Reading computer screen is easy than reading books

[mike alexander]

Books smell good. Especially older ones, with slightly oxidized pages. There is no finer smell than the one you can find walking down the stacks in a good library, or carefully turning the slightly brittle pages of a 1952 Galaxy magazine.

A book can give you the scent of history; a computer smells like ozone.

[ggremlin]

I prefer paper over electronic for several reasons. Paper is easier to use in an emergency. In my line of work, you have to lay your hands on documention, paper will always work.

Personally, I like the ablitiy to just take a book with me, no battery to run out, no power converter to carry along and no licensing fees to worry about. Now if the plane will just stay in the air I'll be fine.

[Fram]

Books. Computers are for interaction. I prefer a computer encyclopedia to a paper one (hyperlinks and so on), but I prefer a novel on paper to a novel on screen. They just have more charm, have a history (many of my books are secondhand), can be signed (especially interesting for comics, as a drawing is nicer than just a signature), ... Of course, they are much more bulky, but I prefer having a wall full of spines to some non-descript CD's or whatever storage medium you prefer.

[Gillianren]

Only one wall? Amateur!

[Champion_Munch]

The only annoying thing about books is they have no 'search' funtion.

with regards

[NEOWatcher]

The only annoying thing about books is they have no 'search' funtion.

with regards

A well written and organized book with a good TOC and index does not need a search function.
Unfortunately, that art is fading.

Fram has a good point: It depends on if you are reading (sequential) or interactive (random).

[mickal555]

I prefer books... It's probobly manly a body comfort thing though, it's hard to get comfortable with even a laptop... and I hate reading one when tired or semidark.

[Fram]

Only one wall? Amateur!

That depends on the wall of course...

[uniqueuponhim]

Almost always, when I have to read a journal article, or something else that I can only access from my computer, I'll print it off and read that. It's just so much easier to be able to mark up the pages, and flip through them to find what you need easily.

[Gillianren]

The only annoying thing about books is they have no 'search' funtion.

That's what your memory/the book's index is for.

Now, of course, quite a lot of the books I read don't have indices. Because, you know, they're fiction. But I'm pretty good about remembering where, approximately, in the book the bit I'm looking for is.

[HenrikOlsen]

Add me to those who can't bear to see a book's spine broken--but I'm not as twitchy about it as my neighbor, the librarian. I always half-expect her to snatch the book out of the person's hands, hit them, and start lecturing. (She's right; it does make the pages fall out faster.)

Unless it's a hand bound, flexible or recess cord sewn book, then you can try to break all you want, the pages won't fall out.
On the other hand, it's exactly such a book noone would treat that way.

[HenrikOlsen]

Only one wall? Amateur!

I have shelves on all walls, plus a shelf sticking out in the middle of the room because I don't have enough wall for all the books.

[Parrothead]

I find reading a book, to be easier on the eyes, in the long run. Online I've only read some extremely long articles, which I found hard enough. I do admit it was interesting reading a short story and two written scripts from said story on the tv screen (part of extras on a DVD). The larger screen made those readings easier, though.

[Champion_Munch]

That's what your memory/the book's index is for.

Now, of course, quite a lot of the books I read don't have indices. Because, you know, they're fiction. But I'm pretty good about remembering where, approximately, in the book the bit I'm looking for is.

Unfortunately I have a terrible memory. And it's not just books, also articles and magazines when I'm looking back over them days, weeks or months after initially reading them.

with regards

[ToSeek]

Only one wall? Amateur!

The only rooms in our house that don't have at least one bookcase full of books are the bathroom and the kitchen. And I'm not saying there aren't books there, too, just not an entire bookcase's worth.

[turbo-1]

I used to spend tons of money on books (and have the books to prove it), but now that I have a fast DSL connection, I rarely buy them any more.It helps that I bought a wide-profile 20" LCD monitor and a video card with enough horsepower to run it at very high resolution - much easier on the eyes than my old CRT.

[Pleiades]

On the other hand, I have too many books, and have redone the shelving several times. I get tired of trying to find storage for them all and won't sell or give them away. While I prefer paper for technical books, I would be happy if I could get all novels in electronic format assuming that (a) there was no DRM, (b) it was in an open format (or preferably, available in multiple formats) that would be likely to be supported well into the future and (c) available at a reasonable cost (I'm not going to pay hardback prices). There is a bit of that available now, but not enough.

There's the Project Gutenberg, I've started an electronic collection, if only there was an acceptable electronic reader. My pda is too small; my laptop to big. Its the 3 Bears syndrome (maybe that's Goldilocks), I'm wating for something just right.

[suntrack2]

Forget our age and jump on the books for reading habits, " there is a specific definition about "confidence reading" not applied to our members because they are quite confident about reading. Here is just a discussion about the reading habits, electronic vs. book reading, I am not saying that your" confidence" is less or few, but here I am trying to collect the remarks like "bookmarks", Now R.A.F has receive the answer what I am saying about.

Here I have found some sites:

http://www.economist.com/business/gl...ory_id=3596792

http://www.winktv.com/x10299.xml

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/102-...g%20confidence

http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...n&ct=clnk&cd=4

The building of reading confidence is much necessary as far as book reading is concern, and the computer screen reading is for "the timebeing", this is not permanent in our mind, the impact of book reading gives more positive results as compare the screen reading.

Sunil

[mugaliens]

I actually find on-screen reading to be quite comfortable. Only with an LCD screen though. I can't wait for this new generation of electronic books.

Interesting. Even with my ultra-high-res, top-dollar LCS screen at work, I still get letters than are a bit less than even-edged. With my 21" CRT monitor at home, though, even small characters are very smooth, with not even a hint of visible jaggedness.

[aurora]

Thanks to AVANTGO, I read news on my PDA now. I download it in the morning, and read it when I get a chance. The PDA is so easy to carry.

Before that, I always preferred to read stuff on paper. But for some reason I find the PDA much preferable to my big computer screen. Maybe because I can hold it in my hand and move it easily to where I can see it best.

[suntrack2]

aurora, I don't like pda format, infact pda is timetaking, but as you said that pda reading is interesting than the html this may be a another research area that which format is the best one. both are not that bad.

[aurora]

Umm, PDA = personal digital assistant, like a Palm device. Like these: http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/

I think you are referring to pdf, which is Adobe Acrobat format.

I was talking about a PDA, not pdf.

Here is Avantgo, which I use to read the news: http://www.avantgo.com/frontdoor/index.html

And here is Mobipocket, which is what my spouse prefers to read the news: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/HomePage/default.asp

[suntrack2]

oops I have mis read the screen, I have just read first two only P & D, infact I was in hurry at that time. In hurry we cannot eighter read screen or book properly, because the content may be not understandable.

as you are talking about the handy instruments to read out that's nice, but I have seen books of the size of the "match box", and the people were easily reading that books with the magnifying glass in the train.

sunil

[mickal555]

My computer hooked up to my CRT Tv is impossible to read on the TV screen, it's OK for watching video's though.