Book thoughts...

I was in a meeting earlier today and we found ourselves talking about the future of the book in all of its possible forms. I have several shelves at home covered with books that I never even read, but the aesthetics of the whole thing sets my mind at ease as I ponder all of the knowledge contained therein.

But my computer has been acting up a little bit. And my old Ipod won't hold a charge. And as the days go on, more and more little technological impurities find themselves in the various things that plug into the wall in order to work.

But those books are still there...

It's not like there's some sort of equivalent to a harddrive crash for books. You won't be reading a book and then find that you can't turn the page past page 167, or the white page turn blue, or random scenes of porn just start popping up all over the page. Maybe it's possible, but not likely.

There is something pure about the words on the page. Only fire can wipe the data. Or maybe a lot of water. Or lightening. But power surges? You're fine.

-Dennis Edmons

The answer to the Ebook question

While the answer could be "42", it doesn't really answer the question effectively. Kindles seem pretty cool, but eff their pricetag. This has led some people to think that books, once they make the transition to Ebooks once and for all, will now only be accessible by the people who can afford the damn readers.
And if you care about freedom and accessibility of information, you would be worried about only the rich people being able to read. But there are some exciting things out there in the world. And at the recent CES down in Vegas, everyone seemed to be talking about the revolution of the netbook, which is a good thing. What's happening is that we are moving closer and closer to having a personal link to the world with us at all times.
Now, we could stand around and debate on whether or not this is a good thing or not, but that's not what this is about. It's about connection, linking, and all that stuff. It's coming whether or not we like it. Embrace it people, embrace the devil...

-bk