Books will be obsolete

[kengillam]

My local libarry is closing for three months so they can fix the roof! Three months, I would have though they could build the complete place in that time, it's only a glass and panel construction.

[damian_steele]

How much are new downloads, i.e. latest novel etc. I heard about $10 a pop??

Books which are out of copyright can be downloaded from many sites for free.
New books and books which are still within copyright will often be available from just a few pennies. Prices vary depending on the author, publisher and website.
Those larger companies who are developing readers and who also sell the content tend to charge a lot more than those who just supply content. They also tend to supply books in their own proprietary format which is difficult to convert for use with other reader devices.

[canuckbid]

Funny how the thread got changed from ebooks to libraries. I'm all for them also. Yes it only costs you if you are late in returning books. They will always remain I'm sure. About the trees. It's a well known fact that alot of trees have disappeared from Europe. Some countries are managing their resorces better now. Many come to our country to get our raw resources. I'ld like to see our forests saved. What we need in Canada is more secondary manufactoring of our raw resources instead of exporting them all. I want to see our jobs stay but in a different form. For the batteries, do they not sell solar powered over there? I have a solar powered calculator that has worked for years. A few minutes under any light and it's ready to go. As long as the sun is hanging up there, it's free power.

edit: I should have worded the thread post a little different.
The use of paper books will be slowly replaced by ebooks.
We have to change the way we use the earth's resources. We have already destroyed way too much. The people to follow us deserve better. People gave their lives in the past so we could be free. Let's be smart and enhance our planet instead of ruining it.

[Teddyrose54]

Sun and UK don't really go together~

[canuckbid]

lol My calculator charges under a light bulb also. If you are using all that power over there, then make it multi-task.

[Teddyrose54]

But the light bulb is useing energy~

[canuckbid]

There is a woman getting rich with her new "green friendly" lighbulbs. They use a lot less power. A google search should bring it up.

[bluefincircle]

I don't think that paper books have had their day. In the local library I see people of all ages checking out books, dvds and other stuff. One of the local bookshops has closed but others still have a good, mixed-age clientele. Have just come back from a book launch - plenty of readers there too.

I have to download/access a lot of information from the net and it is a great resource but for technical stuff or a comfortable read there's no substitute for the real thing.