[extropy-chat] E-book aesthetics

[Adrian Tymes]

--- Giu1i0 Pri5c0 <gpmap at runbox.com> wrote:
> There's something about holding a sleek tablet PC in
> your hands, feeling the plastic, and reading the
> softcopy word that even a good paper book can't
> quite make up for.

Taking that thought a step further...can people think
of some of the non-technological advantages e-books
have over their paper ancestors?  I.e., search
functionality and downloading are nice, but I'm
talking about the ability of the "paper" to adjust
its contrast - even glow, in low light - to improve
readability, or (for large texts, like an entire
encyclopedia set) the lower weight and bulk of an
e-book plus reader versus thick paper tomes.  Or how
about permanence?  Acid-free paper is one thing, but
for data you truly care about (and thus, which is
likely to be backed up and updated to newer data
formats as they come out), it can be as immortal as
you might be some day.

> ---
> There's something about holding a book in your
> hands, feeling the paper, and reading the printed
> word that even a good e-book reader can't quite make
> up for.  It's like the difference between having
> fast food and going to a five-star restaurant...
> sure, the former is *sufficient* nourishment, but if
> it's an experience you want, you're going to choose
> the latter.

There's a restaurant near where I work (Tung Kee
Noodle House, for anyone near Mountain View) which
many of my co-workers patronize for the experience.
Speed of food delivery is usually on par with or
better than most fast food restaurants, and the
efficiency of the place shows in everything they do.
(It's even better if you already know what you want
before you walk in the door - as most of their repeat
customers apparently do.)  Given as we're usually in a
business "let's get our tasks done quickly" mood at
that time of the day, it is an experience we can and
do enjoy, time and again.

And maybe I'm wierd in this aspect, but when I'm going
out to eat and I want an experience, my experience
comes from the people I eat with far more than from
the restaurant we happen to choose.  (In fact, often
times my choice of restaurant in these situations is
based on intuitive nutritional needs.  I.e., my body
tells me if it can handle rich Italian food, if it
just wants a salad from the soup & salad joint, if
it's craving meat and lots of it, et cetera.  Of
course, being intuition, it's not always correct, but
it's better for that than something completely
unrelated.)