In his article “Read the latest iPad?” (KT, Wednesday, April 7, 2010), Marc Aronson has asked a question; “Does the arrival of this new gizmo mean the end of books as we know it?” My answer is “No, Never.”
Besides the issues sighted by Marc, e-books suffer from many other disadvantages. To start with, you need a gadget that runs on power. What if it runs out of power or simply breaks-down just when you are deeply engrossed in reading? Small screen size will put further constraint on the already failing eye-sights of aged readers. What about those readers who are not skilled at operating electronic gadgets? How long can you keep these e-books readable at the current rate of obsolescence in technology, unless, of course, you keep changing the gadget? E-book format itself may go through a revolutionary change in a not so distant future.
Then, there are other socio-psychological constraints with e-books. Can you read e-books at all locations, all weathers and all circumstances? How will you derive the pleasure of lending or borrowing an e-book? How are you going to highlight, underline important paras or make notes in the margin space of the e-book? How will you obtain author’s autograph or gift the e-book with your own hand-written message that may survive many generations with nostalgic memories? How would you put attractive covers on an e-book? How can a visitor to your house get impressed with your collection of e-books? Would it still be possible to make new acquaintances by picking an e-book that was accidently dropped by someone on the pathway? And, last but not the least, can you preserve a flower between the pages of an e-book rekindling sweet memories of the past?
1 comment:
Really nice one Raj...all relevant questions. We have become so obsessed with E's that we sometimes to think of e's as a replacement for real things....and perhaps that is the single biggest negative side-effect of the information age.
The most important word in an e-book is the book, just like business in e-business, learning in e-learning etc. The e is just another medium...
Post a Comment