Just a quick thought. with the advances in e-readers what would a combination of video and books be like. By this I mean a martial arts video has visual advantages because you can see the technique, but it doesn't necessarily have the depth that a book would have in certain areas. With digital media, imagine a book that is several hundred pages of information, and when the author wants to emphasize something visually, instead of pictures, you tap on the screen and watch a video of the point, narrated by the author. Then you go back to the text. Any thoughts? Would this be worth it? Imagine the Donn Draeger books on martial arts, but with video of the arts he discusses or videos of specific technique differences or points.
Video books?
- Thread starter billc
- Start date
Funny you should say that. I saw a demo of an app that does exactly that today at my dojo. It's a good idea, and worthy of further examinations. As it turns out, someone I know is doing it.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2276762_do-front-kick.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4961703_do-front-kick.html
You mean like that?
You can sort of do that
http://www.ehow.com/video_4961703_do-front-kick.html
You mean like that?
You can sort of do that
Yes. Much as I will be sorry to see that day.
And if the ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals have their way, there will come a time when owning a book will be a crime. For a variety of reasons.
When do you think this will happen? Within our lifetime?
I think books will become an anachronism. I think we're well on that path. I love books. I read all the time, and generally have at least two books going at any given time.
I also buy ebooks more than paper books now. I like books. But I also like being able to carry an entire library in my pocket.
I'm something of an insomniac, and I like being able to read in bed without turning on lights and potentially disturbing my wifes sleep.
I don't think books will ever completely disappear, but I think they will become a rarity.
I also buy ebooks more than paper books now. I like books. But I also like being able to carry an entire library in my pocket.
I'm something of an insomniac, and I like being able to read in bed without turning on lights and potentially disturbing my wifes sleep.
I don't think books will ever completely disappear, but I think they will become a rarity.
how far down the road do you think we are on this path? I know that borders shut down and used bookstores here are closing left and right. but amazon seems to do well, as does ebay. I have this large book collection and the other day I was wondering whether I was staring at shelves of 8 track tapes. I don't have any e readers and haven't bought any ebooks.
dancingalone
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We're pretty far along. I no longer buy fiction in hard copy. Only in Kindle format or I borrow books electronically from my local library. I subscribe to the NY Times online only, and I seldomly buy any magazines anymore.
Your collection is rather special though as martial arts books, particularly the old ones, just aren't freely available for purchase through electronic media. I wouldn't characterize them as 8-tracks.
Absolutely.
Kindles use no paper and thus kill no trees making the tree hugging environmentalists happy.
Allowing people to download for a fee saves the publisher tons of money.
10 years, tops, except for boutique, i.e. specialty books
I subscribe to a lot of magazines, mainly for the office so clients can read them. Some magazines come along with memberships, like you get a free subscription to Tennis magazine if you are a USTA member. And I buy, or used to buy a lot of martial arts magazines, all actually that was on the rack, but now it seems to be all MMA mostly, so I find I am buying less and less.
I still buy about 3-5 martial arts books per week (about 50 so far this year), which is what drove me to ask in this topic. A lot of the older books, especially by Okinawan martial arts pioneers, are being reprinted, so you don't have to get the original. But still, I wonder if one day there will be no more books to buy, that it will be all on kindle, or whatever.
Books gone without whose lifetime? I've got maybe - maybe - 30 years left. I'd say outside chance for me. Kids today? They may well die of old age in a world that has no printed books; or no new printed books anyway. Their kids, books won't even be legal to own.
I think we're well started. I don't think books will completely vanish for a long time. And there will always be a market for collectible first editions.
I do think that more and more new stuff will be published electronically, and I'd guess that in maybe 20 year, if you want a paper book you'll buy the eversion and print it.
Amazon already sells more ebooks than print books.
What I'm waiting for, and will probably have to build, is a decent book scanner to get all of my print books into digital format.
So are public libraries a thing of the past as well? They just did a renovation of the local library near my house that look like it cost at least one million, but other local libraries seem to be closed and don't look like they will be reopening any time soon. Many people use barnes and noble as a library I notice.
The library will be iTunes or Amazon, depending on what reader you choose. And frankly, I think it'd be foolish on the part of publishers not to make their ebooks available in all common formats.
I'd always rather own a book, and once the infrastructure is in place, ebooks will (or should be) far cheaper than paper books, as well as more environmentally friendly. For loaners, it wouldn't be difficult to add a "time bomb" that deletes the book after X days.
I'd always rather own a book, and once the infrastructure is in place, ebooks will (or should be) far cheaper than paper books, as well as more environmentally friendly. For loaners, it wouldn't be difficult to add a "time bomb" that deletes the book after X days.
Are all books published in eformat or only some? If only some, what types are eformat and what types are not?
I prefer reading books over looking at a computer screen myself. I like the feel and sometimes the smell of a book that I am reading. And thank you and everyone else for answering my endless questions. Books are important to me so I need to know what the future holds. I don't have any illusions of knowing everything and when I can get good information and advice, then i will graciously accept it. Thanks again.
I have had it in my head since I was a little kid that I would live until age 88, which means I have a ways to go. I don't know why.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I also like books, but for most books that you're likely to read once, an ereader is great. I have both an iPad and a kindle, and I much prefer reading books on the kindle. The display is glare free and it's very much like reading a book. It took me less than 3 pages to completely forget that i was reading anything other than a book. And as I read in bed quite a bit, the Kindle is much easier to handle. The only problem I run into is occassionally turning the "Page" on accident.
No, not yet. But far more now than a couple years ago. It's not an instant switch, but the trend is certainly there.
I don't think there's any particular genre that's ebook-oriented. I use iBooks, and I've got books from a wide variety of categories. Classic works, fiction, non-fiction, reference books...
Book readers tend to mimic the look of a paper book, and a lot of effort goes into things like cutting glare. Obviously they cannot reproduce the feel or smell. But again, it's also nice to be able to carry an entire library in your pocket.
Because we're divers, we travel a bit. And the airlines do NOT allow much luggage these days. And when we're laying on the beach, (nitrogen loading requires you spend a certain amount of time above the waterline.) I like to have a drink in one hand and a book in the other. About 11 years ago, we went to England. We took guide books, as well as books about places we planned to visit or stay (Warwick Castle, Amberly Castle, Thornbury Castle, Caverswall Castle, Arundel Castle, etc...). I also took a few books for entertainment reading. Doing that today would cost us $$$ in excess baggage fees. Dive gear for two isn't light, and adding 5-6 books would be crazy, when I can just load them on my iPhone.
