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The article cites a number of reasons why this could be the case. I would also like to throw in DRM & proprietary formats. First, you are using something like

The article cites a number of reasons why this could be the case. I would also like to throw in DRM & proprietary formats. First, you are using something like a Kindle you are licensing content. If Amazon goes away, I wouldn't be surprised if your content does too. That would make me nervous if I was heavily invested in some ecosystem. But another interesting theory, not mentioned in the article, is that there may be a difference in reading speed and comprehension between paper and screens (although I have seen conflicting data on this). http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=reading-paper-screens http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=reading-pap... One fascinating idea from this article is that "As far as our brains are concerned, however, text is a tangible part of the physical world we inhabit." Personally, I comprehend information much better when its in some format like PDF which is not re-flowable. But most books these days, available from Amazon or Apple, do not meet that description. Maybe I'm an odd one, but my ideal reading device would probably be some 13" tablet that could display a whole PDF page at a time.

kabdib 13y ago
> [if] you are using something like a Kindle you are licensing content. If Amazon goes away, I wouldn't be surprised if your content does too. I break DRM on all the Kindle content I buy. If I couldn't break the DRM, I wouldn't buy it. I also try to support non-DRM books by buying them preferentially. Baen books, for instance. There are other non-DRM publishers. And no, I do /not/ share. I have a Kindle DX for reading papers (e.g., from the ACM). I haven't tried reading conference papers on a tablet (e.g., iPad) mainly because I don't have one, and while I wonder if the experience is better, I like the fact that the Kindles don't have to be recharged every day. The fact that I can go a week or more without recharging makes them a lot more book-like to me.
- AsymetricCom 13y ago
  Some Kindle titles have disabled DRM. its an option the author can set. obviously, few choose to do so. I imagine Cory Doctorow does.
  - mkr-hn 13y ago
    You can't disable DRM in KDP if you upload a book with it enabled, so authors can't change their mind later.

kabdib 13y ago

> [if] you are using something like a Kindle you are licensing content. If Amazon goes away, I wouldn't be surprised if your content does too. I break DRM on all the Kindle content I buy. If I couldn't break the DRM, I wouldn't buy it. I also try to support non-DRM books by buying them preferentially. Baen books, for instance. There are other non-DRM publishers. And no, I do /not/ share. I have a Kindle DX for reading papers (e.g., from the ACM). I haven't tried reading conference papers on a tablet (e.g., iPad) mainly because I don't have one, and while I wonder if the experience is better, I like the fact that the Kindles don't have to be recharged every day. The fact that I can go a week or more without recharging makes them a lot more book-like to me.

AsymetricCom 13y ago
Some Kindle titles have disabled DRM. its an option the author can set. obviously, few choose to do so. I imagine Cory Doctorow does.
- mkr-hn 13y ago
  You can't disable DRM in KDP if you upload a book with it enabled, so authors can't change their mind later.