Why Would Anyone Prefer A Laptop To A Book or Magazine?
- Thread starter Dayton3
- Start date
Probably.
While I myself still read a lot of printed material, I can see why its changing. Laptops, PDAs, modern cell phones all offer up-to-date, customizable information, fiction, news in formats that are easier to read than the past. Just today I heard a radio host talk about how she reads her news on the laptop in the morning rather than the newspaper like her mom. Its amazing how fast this is changing. A few years ago when the first PDAs came out, people were saying they wouldn't prefer reading digital media, but now the new Amazon.com e-book viewer is making downloading books and magazines easy and "chic".
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA
RAMA
People who are sight impaired would probably prefer to read off a screen especially as they can usually increase the font size.
It is also easier for students if they can highlight sections of a e-book, or search for a particular passage etc.
It is also far cheaper to buy a CD with 500 great works of literature on it that to buy the whole collection as books.
It is also easier for students if they can highlight sections of a e-book, or search for a particular passage etc.
It is also far cheaper to buy a CD with 500 great works of literature on it that to buy the whole collection as books.
I like though to be able to lay a magazine aside, open to the article I've been studying. Or stop reading a magazine briefly and read a few pages out of a novel I've started on.
Despite laptops, it just doesn't seem to me that computers are that portable when it comes to reading.
I mean, I have a stash of magazines in my truck to read when I've nothing else to do. I can't imagine using a laptop for something similar.
Despite laptops, it just doesn't seem to me that computers are that portable when it comes to reading.
I mean, I have a stash of magazines in my truck to read when I've nothing else to do. I can't imagine using a laptop for something similar.
People prefer the immediacy of the content available on the screen. I doubt anyone could make a compelling case for the enjoyment reading on the medium over print. Magazines still exist in print form because the enjoyment of flipping those glossy pages is not replicated with computers.
I've not known anyone to read off a laptop except where it's impractical to do otherwise (classes and so on). But ereaders can be a God send for people with eyesight problems. My dad hasn't been able to read for years because of his eyes until recently when my mom got a Kindle (I can't say enough good things about that device. Truly amazing). Also the amount of material that can be put onto a device is amazing.
I do it all the time and have done since I did my degrees, it would be impractical and inefficient for me to read and store all of the documents I read on a weekly basis in paper form, plus I can search all of them for content far easier in electronic format than anything on paper.
As for pleasure reading - I've been reading ebooks for years, first with phones and now with a ereader, I wouldn't go back to paper, too much hassle.
As for pleasure reading - I've been reading ebooks for years, first with phones and now with a ereader, I wouldn't go back to paper, too much hassle.
Objectively, the only thing that matters is the content; Great Expectations is the same novel whether read from paper or a screen. However, I myself love books; I love they way they feel and smell, and they way they look lining my shelves and stacked around my apartment. But, of course, I only feel that way because I associate books with all the pleasure that I've had reading them for nearly half a century. Younger people will form those same associations with laptops and PDF files. It seems wrong, but I suppose it isn't.
I've never cared about things so in the same way that many people have to own a physical CD, I just don't care and actively prefer not having physical objects to clutter up my home.
That's pretty much my perspective too.
I dreamed of living in a library as a kid...I practically do! I will, however, read a book on scribd or another web-based book source sometimes.
I love the new-car smell of new books and the musty smell of old books. 
I seriously doubt that digital media can replace the book for me.
There is something about the physicality of paper, printed letters, a nice cover that makes it vastly superior to a digital copy for me.
I like to lay back on a couch or my bed and crack a book open and that's not something i'm willing to do with a digital book.
For work purposes or short texts, i.e. news i have no problem using the internet or a laptop because i'm not exactly relaxing at this moment and it takes mere minutes to read an article.
However there may be people who shrug shoulders and take their input whatever the source and digital media is an easy way of doing that.
There is something about the physicality of paper, printed letters, a nice cover that makes it vastly superior to a digital copy for me.
I like to lay back on a couch or my bed and crack a book open and that's not something i'm willing to do with a digital book.
For work purposes or short texts, i.e. news i have no problem using the internet or a laptop because i'm not exactly relaxing at this moment and it takes mere minutes to read an article.
However there may be people who shrug shoulders and take their input whatever the source and digital media is an easy way of doing that.
I love books and magazines; it's relaxing to hold it and turn the pages. The only time I think I would prefer a screen would be when/if I am traveling. If I could put 5 books into one, that would be great. I think the Kindle or products like it are really only useful in that regard.
I'm afraid that's going to prove to be prejudice based on past experience with books. When you see the Kindle, and the fact that they have pretty much made the experience like a real book, combined with the availability of hundreds of thousands of books and bestsellers at a cheaper price than books, it looks like a lot of people are going to make the switch. The old sci-fi dream that people will eventually find printed paper quaint looks to slowly be coming true.
RAMA
Ditto on the traveling thing. I read really fast so something like the Kindle would be useful on my upcoming flight to India. Instead my carryon will be full of books.
I also think there are some significant differences here in the various examples pointed out in this thread. Reading the news online is different from reading a 500 page novel on your laptop. There's also quite a distinction between reading something on your laptop, as opposed to the Kindle, I'd imagine.
-Physical books can be more expensive (and if you're highlighting, harder to resell)
-Books and magazines on the laptop can potentially be free (legal or otherwise).
-Students can use "find" to look in longer texts for relevant sections.
-The "find" function can also help students in searching for a specific quote when one remembers the general gist of it (from having read it earlier), but only recalls a specific word. Better than looking at all the highlighted sections in a book for a specific highlight (even if you ARE using highlights)
-If you need your computer for other functions anyway, then it makes more sense to have the book ON the computer, rather than having to lug around both the computer AND a physical copy of the book.
-Digital books and articles are easier to store and organize than their physical equivalents.
Of course, there are benefits to physical copies as well (I'm sure you're aware of most of them already, given your confusion with digital copies). You just go with whatever is most convenient for your current situation. And sometimes, that means going digital.
-Books and magazines on the laptop can potentially be free (legal or otherwise).
-Students can use "find" to look in longer texts for relevant sections.
-The "find" function can also help students in searching for a specific quote when one remembers the general gist of it (from having read it earlier), but only recalls a specific word. Better than looking at all the highlighted sections in a book for a specific highlight (even if you ARE using highlights)
-If you need your computer for other functions anyway, then it makes more sense to have the book ON the computer, rather than having to lug around both the computer AND a physical copy of the book.
-Digital books and articles are easier to store and organize than their physical equivalents.
Of course, there are benefits to physical copies as well (I'm sure you're aware of most of them already, given your confusion with digital copies). You just go with whatever is most convenient for your current situation. And sometimes, that means going digital.
