when to use paper book and when ebook?

[ckide]

when to use paper book and when ebook?
and which you prefer and when?

[Ancient Dragon]

I prefer ebook because I can change the font size to whatever I like, because ebooks aren't as heavy as paper books, and because people don't chop down any trees to create ebooks.

[JamesCherrill]

^ +1 to all those, plus they are more likely to be up-to-date

Used to love paper books because the screen glare would just hurt my eyes. With the kindle however, you it is just like reading normally, the battery life last for ages and you can download the book immediately without having to wait for it to arrive in the post.

Why is this posted in the java forum though mods?

[JamesCherrill]

ckide seems to work in C++ and Java, so either forum would be a reasonable place to ask. It's certainly NOT an error that would justify any moderator action.

[Reverend Jim]

I like to have a mix. I like the adjustable fonts of an ebook reader but I need a paperback when I want to read in the hot tub. I don't have a dedicated ebook reader like Kindle or Nook. I just use Calibre on my laptop.

[Ancient Dragon]

I don't think you want to use a Kindle in a hot tub:) A little like using a hair drying in one. Not very smart thing to do.

either forum would be a reasonable place to ask

Not really -- the question is not related to compute languages.

[ckide]

when we study things we forget it and have to review it again, mybe paper is better here?

[Ancient Dragon]

Maybe paper is better if you are in a place where there is no electricity, such as in a small boat in the middle of the ocean. Kindles need electricity to recharge the batteries.

[jwenting]

depends on how long you'll be on that boat :)
And it's a conundrum. If you're going to be there long you're going to need many books but won't have room to stash them because it's needed for food.
Solar charger for the Kindle might be a better option...

Of course you can use the books for toilet paper, not so easy with a Kindle I've been told.

[JasonHippy]

Personally, I like a mixture of the two.

At home I like good old-fashioned paper books. I have my own little geek library, which I use for reference/general study and entertainment... Yes, that's right. I said entertainment! There is some fiction in there, it's not all technical manuals! Heh heh!

I also have a library of ebooks backed-up on one of my removable HDs at home. I have a USB stick loaded with the ebooks I use most often, giving me quick and easy access to them on any PC I use (work, home, friends etc).

And then there's my trusty old Sony e-reader - which I love when I am on the move. With it I can carry an entire library. All of the information, but absolutely none of the weight! Great for travelling/holidays. Also great to keep in my laptop-case when out and about for work too. If I need to refer to something quickly, without having to fire up my laptop; I can whip out my e-reader and quickly check out whatever I need to!

However, there are some things that annoy me about ebooks.
One thing (on e-readers and PCs) is the render time when changing pages. You press/click a button, or scroll down and sometimes you have to wait for what seems like an eternity for the content to display.
That can waste a fair bit of time sometimes, especially if you are trying to skip several pages at a time! (I've noticed this tends to happen with ebooks that contain a lot of images)

Whereas with a book, you simply turn as many pages as you want and the information is instantly there! The refresh time only depends on the acuity of your vision! Heh heh.

Also with some ebooks, it annoys me when the page numbers aren't correct. This usually happens when the hard-copy of the book has several unnumbered pages of front-matter before page 1 of the content (blank pages, publisher information, about this book, about the author, about the technical reviewers, chapter-index etc.). So when you want to find a particular page of the ebook edition, you have to work out the 'page offset' in order to work out which page of the ebook you actually have to go to in order to find the content you are looking for.

So page 1 of the ebook is the front-cover, but the page listed as page 1 in the index actually occurs at page 12 of the ebook. So then, when you go back to the index to look for chapter 3, you see that it begins at page 89; So you add the offset of 12 pages and end up going to page 101 in the ebook to get to the page you actually want... That gets on my tits too! There's none of that messing about with a real book. No mental arithmetic involved. Just, blam! Go directly to the page listed in the index. Heh heh!

Much as I like the convenience and weightlessness of ebooks, I think I'll always prefer hard-copy. However, that said; I am happy to use both mediums!

[vegaseat]

If you are moving a lot, you will hate those heavy boxes of paper books very quickly.

[jwenting]

Just ordered me 2 thick paper books. Study guides that are going to have a lot of dogears, sticky notes, yellow and green highlights, and penned in notes.

Can't do that as easily with an eBook, or browse back and forth between pages as quickly.

[Reverend Jim]

My e-reader (on the laptop) allows me to add "sticky" notes. Having my computer reference books in eform allows me to use Search to find things more easily. Also, if I have to help a friend I can just load up my reference books on a USB stick and tote it along, or even take along the laptop.

[jwenting]

yes, you can add notes to an eBook. But try easily looking back through them in context...
Much easier to do with a dead tree than with a dead electron.

I don't care either way both have their perks and disadvantages. I am a big reader and wil reader whatever from encyclopedia to romance to mysteries you name and I'll read it. Having a paper book is cool because you don't have to worry about having to update anything or anything Plus reading books that are so old that their pages are yellowed is the best the smell of the pages and delicacy of them are what excites me. At the other end of the spectrum the paper books are harder to take care of because well they are paper. With the features of Ebooks it makes it easier to read i.e brightness,font size, page animation. With Ebooks it's easier to find what you like to read. Amazon is a excellent place to find kindle books. iBooks for iOS is also excellent but their prices can be outrages plus you can only find books at the iTunes Store, whereas with kindle there are many websites. http://freebies.about.com/od/onlinebooks/tp/free-kindle-books.htm . It's all a matter of preference

[interservML]

It depends I prefer paper books for intensive reviews or have to study stuff in preparation for any sort of exams. I'm fond of highlighting and illustrating caricature to help me retain what I have studied. "VANDALIZING" is what my friends call it ^_^ Its just that paper books are too bulky and heavy which I soo hate carrying things that are way too heavy and inconvinient. So, thats the time I have to use ebooks, avoiding those overweight paper books. And also I usually use ebooks if I want to spare time reading novel where I can bring it everywhere I am. Ergo, I conclude I prefer using both. ^^

[stultuske]

e-Books are easier to update, but in the end, I want to be able to read my book, even when my tablet/... crashed.

[blackmiau]

I'm an old-fashioned girl. I grew up in a house filled with books and learned to read by the age of 4. I was taught to have respect for books: no notes, folding corners and the like. Unless it's study books, in that case I get them all scribbled up.

Also, over here no one ever heard of Kindles or e-readers, so I can't just go in the shop and ask for one. Couldn't afford one, if I wanted to.

[Agilemind]

I like the tactile feel of paper books a lot but my eye sight is so bad if I want to read without my glasses on I have to hold it really close to by face which gets tiring with thick books so I loved the ereader as soon as I got it. Plus e-readers are so much easier to move and take on planes.

[<M/>]

I maybe the youngest guy here posting, 16 years old, but I prefer paper because I hate staring at something with lighting for a certain period of time because it hurts my eyes. Certain stuff are worth reading on ebooks (biographies, novels, magazines, etc.) but not everything, espicially when it comes to learning. I found that actual textbooks are much more useful and I can learn more from it rather than reading off a kindle. Honestly, if I had to spend a whole semester using ebooks only, I wouldn't even be in honor roll (3.5 gpa or above). Fortunately, I use actual textbooks (that i can write in) and because of that my gpa is above a 4 (4.24).

[hericles]

I have a fairly big library and I still like reading paper books but I have found recently that the ease of availability of e-books, and how many you can carry at once, is just too convenient. I like paper books for fiction, e-books for reference and learning.