E-books Essay, Research Paper

The frenzy over electronic media is becoming a hot topic for many reasons today. E-books, one of the newest electronic sources, are becoming more and more talked about in debates dealing with readings. Although e-books have their advantages, the disadvantages seem to overwhelm in many cases. I feel the Internet is very useful to get electronic articles, but they are easier to read if they are on paper.

According to Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in ?Click if You Dar: It?s Cyberscript?, the e-book was very appealing in its book-like size and shape (Lehmann-Haupt 1). Being able to just throw it in her purse and go struck Michelle V. Rafter in ?E-Books May Become Mainstream through New Devices and Titles? in a positive way (Rafters 1).

The use of controls with the e-book also seems to be very beneficial. Lehmann-Haupt goes on to say that turning pages with a touch of a button is easy. Shrinking or enlarging print and moving to any part of the book with a click helps in many cases (Lehmann-Haupt 1). According to James Bunnelle in ?The E-Book: Future or Fad?, SoftBook came out with a reader that used a stylus with a touch-sensitive screen. The advantages to this are being able to annotate text, highlight important passages, and scribble in the margins. Full-color panels appeal to the user and suit specific preferences (Bunnelle 1-2). I think this is helpful because notes and readings are kept together, inevitably providing togetherness. On the other hand though, it just takes longer to read the book if you have to take time to change everything.The opportunities allowed by e-books show up in a few areas. Rafter says that reading her e-book at night doesn?t bother anyone. Also, she liked the fact that downloading a bunch of free classical books

was money saving and convenient (Rafters 1). Bunnelle said that a test ran at North Carolina State University Libraries found e-book technology useful in some areas. Maps, bibliographical instruction, and pathfinders were quick for reference. This technology also held a great promise for distance learning, allowing users in remote areas to access catalogs and material (Bunnelle 5). Being able to get some books for free can?t cause a complaint for anyone. I also feel that the distant learning feature is nice because information can be obtained from not only one place.

Other ideas e-books propose are their attraction to the younger era of people. Frank Rich, in ?Stephen King?s Week of Terror,? goes on to say that he is shocked by the number of people willing to read for entertainment off a screen. This is indirectly aimed at the younger people who grow up on computers. Companies must seek new customers wherever it can, and this happens to be in the electronic era. Rich quotes Bruce Sterling by saying that a 3-year child today finds the computer, ?as banal as a fork or running water.? (Rich 4) This implies kids find computers a necessity these days, whether it may be for entertainment or educational purposes.

The disadvantages now come into play and seemingly in a big way. Lehmann-Haupt finds that many encounter a reading difficulty with the e-book. As a result of this, a printed copy may be wanted but is not available to be printed through e-books? features. It actually takes effort to stare at a screen, and if the screen is touched the words appear to float in the foreground. After reading ?Riding the Bullet,? Lehmann-Haupt felt that the story might have been better on print for these many reasons (Lehmann-Haupt 3). This seems to be true as I look at a computer screen because after a while the light tends to

blur my vision. Bunnelle responds to this by saying the rocket switch, on NuvoMedia?s product, allows the user to flip through pages but is a tedious task to complete due to the slow loading of each page. He then goes on to say that e-books have poor display technology. This in turn causes eyestrain. Normal texts have a ratio 144 times better than e-books in a dpi (dots per inch) perspective (Bunnelle 3).

Lehmann-Haupt feels that improvements are almost definitely going to need to be done to current e-books (Lehmann-Haupt 3). Bunnelle agrees that publishers should not have too much concern at the moment because the e-book is too new (Bunnelle 2). Frank Rich adds that books will not go as long as there are people around to read them. Also, e-books are not going to change, maybe even with the new improvements, our lives like the ?pen & paper? era has (Rich 4). Technology has come so far today, but I feel that we resort to the book even though other sources are available for ?help?.

The lifespan of data in digital form is not something to be totally reliable on and should not be, says Bunnelle. He poses the question of trust in this form of data because the lifespan is only 50-100 years. In this context, libraries must then constantly update in order to preserve data. This is time-consuming and expensive. Not every library is going to be able to do this, and as a result some would have to watch their collection disintegrate (Bunnelle 4). To me, this seems to have a huge fault. Although books don?t last forever they do hold up.

Other issues electronic media propose are opportunities. Rich covers the fact that the Net is becoming a place to just be discovered, hopefully in stardom. Just as Napster attracted kids to listen and swap music through a means of weightless interaction, so does

any other electronic media (Rich 1-3). I have participated in this music trend along with the many others. It seems to be the most logical thing to do-get free music and make a CD. Why wouldn?t someone do this is the chance if was there. Rafter says that with e-books, unnamed publishers have a chance to sell new releases and become known to the public. With the consumer market asking for electronic material more and more, online bookstores whole-heartedly participate in selling the e-books (Rafter 2).

Lastly, technology is advancing and Microsoft doesn?t favor the life of paper very much longer. Rich shows that books will predictably be outsold by 2009 and newspapers in 2018. Different companies such as the New York Times have already switched to continuous news on its Web site (Rich 1). Rafter explains that companies such as RCA are constantly coming out with new products that have ?bigger and better? features. Although, companies like RCA and Microsoft will have to start aggressively marketing their technology before it takes off (Rafter 1). This makes sense because it is just like anything else. Many things start off selling slow, mainly because of the price or ?product fault factor?, and then become a norm in the household.

As an overall perspective I feel e-books, though convenient in some aspects as discussed, are probably more of a hassle to people who read. Since many of the people who buy the majority of books are older, they are more inclined to buy the text version because it is less strenuous on their eyes. Many kids these days are impressed by the computer?s capabilities, and would therefore pick up an e-book over a text version. Money can also be an issue with some, which causes one to buy a book instead of an e-book reader. I personally like working on the computer as opposed to picking up a book.

Although, I do agree with the eyestrain from staring at the screen. After a while my eyes just seem to blur everything together because of the brightness. If I read articles on the Internet it is usually ones that are not long. After an article gets too long I will print it out and just highlight the main points, then I will resort to the computer to put my thoughts together. E-books do have their advantages, but as of this point I am not willing to give up my paper.

Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. ?Click if You Dare: It?s Cyberscript.? New York Times

On The Web 20 Mar. 2000. http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/032000king-bullet.html

Bunnelle, James M. ?The E-Book: Future or Fad?? 2000.

http://library.msstate.edu/mla/mlarchive/spring2000/ebook.html

Rafter, Michelle V. ?E-Books May Become Mainstream Through New Devices and

Titles.? TechTV 20 Sept. 2000. http://www.techtv.com/techtvnews/business/story/0,3685,3000367,00.html

Rich, Fraqnk. ?Stephen King?s Week of Terror.? New York Times On The Web 25

Mar. 2000. http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/032000king-bullet.html