The Kindle - Why?

[Rare Bird]

''Daddy what are those strange paper things on you shelf''? Their books son, cum here sit on the sofa & watch this old film called 'Fahrenheit 451' i have i think you'll like it (thats if i can put my finger on it, gimmi ten mins i cant just click on a mouse & find it like you young uns), theirs lots of those funny paper things on fire you know. ''Daddy, don't you have some really funny things, video tapes! Reel To Reels! Vinyl Records! & now Books! what ever next''? Don't worry son their this old sayin' ''What goes around, comes around'' in most cases anywayz

[Clive]

Hopefully this won't happen....but imagine the chaos with nuclear EMP. If we have power those of us with vinyl, valves and books will be ok until the radiation gets us.

[The Black Adder]

well.. maybe the hardcore bookworm masses will rise and have a mass Kindle burning in the future

[Marco]

''Daddy what are those strange paper things on you shelf''? Their books son, cum here sit on the sofa & watch this old film called 'Fahrenheit 451' i have i think you'll like it (thats if i can put my finger on it, gimmi ten mins i cant just click on a mouse & find it like you young uns), theirs lots of those funny paper things on fire you know. ''Daddy, don't you have some really funny things, video tapes! Reel To Reels! Vinyl Records! & now Books! what ever next''? Don't worry son their this old sayin' ''What goes around, comes around'' in most cases anywayz

Lol - I like it

Marco.

[Marco]

Would anyone like to have a go at answering the question I posed:

Is our obsession with new technology dehumanising our society?

Dehumanise: to make somebody less human by taking away his or her individuality, the creative and interesting aspects of his or her personality, or his or her compassion and sensitivity towards others.

I'm curious to know what people think - perhaps this deserves a separate thread of its own?

Marco.

[Spectral Morn]

you can get books for pennies at charity shops, or free from the library as long as you take them back. Books never need charging and don't break when you drop them either.

+1

Kindles the spawn of the devil......

Books are tactile, sensual, an experience that both tantalizes the visual and olfactory senses; as well as the mind. What is this madness of paying money to own nothing, both music and now books....a fool and their money are easy parted, at least in the past you got something for your money now its........virtual

The joy and thrill and delight a customer got earlier in the book shop I work in seeing and handling a Book of Hours from 1390....something a bloody kindle can never do.

For the international traveler who never settles in one place and loves to read great, anyone else......buy a book or two and stop being bloody lazy and easily lead....

I hear some people these days referring to Books as 'Kindle back ups'....

Regards D S D L

[Welder]

Like Marco, I have reservations about this seemingly endless influx of convenience technology into our lives.
I’m not particularly concerned with the “de-humanising” aspect of it, probably because I’m not sure exactly what this means in this case. But the endless consumption of short life products to bolster an economy whose success and prosperity is based around limitless growth just seems foolhardy to me.

Social participation through electronic media would at first glance seem to have some great benefits. Just as an example, it must be great for those who have mobility or health problems. Yes, its great to have access to “news” and images from around the world but more often than not its information that while interesting doesn’t have a direct bearing on our lives and concerns events we have no control over while local issues which perhaps we could influence seem trivial by comparison and less worthy of our attention.

I personally won’t be mourning the demise of the high street shopping experience mainly because I can think of more worthwhile things to do with my time than spend money on stuff. I’m not big on consumerism.

I’m going to stick with my books of which I have quite a few. The kindle may be great in that it offers easy access to literature but why do I have this sneaking suspicion that it won’t encourage people to read any more than they did.

I’ll get my reactionary old bastards sticker on the way out thank you

[Spectral Morn]

I can completely understand the reasons for owning one of these Kindles, which Brian, amongst others have highlighted. And if it is of major benefit to your family and you, and you can afford one, then why indeed not have one.

However, I do think that we should also look at the bigger picture and examine what impact our seemingly insatiable desire for convenience these days is having on traditional (small) businesses, and those whose livelihoods are reliant on them, and indeed the impact that this is having on society as a whole.

Brian said:



Yes, I agree. However, and please don't take this the wrong way, mate, but have you also considered what cumulative impact one's lifestyle decisions have on others, and whether the (arguably) selfish desire for convenience and looking after what's best for ourselves, is good for society as a whole and the healthy development of our future generations?

Or does no-one care about that now, and it's simply a case of shrugging one's shoulders and shunning any responsibility for our lifestyle decisions, on the premise that we won't be around to witness what happens with our planet once we're no longer alive, and in the meantime going around blindly doing what's best for ourselves, leaving others to worry about what happens with the impact of that in future, perhaps when it's then too late to fix things??

We've already discussed elsewhere the hugely detrimental impact on-line buying has had on independent record stores, with 100s of them being forced to close their doors, not to mention the similar impact out of town supermarkets and retail parks have had on many town centres, turning them into ghost towns.

Is that what people want to happen too with our independent book shops and retail stores?

Do people no longer value living in a proper community, where real people do shopping inside real shops, or are we happy to live in a society where town centres and a retail environment is a thing of the past, and we're all cocooned inside our homes, glued to our computers like zombies, or walking around the place with an iPod, iPad, iPhone, and Kindle, and good knows what else strapped to us, living in our own little virtual world, oblivious to our surroundings and interacting with no-one around us, as a result of being completely dehumanised by technology?

Don't get me wrong, modern technology, when used in the right way, is a marvellous thing, but the key is for US not to be a slave to it, but rather IT be a slave to US. At the moment I believe that, in general, there is a gross imbalance, mostly because of peer pressure and the superficial and selfish desire to own the latest 'must have'.

I'm afraid that I worry about what society as a whole is slowly becoming by allowing technology (and its associated gadgetry) to be an all-encompassing part of people's lives, and fear for the consequences. What sort of world are we building for our future generations?

Marco.

Agree 100% with the above.


Regards D S D L

[synsei]

I love reading books and always have a big pile of them on my bedside table.

I can't quite make up my mind about the kindle. It seems to be convenient but lacks a certain something over a real book. This of course may change over time but at the moment I would still opt for the real thing.

When traveling to work I often listen to audio books on my iPhone. Spike Milligan reads his own books and its chuffing hilarious...

I felt exactly the same way Dave until I received a Kindle as a gift last Christmas. I own over 3000 science fiction and fantasy books, as well as several hundred from other genres, mainly political thrillers, and it is becoming very difficult to find room for them all. I am a prolific reader and can steam through an average length novel in a couple of days if it's a good 'un which meant I was buying 2 or 3 novels a week.

The Kindle has solved this problem entirely and despite my initial misgivings about it not feeling like a book, I've found I actually prefer reading from the Kindle these days. Ok, so I'm missing some wonderful cover artwork but hey, the Kindle is more than a convenience for me, it is a necessity, especially as my failing health precludes me from browsing in book stores these days.

As for independent book stores, what I'm finding is that the more switched on proprietors are moving their stores onto the web, thus reducing their overheads and allowing them to stay in business. I'm sorry guys but this is the 21st century and people have to move with the times or be left behind...

[Marco]

Hi John,

I’m not particularly concerned with the “de-humanising” aspect of it, probably because I’m not sure exactly what this means in this case.

It's explained in this paragraph, from my earlier post, particularly by the bits in bold (also see the dictionary definition I quoted earlier):

Do people no longer value living in a proper community, where real people do shopping inside real shops, or are we happy to live in a society where town centres and a retail environment is a thing of the past, and we're all cocooned inside our homes, glued to our computers like zombies, or walking around the place with an iPod, iPad, iPhone, and Kindle, and goodness knows what else strapped to us, living in our own little virtual world, oblivious to our surroundings and interacting with no-one around us, as a result of being dehumanised by new technology?

Basically, is all the 'stuff' we seem to insist on as forming a vital part of our lives these days stopping us from behaving like human beings and using the skills we were born with, in terms of communicating with our fellow human beings, and if so, is this having a detrimental impact on communities and society as a whole?

Your thoughts please (and indeed anyone else's)?

Marco.