The issue on the cutting-edge Kindle Fire tablet of Amazon being the iPad killer undeniably mists both media and public attention since its debut on Wednesday. However, there is a more pressing matter that concerns some people about the release of this newest tablet. Traditional readers and authors alike fear the gradual loss of physical books because of the many e-book readers that keep on hitting the market nowadays. Apparently, Amazon Kindle Fire threatens printed books because of its extraordinary capacity to make reading materials readily accessible online.
Nonetheless, Matthew stated http://blogkindle.com/2011/06/can-the-amazon-kindle-ebook-compare-to-the-endurance-of-the-printed-word/ that the Kindle Fire does not threaten printed reading materials, and it can actually measure up with the latter’s survival.
Amazon Kindle Fire Threatens Printed Books
The Amazon Kindle is great and all, but for many lovers of the printed word there is something still lacking. The History. We can download the newest books to our Kindles and forget about them. We can collect and delete and have no real need to take them seriously because they have no substance anyway. They’re just data. Real paper books on the other hand have survived for centuries. You can pick up a paper book from a hundred years ago and still turn the pages and read the words that somebody enjoyed long before you were born. Can you say the same about Kindle eBooks? The problem with this argument is, of course, that it is thoroughly ridiculous.
The virtue of an old book, to your average reader, is not necessarily its age. The value is the information it contains. You don’t just grab a 200 year old manuscript off the shelves for some pleasure reading. I’m not going to say that there is nothing to be gained from a direct study of old physical texts, because there is, but for you and me it is probably more useful to pick up a brand new copy of the Commedia or Beowulf. If we are to stipulate that the value of the book is in the information it contains, which I think is fair, then the eBook on the most basic level is just a distillation of the book concept. This on its own does not mean that the format has any particular value in the long term, though.
I think that at the core of this argument is the question of what one believes that the future will bring. Whether or not we have faith in the potential for progress. It is true that the paper book requires no batteries, wires, accounts, or anything else. It can also degrade to the point of uselessness or easily be destroyed. The Kindle requires many or all of these things, but a Kindle eBook exists independently of the physical device you hold in your hand. It is not only here, or even on the server, but also on thousands of computers all over the world. Even if 90% of the existing copies are destroyed, it is the work of minutes or hours to replace them should the demand grow enough. So long as the ability to read eBook files remains, and that seems to not be going away, these books are safe and the best loved will always be around. Unless you somehow believe that computers and the internet are a temporary thing, it just makes sense.
Now, I don’t blame people for their skepticism on this. On a personal level it can seem a little bit off. A Kindle book is certainly more easily forgotten or lost than a paper book. In both cases, though, we’re talking about a single instance of the “book” as a collection of information. Which is going to persist: a file that can be copied and replaced on demand, or a printing with a set number of units? If we’re really talking about the long term benefits of books, then this matters more than most things in my opinion.
Whether or not you think the Kindle Fire can compete with the endurance of printed materials, what’s important is that you do not forget that although new things aren’t always good, they aren’t always bad either. Most of the time, having the guts to try new things actually pays off. Yes, Amazon Kindle Fire threatens printed books in some ways. But this new tablet has a whole new lot of benefits to offer as well.
To help you acquire better insight on this issue, check out this link http://gigaom.com/2011/10/05/what-happens-to-books-when-the-kindle-is-free/ and discover more about the idea that Amazon Kindle Fire Threatens Printed Books.
