So first it was a newspaper in Seattle shutting down the print edition & only having an online edition. Then it was USA Today. It was the London Times charging to look at their online edition. And it's Barnes & Noble looking for a buyer, & Borders having sales problems. It's also every bookstore selling e-readers because no one wants a physical book anymore.
Obviously I'm not against technology, after all this is a blog I'm writing on a computer. But do we really want to get rid of books & newspapers. I like having something that actually exists. I won't always have access to a computer or an ipad or a kindle. And you need to charge those.
Here's a story. A couple of years ago, when I was unemployed, I read a lot of books. Most I got from the public library. But others I had in a closet. They had been there for at least ten years. I simply picked one up, opened it & started reading. If a kindle sits there for a while it won't work. has to be re-charged. And if it's been sitting for a long time, maybe it won't work at all. Don't know. Don't have one, don't need one.
At breakfast I read the sports section. I'm not sitting in front of my computer. I'm holding something physical, a newspaper. At work, on my breaks, I read various sections of the paper. I don't own a laptop or an ipad. So this is the only way to do it.
This may come as a shock to all you techies who do everything online, but the majority of people on this planet can't afford computers or ipads. Or live in an area where internet access doesn't exist. Are they supposed to do without info because those that have, can't be bothered with "old media".
Every generation wants the next new thing, & throw away what they consider old. These people think any movie or song made before 1990 is ancient & worthless. Books? Who needs them? Well society does. Shakespeare is still read 500 years later. It's old, but does mean we eliminate it? I don't want to spend $200 on some device to read an e-book. I want a real book I can read, stop when I want & not worry about "did I save it?".
Obviously I'm not against technology, after all this is a blog I'm writing on a computer. But do we really want to get rid of books & newspapers. I like having something that actually exists. I won't always have access to a computer or an ipad or a kindle. And you need to charge those.
Here's a story. A couple of years ago, when I was unemployed, I read a lot of books. Most I got from the public library. But others I had in a closet. They had been there for at least ten years. I simply picked one up, opened it & started reading. If a kindle sits there for a while it won't work. has to be re-charged. And if it's been sitting for a long time, maybe it won't work at all. Don't know. Don't have one, don't need one.
At breakfast I read the sports section. I'm not sitting in front of my computer. I'm holding something physical, a newspaper. At work, on my breaks, I read various sections of the paper. I don't own a laptop or an ipad. So this is the only way to do it.
This may come as a shock to all you techies who do everything online, but the majority of people on this planet can't afford computers or ipads. Or live in an area where internet access doesn't exist. Are they supposed to do without info because those that have, can't be bothered with "old media".
Every generation wants the next new thing, & throw away what they consider old. These people think any movie or song made before 1990 is ancient & worthless. Books? Who needs them? Well society does. Shakespeare is still read 500 years later. It's old, but does mean we eliminate it? I don't want to spend $200 on some device to read an e-book. I want a real book I can read, stop when I want & not worry about "did I save it?".
No comments:
Post a Comment