Thoughts and opinions: eBooks or old school?

Philosophical analysis notwithstanding, it comes down to personal preference. I’m my case I use both.
Webster defines book as “A handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction usually on sheets of paper”
Also “A work of fiction or nonfiction in an electronic format” So there ya go
 
A very interesting topic with a wide range of views.
I agree with the school of thought that books covering the topic of the build of model ships is easier to reference when the subject matter is in the form of a PDF, where the search engine will take you to where you want to go in the publication. However, this will depend on the information placed into the search window. If incorrect, the return will be "Not found", or similar, but the information needed may still be available in the publication, so some knowedge of the subject matter is still required.
I prefer to use PDFs when using reference books, but a where good old fashioned mystery, crime or romance story is concerned, I prefer the printed version.
Another advantage of the PDF is the reduction in the use of paper, which may go some way to reduce deforistation.

Have a good weekend.
Trevor
 
We are fortunate that our ancient predecessors did not have a read it and done with it or the Greek and ancient resources translated by the Arabic scholars and finally recognized by our European ancestors preserved and passed along those documents for present day continuing research. Just a thought.

and a thought if they had a computer and storage medium i am sure they would have used it just like we do today maybe the great Alexandria library might have survived rather than being burned to the ground if the information was on a hard drives and backed up several times.

did not have a read it and done with it

actually that was not my point you don't toss out the book when your done, you either pass it on or use what you learned and expand on it.

Give me a hard copy anytime. Holding a quality ref book in you hand or on the workbench is sheer joy. A book was meant to be read this way. Looking at a 6" kindle screen is not. I've grown up with printed matter and having serveral books laid out in front of you vs an electronic screen is no comparison. I have electronic versions of several AOS books as well as the printed versions. There is no comparison.

the meduims are different but the knowledge contained within are the same so i see no difference between the two a PDF or hard copy. Now if i am understanding you correctly a "book" is so much better to read a child a bed time story, you sit on the bed and togather you read the book rather than a lap top. BUT as said times are changing so one day a lap top will be just as acceptable as a book to future generations.

one very big advantage i see with electronic books is they can be shared. Example if you want to read the book "In the wake of the Eighteen Twelvers"
i can send you a copy of the PDF and within minutes you will have it OR go to your local library and if they do not have it maybe they can request it through inner library loans and in 3 week you have a hard copy if a hard copy can be found. Or it is only a reference book and you can not check it out, you have to read it there.

i think there is a little confusion between sitting next to a warm fire on a winters day reading a good book enjoying the story unfold as you turn each page, and the cold hard facts of a reference book that you flip through looking for information and put it back on the shelf.
 
I use ebooks extensively becauseIi like to be able to enlarge the print or the picture that I am looking at. As one ages, the eyes are not what they were.
 
We are fortunate that our ancient predecessors did not have a read it and done with it or the Greek and ancient resources translated by the Arabic scholars and finally recognized by our European ancestors preserved and passed along those documents for present day continuing research. Just a thought.

and a thought if they had a computer and storage medium i am sure they would have used it just like we do today maybe the great Alexandria library might have survived rather than being burned to the ground if the information was on a hard drives and backed up several times.

did not have a read it and done with it

actually that was not my point you don't toss out the book when your done, you either pass it on or use what you learned and expand on it.

Give me a hard copy anytime. Holding a quality ref book in you hand or on the workbench is sheer joy. A book was meant to be read this way. Looking at a 6" kindle screen is not. I've grown up with printed matter and having serveral books laid out in front of you vs an electronic screen is no comparison. I have electronic versions of several AOS books as well as the printed versions. There is no comparison.

the meduims are different but the knowledge contained within are the same so i see no difference between the two a PDF or hard copy. Now if i am understanding you correctly a "book" is so much better to read a child a bed time story, you sit on the bed and togather you read the book rather than a lap top. BUT as said times are changing so one day a lap top will be just as acceptable as a book to future generations.

one very big advantage i see with electronic books is they can be shared. Example if you want to read the book "In the wake of the Eighteen Twelvers"
i can send you a copy of the PDF and within minutes you will have it OR go to your local library and if they do not have it maybe they can request it through inner library loans and in 3 week you have a hard copy if a hard copy can be found. Or it is only a reference book and you can not check it out, you have to read it there.

i think there is a little confusion between sitting next to a warm fire on a winters day reading a good book enjoying the story unfold as you turn each page, and the cold hard facts of a reference book that you flip through looking for information and put it back on the shelf.
Dave, your point about the Great Library of Alexandria is spot-on
 
Books for me, and for a different reason than I've seen mentioned here. I wear tri-focals. Therefore, I can move the book closer or farther away depending upon type size and lighting to get a clear look at the page. Distance from the screen is another reason I'm not fond of ebooks. Also, there's no glare from a book page but occasionally I've found that a problem with a screen. And then as so many have stated here, I grew up with books. I didn't grow up with computer monitors or smart phones. Let's face it: at 85, I'm set in my ways.
 
Interesting subject and even more interesting opinions and ideas.
Just some thoughts:
- What was the original reason people wrote down and published their studies, research, philosophies, music, poetry, etc? To share their knowledge with their contemporary fellow men or to save it for prosperity, for us, to read and learn?
- What's the longevity of all our data in the various digital formats? From personal experience, this is an issue in the aerospace industry with a 30 year time span. So how accessible will all the digital data be in, let's say, a century?
- What will be the destiny of our personal libraries, collected with patience and love, once we no longer have a need for them? The circular archive?

Personally, I find the current day and age, with an almost limitless accessibility to data, a blessing, so yes, I often use digital data formats. But every so often I come across a book, or a piece of music, or a beautiful picture I just want to have a tangible copy of. Is that rational? Probably not. Satisfactory? Absolutely!
My assumption is that everyone has his own rationale behind using the digital formats or establishing his own library, music- or picture collection and the beauty behind this all is; you don't have to apologize nor do you have to explain your choices.
So I use whatever I'm comfortable with, both virtual and tangible.
Johan
 
I have read all the reviews on this topic. Unfortunately, most of the opinions belong to the elderly and they all prefer paper books.
It seems to me that most of the arguments converge on the topic, which is called "I'm just used to it." As a counterargument, I always ask - does your paper book have a quick search function? :)
I am also not quite young (59), but I am an IT specialist and a computer is often available to me. At the same time, it is much more convenient for me to work with e-books. Quick search, the ability to quickly scale images for me are quite weighty arguments in favor of e-books.
Several years ago I saw a TV show about the digitization of a library of old books in Belgium. They did what was previously considered sacrilege. The spine of the old book was cut off on a guillotine, then the book was placed in an automatic scanner that made high-quality copies of each page on both sides.
But if you think about it, it was a good deed. Previously, the book could be read by a few, now millions (if desired, of course).
And yet, e-books are the future, be prepared for this in advance ;)
 
But if you think about it, it was a good deed. Previously, the book could be read by a few, now millions

This is the new age of information there are rare or out of print books that very few can enjoy because they are unavailable.

I found this to be true when i was researching the Tecumseth there is an entire collection of research information, studies done on the wreck, even the very ships log, photo collections, historical data etc. I can not get this information because it is hard copy and the only way to see it is take a trip from Ohio to Canada.

one organizations moto is better models through research, not realizing the information is out there in various collections but almost impossible to get unless you go to the source or pay a researcher which is very expensive. So how are you going to research a subject if the information, drawings and data is all hard copy 2,300 miles away or in another country? a grand idea but not really possible for the average hobbyist.
Archives, museums, libraries are moving in the right direction to digitize their holdings and make the information available to all.
Same issue when i was reserching the steam navies there is a massive amount of information out there drawings, text books, research material all kinds of date all dangling like a carrot on a stick you know it is out there, you see it but it is just out of reach. Dang! it all hard copy!
 
Last edited:
odds are you did not even know this existed let alone know where to find it or to go look at it.

but posted here it is available to 8,000 model ship builders and if 8,000 people downloaded it there is now 8,000 copies on 8,000 different hard drives.
can't do that with a hard copy.

and to those who like paper take the file and print it out.
 

Attachments

  • Humphreys.pdf
    2.4 MB · Views: 19
Buona sera, interessante il dibattito sui libri, il mio archivio e tra disegni cartacei e scannerizzati sono circa 3000 e libri cartacei e telematici sono circa 4000
 
Buona sera, interessante il dibattito sui libri, il mio archivio e tra disegni cartacei e scannerizzati sono circa 3000 e libri cartacei e telematici sono circa 4000
Good evening, interesting debate on books, my archive and between paper and scanned drawings are about 3000 and paper and electronic books are about 4000

many people have both Ebooks as well as print books. Over the last few years my Elibrary has gotten much bigger than my book library. Far less space needed for an Elibrary
 
Buongiorno a Voi tutti, il mio pensiero sui libri, il libro cartaceo ha un fascino nel leggero rispetto al telematico e come la differenza tra una barca di lego e una di vetro resine, è una mia opinione, Grazie a tutti Voi di questa passione.

ENGLISH
Good morning to you all, my thoughts on books, the paper book has a charm in the light compared to telematics and like the difference between a lego boat and a glass resin boat, it is my opinion, Thanks to all of you for this passion.
 
Good day to all and a happy new year!

Am I a book sinner or just a declutterer? My library is not so extensive as some of the participants in this thread. Now and again I go through my book collection and sort many of them out to make room for new ones. There are number of collection points for used books in our town, which are always accessible and where you can place the books there for someone else to enjoy. This is all free of charge, and this way the books don't end up in my bin. Recycling is a big thing here.
I no longer have an encyclopaedia. I swapped them for the didgital version some years ago. That freed up so much room in my library and the book shelves no longer groan under the weight.

Trevor
 
Back
Top