Sony E-books (Source: Google)Due to the rapid growth rate of technology, there is an alternative way to reads books which is through online, unlike the conventional mode. E-books has quickly becoming a significant alternative to print books, whereby its present is not to replace print books but to provide readers another options to read books as majority of people have access to the internet and using the internet has become a daily routine (Stout 2008). E-books which are known as electronic books, it can be read in personal computer, PDA and e-books related devices or software, whereby it will be a whole new experience for readers, especially those which get used reading in the conventional method. Since the emergence of e-books, many readers are able to get hold of benefit out of it, as many e-book publishers began selling books which readers cannot get in the market or simply old and hard-to-find and also books which were not accepted by the government (Aalbc 2007).
"…more than half of all book titles will be sold electronically within the next 15 years."
Dick Brass, Vice President of Technology Development at Microsoft
Differences between print books and ebooks
E-books, easily downloaded to computer (Source:Google) - Purchased online, able to get instantaneous delivery which able to save time and save money spent on book delivery fee.
- Takes up lesser physical space unlike print books which need a bookshelf to place it, due to its size and attribute (Stout 2008).
- Portable, may carry as many books without worrying the weight of books.
- Provide hypertexts, indexes, relevant links for easy access to more information and related websites, so that readers are able to search the specific text easily.
- It gives readers a variety of information by clicking the hypertext and subheading, in which it encourage scanning and skipping to ease readers by giving them more options in reading (Kress & Van Leeuwen, p.187 ).
- Print books are designed in a linear form, where readers have to read in sequence by flipping page by page and they will have restricted reading path, as skipping is a form of cheating (Kress & Van Leeuwen, p.189).
- E-books is searchable and particular quote or key word can be search within seconds, unlike the conventional way which required readers to turn page after page.
- Moreover, e-books can be interactive and contain audio, video and animations, which can enhance the message that the author is trying to convey, as it is consider reading a multimodal texts which is a different process from reading print books.
- By having all these interactive tools, readers do not need to imagine the plot and the reading process turns out to be a fun-learning process (Walsh 2006, p.26).
- Able to reduce environmental waste, whereby we can save trees and reduce pollution from delivery trunks, as no trees are required to manufacture paper for the books (Educause 2006).
Print books, the conventional way of reading (Source: Google)
Drawbacks of E-books
- Screen resolution is still much below compare to print books.
- Prices of reading devices and eTexts are expensive which is around US Dollar $299, in which some people cannot afford (Gemstar 2008).
- Copyright issues still need to clarified and simplified (Aalbc 2007).
- E-book devices require a power source (Drscabanaugh 2008).
- Unfamiliar and new, many people reluctant to use as they are comfortable reading in the conventional way.
Romance e-books website, now everyone can purchase books online instanstaneously (Source:Google)
Therefore, several issues regarding e-books need to be look into, especially copyright issue in which it is significant as it is a legal concept, giving the author exclusive rights towards its masterpiece.Despite their lack of popularity, e-books have the potential to radically change, in a positive way, by the way we read, disseminate information, and even define our culture.
Reference List
Aalbc.com 2007, All about E-books, viewed 5th June 2008,
<http://aalbc.com/writers/ebooks/Allaboutebooks.htm#All%20About>
Drscabanaugh, E-books in higher education, viewed 7th June 2008,
<http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/ebookhe.htm>
Educause 2006, 7 things you should know about E-Books, viewed 4th June 2008,
<http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7020.pdf>
Gemstar, Prices of E-books, viewed at 6th June 2008,
<http://www.ebook-gemstar.com/>
Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. 1998. “Front pages: The critical analysis of newspaper layout”, Approaches to media discourse, Ch. 7, pp. 186-219.
Sasson, R 2008, The benefit and advantages of e-books, SuccessConsciousness, viewed 7th June 2008,
<http://www.successconsciousness.com/ebooks_benefits.htm>
Stout, R 2008, What are the benefit of e-books?, Helium, viewed at 5th June 2008,
<http://www.helium.com/items/618215-what-are-the-benefits-of-ebooks>
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