you have book on your phone, you will never again found yourself with out a book ever again.
Digital books, at this point in time, are quite often more expensive than their physical equivalents. Comparing the manufacturing costs of the two would lead you to believe this should be the other way around, and I tend to agree. But publishers will always be publishers and will gouge the consumers until the cows come home. I do expect this to change in the distant future.
There is no such thing as an outdated edition with a digital book.
Whilst it does seem silly to have to charge your book, the Amazon Kindle has a battery life of about 3 months when you are just using it to read books, which is fairly remarkable.The invention of E-Ink readers also means that the eReaders that use this wont tire out your eyes like iPads and Ipod will. You can stare at the latest Kindle for hours with no eyesight problems what so ever.
So, whilst it does seem that there are more advantages to buying digital books over physical, I still side with a good old fashioned book.
And using a site like this to compare book and eBook prices gives you the best of both worlds.
Years and years ago, the ability to read and the knowledge it brought was purely the domain of the rich nobility and their priests. That is why every single document that exists that is over 150 years old is religious, be it analysis of religions texts or translations of them into various languages.
Throwing off the religious yoke is but one of the advantages of the spread of knowledge that Gutenberg gave us all those years ago.
The Internet has been named the next great leap forward in the spread of knowledge to every person in the world. It has given every person with a computer and a phone line access to the entirety of human knowledge at the very tips of their fingers.
The availability of books online, be they HTML or ebooks, can be seen as nothing but good, unless you are a book publisher of course.
That said, there is something to be said for having a physical book in your hands. The feel of the paper, the fragrance of the ink. It is somehow cathartic to hold a book and have it take you away with its words.
But digital books have a great number of advantages going for them as well.
I have been thinking about this for a while, comparing books and their digital equivalents, and here are the por's and cons as I see them.
Books
Traditional books maintain a good resale value compared to their e-equivalents. First editions are hugely collectible, where as the idea of a first edition of a digital book is ridiculous.The Smell. Many people laugh at me when I take them into a book store, and the first thing I do is to sniff the book. The smell of a new book is something very special. Its like a drug to me.
You dont need to charge them to be able to enjoy them.
Used book stores, who doesn't love the atmosphere of these.
Readers can bring the books with them without having to lug around something large and heavy. One eReader can carry hundreds and thousands of books at a time. Literally.
To have a well-organized book collection, you do not need to be a librarian.
When you have book on your phone, you will never again found yourself with out a book ever again.
Digital books, at this point in time, are quite often more expensive than their physical equivalents. Comparing the manufacturing costs of the two would lead you to believe this should be the other way around, and I tend to agree. But publishers will always be publishers and will gouge the consumers until the cows come home. I do expect this to change in the distant future.
There is no such thing as an outdated edition with a digital book.
Whilst it does seem silly to have to charge your book, the Amazon Kindle has a battery life of about 3 months when you are just using it to read books, which is fairly remarkable.The invention of E-Ink readers also means that the eReaders that use this wont tire out your eyes like iPads and Ipod will. You can stare at the latest Kindle for hours with no eyesight problems what so ever.
So, whilst it does seem that there are more advantages to buying digital books over physical, I still side with a good old fashioned book.
And using a site like this to compare book and eBook prices gives you the best of both worlds.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Today I Learned...
That India, the third largest muslim population in the world, with over 10% of the worlds Muslims, is being blocked from entering The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, by Pakistan.
Russia, on the other hand, who has just 1% of the worlds muslims, has been granted "Observer Status"
The organisation attempts to be the collective voice of the Muslim world and attempts to safeguard the interests and ensure the progress and well-being of Muslims.
I dont know how India feels about this, but I was just randomly browsing Wikipedia and found this mighty interesting.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Cricket Season!
Rod Marsh(Aus) and Ian Botham(Eng)
The best way to respond to a clever sledge, a better one.
Rod Marsh : “So how’s your wife & my kids?”
Botham : “The wife is fine but kids are retarded”
Source
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