A hundred years few people could imagine how much technology has woven itself into the fabric of our lives. No one would have guessed that computing technology could grow so fast or become so mainstream so quickly. With every passing year of technological growth more and more of our lives become obsolete; Phones get smaller, faster, sleeker, and are able to do more. Gadgets dedicated to a single purpose such as photography, communication, video, music, and even simple math—when was the last time YOU used a calculator?—are quickly being overtaken by multi-purpose multi-task multi-touch multi-whatever electronics that don’t do everything as well as their dedicated counterparts but make life so much easier.
Courtesy of Wired
So what old tech is next on the chopping block? What will be the tried and tested technology that will be reduced to a novelty item or a backup for the new? I’m going to go on a fairly flimsy limb here and propose that books are next. Maybe I should be more specific. Let me try that again: I propose that paper, as means to store and display stories, thoughts, or ideas will become the less preferred in the (near?) future.
Let me first point out one crucial caveat before I start: I am not claiming that paper books will become completely obsolete and that the new tech is going to eradicate them in a few years. On the contrary! I believe that paper books have special qualities which cannot be ignored. Do you have a book collection? If so, is it not satisfying to just grab your favorite book off from your special collection, grab a drink and a blanket, find a comfy chair and just simply enjoy a story for a while? There is something intrinsically comforting about paper that makes it a perfect medium to present ideas and allows you to be lost in a story for hours. It’s almost as if paper itself entices you into having an open mind.
Sooo haawwwt. The book, that is.
In fact we as readers have become accustomed to distrusting the fluid nature of electronic words. We place a much higher trust in a physical paper version of a journal or article that we may see online. Paper exudes trust, longevity, and most of all credibility. Not to mention that it comes in a simple ready-to-use package (Note to the farsighted: glasses may be required).
“So who’s the contender?”, you ask. What could possibly even come close to sheer awesomeness of books?
I present to you the amazing, fantastic, pluriawesomenessness of the AMAZON KINDLE!
Chuck Norris approved.
“Big whoop! It looks just like a book with the added effect of making YOU look like a gigantic nerd. Also, I would have to sell my kidney to buy one.” – Misguided fool
Chuck Norris’ review aside I think this should sum up my reply pretty succinctly:
Actually, with an SD card you could fit an entire library inside one of these magic rectangles.
That’s right, one Kindle can fit an entire library of short stories, novels, articles, and texts into its own internal memory. With a 4GB SD card you can quadruple the capacity and fit even more of your favorite novels into your pocket. Imagine taking your entire collection of romanc…err…science fiction novels with you on your vacation or cruise! The possibilities become even more endless when you consider the fact that the Amazon Kindle has a wireless interface that allows you to buy and download a book from Amazon in seconds from a collection of 23,000 books!
The greatest feature of the kindle is the display it uses. It is composed of an electronic ink, e-ink for short, that changes its form to match a charged circuit board below it. This technology not only reduces the type of eye-strain from bright LCDs but also reduces glare dramatically. So when you’re sitting on a bench in the park and want to do a little reading you can pop the Kindle out and quickly forget that you’re reading from a screen. While you’re reading it will look and feel like an ordinary book.
Now we come to costs. You mentioned you have to sell your kidney to get one? Well kidneys these days can range anywhere form $3000 to $85,000 in value so I think you’re exaggerating a bit. The Amazon Kindle only costs $250 (II gen) and is a perfect investment for those of us who enjoy reading newspapers, magazines, or articles daily. I myself have a large collection of .txt books on my computer that I can easily transfer to the Kindle. It will pay for itself very soon after you purchase it.
For more on the kindle visit the Amazon Page (watch the video) and this review by the machinist.
