**

New toys are always fun. But, as the SCI-AM essay points out, altho we can all read 200 year old books, our children's children will not be reading 200 year old iPads or Kindles or Nooks. For one thing, these are frail mechanisms, which do not survive being dropped, unlike books. They also run out of power, which books do not.

There is, for some, a problem also with the moment it takes to refresh the screen. The turn of a page is a lot quicker.

...But then again, that seems like a very complex analogy somehow.

There is, for some, a problem also with the moment it takes to refresh the screen. The turn of a page is a lot quicker."

I used to think this way. My wife bought my an Augen Ebook for my birthday in August. It really has been a great experience. I find myself reading at a faster face because I can control the font size to a more comfortable level. It doesn't lose my page when I fall asleep.  It is backlit (LCD screen) so I can read in the dark while my wife is asleep. t came with this tiny leather case that provides a lot of protection because I drop mine all the time.  Heck, I now toss it around (throw it onto the couch, into a seat, wherever as I am walking by) just like i would with a book. While the Augen won't last 200 years, the files could be. I don't have many 200 year old books in my library but one that I have that is about 65 years old is so frail I dare not turn the page. I have transfered books from my Augen to my wife's Kindle so she could read it, so that overcomes the age aspect. I don't really run into lag in turning pages, not like I do when I lose my place in a regular book. I can read more effectively one handed. One a plane, when I tired of reading, I could turn my book sideways and watch a movie. I keep discovering little conveniences that I like.

I really wasn't expecting to get into the fad. And most of the extras are just little conveniences. But my biggest benefit is just how much my reading speed has increased becasue of comfort. I am reading at paces I hadn't in 10 or 15 years.

Andrew, some people don't like it. I don't know if I could handle it on a smaller screen, but it doesn't bother me on the iPad. Plus I find the more you use it, the more comfortable you become. It's kinda like when widescreen films first hit VHS.

Why? It actually seems possible that soon, a generation of kids is going to
grow up reading virtually everything on some sort of tablet. I'm sure most
of us have seen parents handing iPhones and the like to very young kids -
- pre-reading age kids -- who are very, very adept with the touch
interface. With Apple forcasting 48 million iPads sold in 2011, and with
other companies coming out with similar devices, is it possible that
tablets are, in fact, where the kids are?

Due respect, I think comments like this are analogous to people who said
no one would ever give up their record collection to listen to CDs, or their
CDs to download digital music on an iPod.

And Frank, I like that Asimov quote a lot, but it essentially describes the
iPad experience. It stays powered for 10 hours, and it's instant on -- it
takes no longer than picking up a book and finding your place. It's not a
no-energy-use product, but neither is a book in a dark room. And last I
checked, when you're reading a book on an iPad, you're still reading the
words. (P.S. Did you go to a book to look up that quote, or did you Google
it?)

In his SA article, David Pogue suggests that we won't be able to hand our
e-books down from generation to generation. That's true. But does that
really describe how people use most books? Did anyone here pay $8 for a
paperback copy of The DaVinci Code with the idea that someday
they could hand it down to their children? Books will no doubt survive, but
it's not a stretch to think of them like vinyl records and live theater --
lovely, wonderful experiences for a select (and diminishing) audience.

Side note: I think the "hand it down from one generation to the next" is
the only part of Pogue's argument that holds any water when it comes to
comics. Digital comics are going to seriously screw up the bag-and-
board collector. (On the bright side, it may end up making their collection
more valuable in time.)

And JB, that page turning issue is really just the Kindle, and it's reasonable
to assume it won't be an issue for much longer.

I mean, whatever. I don't mean to proselytize here. Time will tell, I guess.

----
I didn't take it as a shot at us. But I agree, if he wants to address us as a forum, why not come here. Why do we have to go to him.