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The feeling I got while reading this was the same one I got many years ago when reading why Microsoft's PocketPC was going to wipe the floor with the simplistic

The feeling I got while reading this was the same one I got many years ago when reading why Microsoft's PocketPC was going to wipe the floor with the simplistic PalmOS. Ironically, I agreed with those PocketPC articles at the time but now see why the simplicity of the Palm made it the winner back then. Amazon clearly understands readers better than Gizmodo does and the Kindle, if Amazon's sales pronouncements are to be believed, clearly resonates with people. I think that's why Kindle sells so well and will continue to do so. One final point, the author thinks the disappearance of actual paper books is inevitable but I don't believe that. Paper is easy to produce, easy to recycle and most people like the tactile feel of books. So paper may disappear but it's not inevitable imho. Paper Books are certainly here for a long time to come.

unalone 18y ago
Paper books are to ebooks like the theatre is to cinema. Cinema is more storable, purer, more controllable. It's more permanent in the sense that it lasts in different form. That said, there's an art to theatre that can't be replicated on-screen, and because of those arts, and because of the incredible history of theatre, it won't ever go away. It might not be constantly in the spotlight, but it'll always be there. Similarly, paper books won't disappear. I'll be able to hold on to my Little Nemo and Krazy Kat and Series of Unfortunate Events and my kids will be able to have that same thrill of opening a new book for the first time. Maybe they'll read more ebooks than they'll read books, but the books will always be there.