Archive for December, 2009
Ode to the Book
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Inspired by the Kindle — buy it on Amazon today! But they’re apparently a very popular item, so order fast!
Is the book dead?
Will we all soon be using Kindles instead?
I know this is shameless product placement
But I’m in need of income replacement
(Unfortunately, that’s a problem widespread).
There are some things Kindles lack,
But they certainly are much more compact.
Though it may seem outrageous,
One Kindle can hold 1500 books (~300K pages),
And that’s a pretty big stack.
Kindles also have an environmental benefit
Since they the cutting down of trees omit.
You also don’t have to truck the books around
All over town,
You just download them off the internet.
Of course, Kindles use electric power
(Just a few watts per hour).
That causes pollution,
So a better solution
Would be to make Kindles that run on solar power.
I used to read books on my old Palm Pilot.
It broke and I was going to get a new one, but never got around to buy it.
Instead I switched to a smart phone
And in that I’m probably not alone—
There are many things on which I rely it.
My guess is devices like that are the Kindle’s competition,
So if you’re making a decision
On whether to buy a Kindle (it’s still a fairly high price)
Or a multi-function device,
I personally don’t have a strong position.
Kindle does have an advantage over smart phones
(Like the iPhone and other similar clones):
The Kindle holds a charge for a week and has a bigger screen,
And the battery lasts longer than a cellphone, which makes it more green.
(Then again, a cellphone is something that everyone already owns.)
But there’s still something about a good book—
The feel, the smell, the look.
I’d hate to see that go away
If the book disappears some day,
And the electronic word the printed one overtook.
I know the publishing industry’s vexed
And about the road forward uncertain and perplexed.
Maybe the Kindle
Will help them avoid further revenue dwindle
(After all, it would let them put ads in the text).
I know this wasn’t a very good advertisement,
But I didn’t want my views to misrepresent.
If you buy a Kindle anyway
Please buy from our store today
So I can still get my 4 percent.
Tags: Books, Electronics, environmental protection
Posted in Just for fun | No Comments »