As technology keeps progressing these days, we have multiple options for different variations of the way we get media in to our brain…Some of the most common ones are:
- Good old fashioned paper
- eBooks in PDF
- eBooks on line
- Amazon’s Kindle
- …
When looking at it though, there really are two mediums – one wherein you’ve got dried ink on trees and the other where you stare at a some sort of display. Both have their obvious benefits and both have their drawbacks…Lets take a look more in depth:
Paper Formatted Media
+ You can take it anywhere with you and there are no strings attached
+ You can easily mark your place with your favourite bookmark
+ You can highlight things of interest and make notes in the margins
- If it gets wet it can easily get ruined
- If you share it with someone you might not ever see it again
- It can easily get misplaced
Electronic Based Media
+ Easy to search
+ Easy to share with others
+ Easier to collaborate with
- Harder to read over longer periods of time
- Without DRM or other technologies, harder to track/trace
- Requires some sort of computer device (PC/Mac/Kindle) to read
…so, as you can see, no clear winner. Obviously I prefer having the electronic based version of most media these days, however I must say I do find myself priting quite a bit of it out if I plan to read larger chunks, so a mix between the two is definitely what is needed, but what are your thoughts?
#1 by Joanne on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 13:47
Hi Justin – Yes I am the Joanne you chatted with on the Groove workspace. I have been looking at Kindle and comtemplating it – have you used it?
I am a big fan of having lots of paper books – they create an ambiance that can’t be replaced by technology, but carrying them and finding space can be very tricky… not to mention one needs to track down the friend that never return the book… so I am thinking of getting the Amazon Kindle, but I seriously don’t like reading PDF at all…
Quite a dilemma indeed…
#2 by Justin on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 10:45
Hi Joanne – never used the kindle but seen lots of podcasts on it as well as readings about it. I guess using technology a lot I find myself doing more reading on the computer than I would like, but I think as a whole, technology is pushing us that way…almost as much as everyone likes to drive places, albeit sometimes easier to take public transport…
The other problem with the kindle as with any technology is regionalisation and also lifespan – how long can the kindle last in the market and where do you put the @ and the ” as well as do you put a $ or a £ on it
….whilst technology has added so much to our lives, it seems to have made it just as difficult