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eBooks printable?

Lord and lady, can't we just bury this tiresome hatchet in some computer somewhere and be done with it?
Because the last thing any Trek fan wants to do is endlessly debate some bit of esoterica or a matter of subjective opinion . . . :lol:
 
^ Steve, sweetie, your nose is getting a bit brown there. ;)

Terri, this isn't worth getting upset about. There are those who will just never get it, and getting worked up about it won't help. A 2 by 4 might. ;) You could just make them characters in your next book and kill them in horrible ways. :devil:
 
Personally, I don't see why there is so much hate twoards ebooks. Yes, they aren't physical books, but they use words on pages (sort of) to tell a story and IMO that's really all that is recquired for something to be a book. As for the DRM stuff, well I have a feeling that isn't Pocket Books fault so I don't see why they should be penalized for it.
Now let me just finish this off by saying that I haven't actually bought an ebook yet, but that is only for two reasons, 1) I don't know what kind of programs I need to read them on my laptop, and 2) I'm working on getting caught up with the print series right now.
 
KRAD said:
That's the second-most nonsensical thing I've read online today.
Gotta ask: what's the most nonsensical?

Some guy over on the Ex Isle BBS who was insisting that aliens couldn't possibly exist and citing an X-Files episode as proof of his point. Also insisting that it was absurd for me to claim that science fiction could ever be based on science because it was always about things that could never, ever possibly exist. You know, things like submarines and trips to the moon and personal computers and genetic engineering and...

Also I was just kinda riffing on the old Get Smart gag. "That's the second-biggest (whatever) I've ever seen!"
 
Wow, ummm ok. I think we can probably assume that that record will stand.
 
First I've never bought an ebook, but have no dislike or hate for em, but read a few SCE paperbacks, and I doubt I will buy an ebook, because I'm a slow reader, I have an impressive collection of paperbacks and books sitting on my self I haven't gotten to that I bought years ago, how can you put an ebook on a self? I'm a collector too, I'll get to these books eventually but I've never been one to read a book the same day I buy it. Within the last year my computer crashed and I had to buy a new one, if I bought ebooks, they would have been lost. I'm not knocking ebooks, I'd buy too if they were printable, and if they reach paperback just saying not my thing. I've printed out stories I've found in and around the web before.

BTW, You know another thing that bugs me about SCE, when they started calling Sonya Sonnie, do they still call her that? maybe it's a hispanic thing I can't stand it.
 
You know, I just thought of an interesting argument, feel free to rip holes in it as you will. If all the fans didn't mind the eBooks, then there wouldn't be enough sales of the paperbacks to make them worth printing. Without the paperbacks, you lose those few who walk into a bookstore and are just browsing around the Trek lit section, "hmm...SCE, I've never heard of that!" You've just made a fan, because of paperbacks, because of the fans who don't want to read eBooks.
Now, that wasn't something I spent an hour thinking about, so it could be totally off-base, but my point is that there's nothing wrong (and something right) with balance. If nobody liked the eBooks, that would be bad. But some people disliking them is healthy, in my brash, knee-jerk opinion. IDIC, as fans are so fond of quoting but not practicing.

I would say, however, that disliking eBooks is one thing, but calling them illegitimate literature is another matter entirely. :vulcan:
 
I don't understand why the two sides to this issue/argument can't just state that it's simply personal preference. Instead of both sides (yes BOTH) making flimsy claims or arguments for their side.

That being said my preference is for books on paper. And within even that I have more of a preference for the mass-market size paperbacks.
 
LightningStorm said:
I don't understand why the two sides to this issue/argument can't just state that it's simply personal preference. Instead of both sides (yes BOTH) making flimsy claims or arguments for their side.

That's kinda what I was saying; that one side doesn't need to defeat the other. They can peacefully coexist, if they choose to.
 
RookieBatman said:
You know, I just thought of an interesting argument, feel free to rip holes in it as you will. If all the fans didn't mind the eBooks, then there wouldn't be enough sales of the paperbacks to make them worth printing. Without the paperbacks, you lose those few who walk into a bookstore and are just browsing around the Trek lit section, "hmm...SCE, I've never heard of that!" You've just made a fan, because of paperbacks, because of the fans who don't want to read eBooks.

I don't follow your logic at all. Even if everybody who had an online presence and was aware of the eBooks bought them, that would still be only a small percentage of the people who visit bookstores, because contrary to what people online assume, not everyone on the planet surfs the Web. Just as the book audience is a small percentage of the TV or film viewing audience, so the potential eBook audience is a small percentage of the overall reading audience.

Also, you're making the incorrect assumption that buying the eBooks precludes buying the paperback collections. I'm sure that a large percentage of people who buy and read the eBooks also eventually buy them in paperback, not because they hate eBooks, but simply because they want to have it in a more permanent form, or want to get the most current and updated edition (with errors corrected or revisions made to combine multiple parts into one), or just want to have complete collections.

So hate of eBooks has nothing to do with it. Even if nobody at all hated eBooks, the paperbacks would still be viable.
 
BTW, You know another thing that bugs me about SCE, when they started calling Sonya Sonnie, do they still call her that? maybe it's a hispanic thing I can't stand it.
"They" didn't call her Sonnie, that was Duffy's personal nickname for her, used only by him. :)
 
Emh said:
Amen. I'm glad someone else realizes this and it's not just me.
I was going to post something similar this morning, but I see Steve beat me to it. Damn time differences! :p

Vic Sixx said:
Within the last year my computer crashed and I had to buy a new one, if I bought ebooks, they would have been lost.
As Ian said a couple of times on this board, hardcopy books can be lost too, through fire, flood, thief etc. One great thing about the ebooks is you can usually get replacement copies from the place you bought them free of charge. So, if your computer crashed, or you lost your computer, or you lost that burnt copy of your ebook files, you just download them again. You can't do that with 'normal' books.

Christopher said:
Some guy over on the Ex Isle BBS who was insisting that aliens couldn't possibly exist and citing an X-Files episode as proof of his point. Also insisting that it was absurd for me to claim that science fiction could ever be based on science because it was always about things that could never, ever possibly exist. You know, things like submarines and trips to the moon and personal computers and genetic engineering and...
:: blink :: :: blink :: :: blink :: ooooooooookay.

LightningStorm said:
I don't understand why the two sides to this issue/argument can't just state that it's simply personal preference. Instead of both sides (yes BOTH) making flimsy claims or arguments for their side.
quoted, because I'm too lazy to type that again. :p

Christopher said:
I'm sure that a large percentage of people who buy and read the eBooks also eventually buy them in paperback, ...
yep. :D and sometimes I buy an ebook copy of a new paperback because I can carry dozens and dozens of them around at no extra weight, especially useful if I'm going away.
 
Putting aside whether it's practical or not, couldn't somebody just perform a "print screen" operation to print any eBook page(s) desired?
 
Smiley said:
Putting aside whether it's practical or not, couldn't somebody just perform a "print screen" operation to print any eBook page(s) desired?
Probably. And at least one format has a tool to extract the source HTML files from the ebook container, so it could be printed from a web browser or recent word processor.
 
LightningStorm said:
I don't understand why the two sides to this issue/argument can't just state that it's simply personal preference. Instead of both sides (yes BOTH) making flimsy claims or arguments for their side.
Agreed.
 
Tino said:
Hi there guys.

The up-coming "Slings and Arrows" MIGHT convince me buying my first eBook very soon. I'm hesitant 'cause I can't find any references if one can print eBook out.

So my question: Can eBooks be printed?

I am in the same boat. I have never purchased an eBook, but I really want to read the upcoming Slings and Arrows. I think I will probably give it a try.

When I first started reading this thread, my first reaction was I prefer hardcopy. Of course I spend countless hours reading fanfics online....

Still I often print out my favorites or the really long ones to enjoy while lying in bed. I guess ultimately if I really want to see something in print, I have to support the eBook.
 
Rosalind said:
Emh said:
Amen. I'm glad someone else realizes this and it's not just me.
I was going to post something similar this morning, but I see Steve beat me to it. Damn time differences! :p

Well, the pointer to my blog entry was recent, but the blog entry itself is from several months ago, during a previous go-round on the subject. Still seemed to be relevant, though.
 
RookieBatman said:
I'd say just go to ereader.com, and they have a bunch of free eBooks (some old classics like The Time Machine). You can download one of those and the free eReader program, and use that to test whether reading an eBook will be physically acceptable to you. That's my suggestion. :)
I cannot stand eReader format. The line spaces between paragraphs is really annoying. Also, don't go for PDF. That format is a big mistake for ebooks. That said, there really are only two viable portable formats BBeB (for the Sony Reader) and MobiPocket for devices that run a version of the MobiPocket Reader.

Besides, why would you want to print out these ebooks? It won't be all that enjoyable to read it that way.
 
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