The rise of e-reading

[pigfender]

Or as "Toby Zeigler" from "The West Wing" put it...

You're telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?

One would hope it's actually impossible to disrupt commercial airliners simply by listening to an iPod, but for as long as I'm not allowed to use electronic devices at takeoff and landing, I'm staying away from eReaders.

[Fluff]

Such strange unfathomable behavioural traits, the human species presents with.

Surely, as windows of opportunity, the minuscule amount of time devoted to an aeroplane taking off and landing, need not be filled with meaningful activity...except, p’rhaps, for some poor soul suffering from a bizarre form of, Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder.

Very strange...but then, humans are, aren’t they?
Puzzled Fluff

[Jordi Mora]

Surely, as windows of opportunity, the minuscule amount of time devoted to an aeroplane taking off and landing, need not be filled with meaningful activity...except, p’rhaps, for some poor soul suffering from a bizarre form of, Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder.

It doesn't have to be OCD: if you're a hopeless aerophobe (as I am) those objectively small stretches of time subjectively last an age and need filling with *some* kind of mind-distracting activity, meaningful or otherwise ...

DD

[AmberV]

Says Fluff, who deodorises their coat fifteen times a day, to better hunt for squeezie toys and canned chicken.

[Fluff]

*some* kind of mind-distracting activity, meaningful or otherwise ...

"Tis a truth universally acknowledged, that any man in
fear of his life, when taking off and landing in an aeroplane, need only grip the armrests of his seat, tightly, whist entreating the deity/saint of his choice, to be gentle with him and get it over with as quickly as possible."
Jean Austin

Says Fluff, who deodorises their coat fifteen times a day, to better hunt for squeezie toys and canned chicken.

I have no need of 'deodorising', Young Master Ioa, and I've trained my human to hunt for my food
Take care
Fluff
PS Dr Dog, welcome aboard the Pirate ship Scrivener. Do be careful with whom you associate, though! Iffy crew members abound. Beware

[xiamenese]

I flew in to Heathrow on a flight from Shanghai. The Chinese think rules and regulations are great, but they only concern other people not themselves ... so when the cabin crew announce, "Switch off your mobile phones" are fair few of them will promptly turn their mobile phones on.

Anyway, no sooner had the plane — Virgin Atlantic — touched down on the runway than a Chinese passenger across the aisle from me turned on his mobile phone. Almost immediately there was a scream down the intercom from the captain, "For god's sake make that bloody passenger switch off his mobile phone!" So it's not true that mobile phones don't have any effect on what's happening on the flight deck!

Mark

[ptram]

Like Mark, I can say I've been proven that cellular phones can interfere with flight instruments. I was landing, when the pilot immediately pulled the airplane up. They were missing the landing path. Hostesses and stewards were immediately looking at the passengers, until they found someone who was callling home. Not a great experience.

Paolo

[AmberV]

I've never had a near death experience thanks to a fellow passenger, I'm just going off of what I've read, and the statistics of the matter. Considering how many airplanes land and take off every hour of the day, and how many times you know someone is using their cell phone during these events, and how few times there are crashes on taking and landing due to circumstances not otherwise accounted for---I'd say it's overblown. But even that isn't fair, even a slight disturbance in the instrumentation is undesirable. There is more evidence for that. Low level buzzing in communication channels with GSM phones, and when phones are used inside the cabin they exceed the safe level of electronic emissions around older pre-'84 instrumentation and have been demonstrated to produce small malfunctions. But that inside the cabin, practically holding the live phone right up to the instrument.

[COTW]

I do enjoy my tablet for long, drawn out reads like 1Q84.
It's great.
But I've always enjoyed that feel of paper and binding in my hands.
Brings back some great past times. :]

[themonk]

Many years ago I've developed allergies when reading paper books. (I suffer from asthma attacks whenever I read paper books). My brother-in-law speculates that may be allergic to the ink of paper books. Anyhow, I'm grateful that we have eReaders now. Because of this device, I can still enjoy reading books...

[EssKay93]

I love reading on my kindle for many reasons, the biggest of which is convenience! There is such a HUGE array of books that are available at the push of a button. It's also very handy in terms of storage. I've got a LOT of books on my kindle (read all of them) and I just can't imagine having them all in print! I'd have no space!
In saying that I do love having printed copies of books I especially love. It just feels satisfying to me to have a book collection where every one is a favorite that I've read many times before. Previously my collection was full of books I thought to be average or simply didn't like. This way my collection feels very special to me.

[reepicheep]

Does a book change because it printed on paper or agitated electrons light up? A book is a book no matter what physical medium it is distributed on. Sure I have paper copies on my bookshelves but most of them were purchased before I acquired my iPad. Sure I have ebook copies on my iPad all of which were download after I acquired my iPad. I have some books (especially the novels of Jane Austen) in both forms but irrespective of the physicality involved I'm still read the book.

Reading on an iPad is better for me as I'm dyslexic and the short line lengths mean that a) I read faster, and b) actually read. Long lines of ink on paper cut my reading speed dramatically and I often have to reread paragraphs because my dyslexic mind refused to assimilate the text. However even with that reading on paper can be a better way to access text just as reading from a screen can. All this paper is best and ereaders are rubbish or paper is dead and ereaders are all that are required is nothing more than a marketing con. Read the book people.

[yosimiti]

I guess I'm sort flowing against the tide in saying this...but...

A couple of months, out of financial restrictions, and time constraints, I was forced to read everything (long novels, literary criticism, Shakespeare) off my computer screen. Oh I know most of you must groan at the thought...

But I discovered something...

if you're forced to, you can adapt to any reading environment. I discovered after a couple of weeks of forced intensive reading, that my eyes (or my brain) gradually grew accustomed to reading long texts off a computer screen. Nowadays, I read just as easily off a computer screen as I do a paper book. I should add I have a very old matte screen MacBook so that might have helped. Many apps have a 'night mode' where the background is black and the letters are white. I find this quite gratifying and in fact enjoyable to read with. The biggest benefits of reading off a computer, are that you can make proper notes and annotations of what you're reading, all neatly typed out. The other benefit is that you save a truckload of cash for (a) you no longer need an ebook reader (b) you no longer need to buy books but can get them off websites

I know I'm in the minority as I write this, but I thought to put it out there as it's related to the discussion.

[lunk]

I have ebook copies on my iPad all of which were download after I acquired my iPad.

Now that's a sentence that arouses my curiosity. Imagine the possibilities of the opposite?

[Briar Kit]

The only thing I miss about physical books is the pleasure (and sound) of breaking a new book's spine so that the pages won't try to turn of their own volition.

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