If you bought one simply because you burn through books at a rate faster than you can trade them in, or want to tote around 3000 books on your kindle when you travel, or some other perfectly rational reason. Carry on, this fight dosen't concern you.
If you have bought into the whole e-reader thing because its "Good for the environment" Stop acting like such a smug bastard. Telling me I'm a Luddite cause I've not got some gimmick, is not going to convince me to buy one. It will actually convince me that, much like Hybrid car owners, all the people who own said products are assholes (Despite that not being true). Paper is a renewable resource, it can be and frequently is produced of materials other than trees. You're not the Lorax, so leave me the hell alone.
If you've bought one just to have the latest toy, maybe, make your e-penis bigger. Maybe you go around making statements online to the tune that you can't wait till books go away.. You were probably making the same statements 5 years ago about MP3's and how you just couldn't wait till CD's went away. You probably said the same thing about VHS, DVD, BETA, Laser disc, LP's. You hate old technology because well... it's old. The problem is, the corporations love digital media. Its so easy to control. They can take it off your I-tunes account, they can take it off your kindle, You have no recourse. No physical copy to fall back on. You are playing into the corporations hands. You are dancing to their tune, and soon they will undress and bugger you.
Furthermore you are facilitating the shutdown of one of the most liberating phases of human culture. The advent of the public library was one of the great achievements of the last 200 years. The very thought that anyone, no matter their socio-economic background could go and read a book, or gasp, research something. Cheap Mass Produced printed books didn't do away with hand printed, hand bound, works of art. It did allow the common person the chance to better themselves through education, get lost in a story, or simply read up on how to plant a garden.
The publishers however, would love to do away with libraries. They've in all likely hood always hated them. The gall of those libraries, buying books and loaning them out.. FOR FREE! its practically socialism. Damaging to the bottom line, showing nothing but hatred to the free market. How Dare they.
How Dare you.
Period.
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6 comments:
Is there somebody specific you're having this argument with, or is this just an arbitrary "I know what those people think" akin to a political rant?
It's both, to be totally honest.
It's more a generalized outburst of rage directed at a frequently espoused mentality. I read an article today written by Ursula K. Leguin in which she takes certain publishers to task over their "26-then-dead" Approach to Libraries loaning out E-Books. But it also is directed a specific person who I know will read it, hopefully be pissed off, and then further more hopefully cease bothering me.
I've tried everything else, but the internet makes it remarkably hard to convince people I really don't care to continue to know them.
I don't know who you are arguing with but your point about itunes or Kindle being able to take back the product that they already sold you is a good one. They do not sell a product, they license your right to enjoy the product and can revoke that license whenever they feel like it. Or they can change the product so that it is not the one you actually paid money for.
That is a slippery slope that really needs to be addressed in a satisfactory manner before too long (Or you could just bypass the vendors and obtain the electronic files through your own means, using your own ingenuity, which, naturally enough, is illegal and, of course I would never advocate anyone doing such a horrendous thing ;P)
I still enjoy the look and feel of real books, and seeing the spines lined up on my bookshelves. I have bought some music on iTunes, but I can't shake the feeling that I actually don't "own" anything. Which is why I don't buy much music and when I do, I still prefer CDs.
So (at least for now) e-readers are not for me.
Oh yeah, don't get me wrong.. I love my MP3 Player.. I just don't buy any music unless I have a physical copy of it.. I remember a few years though they had tried to fix CD's so they wouldn't allow you to rip the music.
But thankfully modern versions of Windows, from Vista On.. just ignore those bits of code and rip the discs anyway.
Now if they will just let me rip my DVD's I'll be thrilled..
I suppose thats the thing, the concept of the new mediums dosen't frighten me. What worries me is the willingness of people to forgo any security in order to be trendy or save space.
But then what the hell do I know.. I pay for nearly everything in Cash.. and I've been told repeatedly its obsolete.. Least if I get mugged they don't get to clean out my whole account.. only my wallet.
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