are all books going to be on CDs one day?
instead of having a shelve full of books you could just buy a few discs available for reference any time you need it
some libraries are getting rid of their paper magazine collection once the digital version came out
As other answerers have said, they probably won’t be on CDs. Physical media is becoming a dinosaur. I myself haven’t purchased a CD in years, and to the person who said that MP3s didn’t kill the CD: I think it’s way too early to say that. CDs certainly killed cassettes, but I had a CD player since they first became consumer-friendly, and that was when CDs came in packages large enough to paddle a boat. In other words, it took a long time before CDs killed cassettes and I imagine the same will be true with CDs successor, which I don’t necessarily think will be the MP3 format.
As much as I love books — for the fact that they don’t break when you drop them, that they don’t have to be charged, that they can be read anywhere that there is light — I do think that one day yes, paper will become absolutely obsolete. Even I have succumbed to purchasing and/or downloading an occasional e-book, especially for really rare, out-of-print stuff.
But e-book readers will be MUCH better by the time that happens, in several decades by my estimate. The major bookstores will resist until they absolutely have to make the transition to an entirely digital stock. I’m really talking far into the future here.
ASUS has come out with an e-book reader that’s converting book lovers like myself… at least, it’s certainly getting us interested. It has a spine and opens like a traditional book. One page will be on the left side of the spine and another page will be on the right. It’s also in color. The technology still hasn’t convinced us yet; much of the stuff I read isn’t available for download, but Google Books seems to be hellbent on changing that.
Another thing bookworms want? Screens on the BACKSIDE of the device, too. That way, when we’re reading a book, other people know what we’re reading. Also, with social networking sites like Shelfari, you can still have a bookshelf (albeit a virtual one) for displaying the books you own/have read.
Outside of that, they really have to stop with this DRM crap. One thing bookworms love is sharing books. You aren’t free to do that without limits when you legally buy a digital book. My feeling is if you can’t loan it to friends you don’t own it. Therefor we shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Advantage Family Library Initiative
Tags: books, design, furniture, home, library, library magazine shelving