In class, there has been a lot of talk about new technology, and I am overwhelmed by what we are going to be able to do in the future. There will come a day when we no longer need a mouse or keyboard for our computers. Our appliances will have Internet connections to be able to diagnose problems and upload new instructions. Cars will be able to park themselves. It seems to me that we are going to be living in a science-fiction world that I remember as a child as being unrealistic. However, this fiction is becoming reality. I cannot relate to these new forms of technology yet, so I wanted to talk about something that we are starting to see more of today: the e-book. As a child, I would have never dreamed that the books I read could be available in any other form other than on paper. After researching it a little, I have to say that I actually favor the new technology.
So what exactly is an e-book? An e-book "can be anything from the digital version of a paper book, to more interactive content that includes hyperlinks and multimedia." These books are downloaded and viewed on either a computer or an e-book reader, shown in the picture below. It may look like it could be small and hard to read, but the e-book actually has a zoom feature where you can make the words larger, unlike reading a paperback book with smaller print. It also allows you to read at night more easily because of the backlight feature. I know that sometimes I am traveling and would like to get some reading done, but when it's night time I have to stop my work because I can no longer see. The other winning factor for me is that it is light and easy to carry, unlike many of my textbooks. My backpack is always exploding because I am carrying around so many books with me, and sometimes I find that I have time to get some reading done between classes, but I didn't bring the book with me because I did not want to carry that extra weight around. I have started to have back pain due to carrying so much weight, and it also throws my alignment off as a dancer. Therefore, eliminating the weight of textbooks is the biggest advantage for me of the e-books.
When I think of my classes and all of the books I have, I can't help but think of all the paper that is being wasted. It is a huge expense and is bad for our environment. I would like to see e-books becoming more popular in the future for this reason. Yes, the e-book does have its downfalls. For instance, using the e-book reader takes batteries, and what happens if you need it for class and your batteries die? You can read more about the pros and cons of e-books at http://hubpages.com/hub/Ebooks-Versus-Paper-Books-The-Pros-and-Cons. Another question I have is how are professors going to handle this new technology, especially if you are viewing e-books through your laptop? I already know of many professors who do not want you to use laptops during class, even if you are taking notes on it. Is this going to change in the future? Do you think that one day it will be harder to find paper copies of books because everything will start going to e-books? If it does happen, how long will it take before we reach that point?
As someone who has a large collection of books, I have to say that I was leery of ebooks. The biggest selling point for me would be to not have to carry so many text books around with me. I also have left textbooks at home just to wish that I had them later on when I find myself with a little extra time. Some day we will probably be telling our kids about the days when we had to lug around 50 pounds of textbooks to classes!
ReplyDeleteafter reading this i feel that the ebooks will be something classes will make mandatory to have in the near future
ReplyDeleteI am all for this. This will bring competition to all the bookstores in each college town, which should reduce the costs of college books. It is alot easier to carry an ebook than it is to carry all the school books.
ReplyDeleteI see many pros and cons with ebooks. Some pros are that students may have fewer back problems not having to lug so many books around, millions of trees will be saved, and the cost of textbooks should go down as there are almost no production costs to producing ebooks. A con I could see with this is our eyesight. I know that staring at a computer screen all day isn't particularly good for your eyes, and ebooks will only add time onto the time already spent in front of the computer. But I guess they will probably come up with a solution to this...
ReplyDeleteI would really like to see electronic books go into affect soon because the cost would decrease for students and it would be a lot easier to carry around one device compared to 4 or five books. A problem that might occur would be making illegal copies for electronic books which I wouldn't have a problem with. Haha
ReplyDeleteSo we've reached the age of paperless reading. Awesome. I have become a sort of environmentalist in the past couple of years, and I hate seeing so much paper being used in every class I have. After purchasing my laptop and keeping most of my files on it, it seems to bring my mind ease. Still, paper is used thoroughly, like in my mailbox. I find so many letters I receive just get thrown out. Now I recycle them, but why waste it in the first place if I'm not going to read it? I can relate to carrying around 50 lbs. in the backpack. If I had access to all my books on one single device I would be a happy man. The Kindle is now relatively cheap at $260. I think the future looks very bright for e-books.
ReplyDeleteThe advantages to e-books are immensely larger than the disadvantages. Although this new technology may hurt a lot of book stores, I believe that they can just change their business model and start offering their books on dedicated servers or something. The fact that you don't have to use countless sheets of paper to make a book anymore is HUGE news for environmentalists abroad. I am excited for this technology to take off so I don't have to lug around my textbooks everywhere I go anymore!
ReplyDeleteE-Books are definitely in the future. Even though it will save trees and it's better for our environment. We are continuing to spend money unnecessarily and we are spending money that we don't have. I think E-Books are pointless!
ReplyDeleteCompared with the normal books, obviously, e-books are have such advantages. They are much cheaper, easier to carry and keep. But there are also some disadvantages. For me, when I'm reading, I like writing my feeling and consideration down on the books. If I use an e-book, I can't do it.And turing pages is one part for me to enjoy reading. :D
ReplyDeleteI think that e-books is a technology that will take over for the normal paper book. It would be so much easier if I could just up load the books and then carry around this light weight eletronic book. This would also bring the price of books down because there is no need it produce the paper ones. Overall I think this technology can really help students
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