Do Printed books and newspapers have a future?
As I was turning the pages of my daily newspaper this morning I pondered on how much longer newspapers and printed books will be around?
Our local newspaper seems to be becoming more advertising and less news. I don't know how others find theirs. I find myself having to plod through full page ads to find any real stories.
I for one love to have a book in my hands, a great feeling to turn those pages and dig into the subject. I can remember when my mother took me to the children's library I was in reader's heaven. Books have always been an important part of my life.
What do others think, can the electronic book and news give the same feeling? I hear many seniors say they love the feel of a book and to have their local paper delivered. What do others think??
You are spot on Seth - especially a delight in the winter months - in a cosy room a good book is as good as a holiday.
I used to read a couple of books a week and now its a couple a year . Not sure why I lost the passion . I read the scandanavian book The tattooed dragon ? a while back and enjoyed that on an iPad . I have catch22 on the tablet as well but haven,t got around to reading it . First read it when a teenager and thought I would like to revisit the book . Newspaper in general have lost cred as serious media and are glorified sports and rumour rags rather than informative newspapers . With that format tablets and mobiles will replace paper except for people like me who struggle to read a phone without glasses .
Geomac Something a little sad about the demise of the printed word. I have not got Ipads, smart phone etc. If it is not on my laptop I resort it is back to books for me. We see changes, but books have served mankind well since their inception, I personally feel a little sad at the loss of the major bookshops in my city anyway.
Taskid
I don,t have a smart phone either and my mobile cost 40 bucks . No bells or whistles but it does what I bought it for and thats make calls away from home . With my pre paid arrangement a 30 dollar recharge lasts me for many months .
Geomac Sounds like a great deal. My mobile is ancient by today's standards, 6 years old. I pay $9 a month and higher call rates as I hardly use it.
Seggie. I read at least two books a week. Sometimes I have four on the go all at once. I'd like to ask you all. How do you feel when folk you've spoken to on a landline for many years, change to just a mobile? No way I can afford to use a mobile, other than emergencies. Does it mean they just don't want to talk to anyone in future? It has made me feel quite deflated or maybe a wee bit sad. Maybe Davey will have the answer and tell me I'm a bore?
Seggie I am much the same, three on the go just now. Like you phoning mobiles is something I only do when absolutely necessary. One of the great things about having NBN is the phone I have with it, cheap and can make calls nationally for free. My mobile is for emergencies or when the power or net goes down and the net phone is not working. The way people are on them constantly makes me wonder if it is not a sort of addiction??
I read maybe 4 books a week nearly always Library books could not afford to buy them, now the interesting thing is I do have an e reader and can download from the Library for free too, but I find I get through a book on that much, much slower than on a real book. So I have gone back to real books and keep the e reader type for when waiting for appointments traveling etc as it is easier to carry.
I do read Newspapers on line tho'.
Vivity it is much easier to speed read with one finger on a page, much harder on anything else.
I used to read Library books but so many of them smelt strongly of cigarette smoke to which I am allergic so I now mainly pick books up at markets op- shops, cheap online sites, or swap with friends. I have thought about an e-reader but not sure if I would like it or not.
Seggie sorry your question about mobiles yes like you I find it infuriating when some one only uses mobiles no land line. My sister announced she was fed up with paying for a land line when she had a mobile to be contacted on and if she needed to make calls out she did it from work and it cost her nothing. My point to her might cost her nothing but would cost me a lot more having to phone a mobile. Most of her friends took the same view and she went back to a landline especially when she realized she could not get get cheap Internet without it.
If I had the NBN I would no lomger need my landline as its my source for ADSL . Skype is the answer for phone calls and mobile for outside etc . I,ve used Skype on my ipad and it worked well but felt weird having the tablet on my lap rather than the experience of a phone to my ear .
Geomac I have only used Skype a very few times on my IPad can you phone an ordinary line with it, does it cost you anything and what is the reception like?
Geomac Skype is great, I only use the free one to have video calls to friends overseas, but I love it. Vivity you can call landlines and mobiles, there is a cost, but it is not huge.
You can also purchase handsets to use with Skype if I remember correctly.
Vivity
I,ve used Skype to make normal calls to a landline and it was cheap . From memory I bought credit of 15 dollars , the minimum . My mate said it sounded ok but different from his end .I think Skype is free if calls are made between fellow Skype users .
Taskid you should be able to set your pre paid type of service to get the same as I get . I think I pay a few cents more per call , not sure . AS I make very few calls on the mobile it suits me to have a lomg period before credit runs out . I,m with Telstra on the mobile .
Another thing I dislike with people using mobiles is texting everything when it would be much easier to just place a call and sort out in one go re arrangements instead of 4 text messages, and as I don't have my mobile glued to me I miss the texts coming in any way and then you get "didn't you get my text" when they finally decide to phone.
vivity Me too, I just missed a dental appointment because they sent it through on my mobile, I hardly ever turn it on. :0( Now I will probably have to wait months to get another.
Vivity, I find that I have just not joined the texting revolution. When I receive one, I usually dont have my glasses handy and often delete them while I am fandangling around trying to open it. Like you, I have an ereader but rarely use it.....even when travelling, I find that I enjoy a real book so much better.
We've had the paper delivered ev'ry day for years now and I read the interstate papers online, used to read lots of books until I got the internet and have downloaded a couple but much prefer to read the book as I spend too much time on pc anyway and I find the book more relaxing. Our landline's bundled with the i/net so costs virtually nothing as calls are included and our mobiles are free to call each other and include $180 value but we've never come close to using it, about the only time I use mine is at the shopping mall to find hubby if he's wondered off somewhere LOL
Seggie. I have repeatedly asked people not to text me but unfortunately dental, optical and clinics still do. Another little thing that irks me sometimes is when one is asked out for morning/afternoon tea or lunch and most of the time, I sit there when they are on their mobiles, texting away. I consider it quite rude to be honest but I guess that's my age. Maybe once is enough but for half an hour, no, too much for me. No wonder I prefer a book. Sad.
When asked for my mobile number I just say I don,t know it as I use it for making calls not receiving them . If they don,t have your mobile number , clinics etc , they cannot text you .
seggie don't you know, that at a certain age you become invisible to other people. They simply forget you are there. not on purpose of course.
Seggie, you and I are probably just turning into our own grandparents. Time and technology is passing us by. We cant impose our values on the young, but that doesnt mean that they can impose their values on us.
If anyone wants to get a message to me, they can phone or email - those are technologies I can relate to. I rarely get "snail mail" these days and when I do, its invariable bills. We will never go back to "snail mail" (in my opinion), just as we have never gone back to carrier pigeons or the pony express.
I am fully aware that the newspaper sales have dropped, but I question as to whether they will disappear. I can't give a source, but I read an amazing report 10 or more years ago, which listed the reasons that people buy newspapers. The reason that it has stuck in my mind is because it was so unexpected. No 1 The crosswords, No 2 the comics, No3 The sports then the news. Just a little tongue in cheek, I might add that if our public transport was a little better, the paper sales might drop more. I have not noted many people doing the crossword or reading the sport results in any other Country that I have visited.
I stopped reading the Hun and swapped to the Age for better articles but also the crosswords , plain and cryptic . The Hun caters very well for sports and comics which is the basis for its good sales in these troubled times for media . Not sure but I don,t think the Australian has ever turned a profit . It certainly has been a loss maker for many years .
The first thing I do is read the front page, then to the comics, Ernie' then anything worth reading and later with a coffee, do the crosswords, love the cryptics as you have to think out of the square.
I like the new Age format but it seems a cheaper quality of paper.
I must admit these days I only get the paper delivered at the weekends. I may buy one during the week, but half the time it seems a waste of money for me.
This typical of a Texter, arranged to meet her in cinema foyer waited 1/4 an hour then got my phone out to see a text from her saying in coffee shop, if she had phoned me I could have got a coffee with her too. I think Texters are obsessed with Texting and it is very rude.
I buy them at weekend or during week but stopped deliveries years ago, they a) ended up under bushes or b) someone walking by got them before I did, c) shop bought ones are flat and don't need a fight to get the Gladwrap off!
vivity I know the feeling with the delivered ones - to find that little piece which unravels the Gladwrap................!!!!
I think there is nothing like a good book, where your imagination can take you anywhere you wish to go in the story, just turning a page to follow a story can be a delight. A good book, a comfortable chair, and a nice drink. wonderful.