Re: Out-of-print math books: An Update

Angus Rodgers <twirlip@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Bart Goddard <goddardbe@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Ben Pfaff <blp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
herbzet <herbzet@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
Bill Dubuque wrote:
So, seriously, why do you prefer paper media,
which lack all these capabilities and many more?

1) Don't need batteries.
2) Won't break if dropped.
3) Recognizable from their cover.
4) Like the smell.

5) Much more convenient for reading in bed.
6) Don't take up valuable on-screen real estate.

7) Can snap shut with satisfying "whump" when idiot
won't quit interrupting you while you're trying to read.

8) Can "whump" idiot's head solidly when he doesn't get
the hint above.

9) Can read on airplane during take-off and landing
(unless idiot insists on talking to you.)

10) Often the mere sight of a _book_ will drive idiots off.
(It messes with their Ipods or something.)

11) Devoid of "OMG" and "UR" and other such idiot-speak.

12) I like leather.

13) There is space in the margins to write "I have a marvellous
proof of this theorem", and other useful annotations (in pencil,
of course).

Of the above 13, that seems to be the only (semi)serious one.
However, almost all modern ebook reader software supports
annotations. Moreover, you can share annotations with others
(e.g. ebooks could link to Wiki's where readers leave hints
for proofs, literature references, etc). Corrections can
be automagically "pushed" to your copy of the book. Texts
can be dynamically constructed based on your background and
goals (e.g. pure vs. applied math; examples can be tailored
to your intended applications; optimal paths chosen, etc).

I think many of the critics of ebooks don't realize the true
potential of the technology. Once one breaks away from the
static linear-structure of paper texts, the possibilities are
endless. The software technology for such has been around for
a long time. The impediment has been the cost of the hardware
(primarily the display). Sometime in the next few years I
suspect that one should be able to buy a good quality ebook
reader for under $100.

--Bill Dubuque
.

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