Do you prefer physical books or books in electronic format?
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| Jan 5th 2015, 00:16 | |
k9bqTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
In the year 2015 I am astonished that the ARRL study manuals (and other publications) are only available in physical format. In this modern age more and more people have a strong preference of electronic books over the traditional physical form. What is your preference? |
| Jan 5th 2015, 04:15 | |
ChrisM727Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Hmm....I see I tipped the scales with my vote. Kind of proof that since only three people voted a lot of hams are on the radio and reading books and not their computers. Just kidding.... Actually I studied for my tech exam on Ham Test Online and am still using it just to get knowledge and push for my General. I have a study guide but only used it at home at the end of the day. With the online tool I studied on lunch at work or while waiting for the laundry to finish or while boiling water...etc, etc ad infinitum, so I always had my studies with me. I'm no spring chicken, late summer rooster would be more appropriate, and I work a lot. I supervise a food service distribution transportation department and go go go is a slow day. So...when I can find a way to sneak in some study I do. Carrying literature and music on one small device....I'm all in. I do like old fashioned and for Pete's sake, I used to run a bookstore but if I carried all the books I read and the music I listen to....I would definitely look my age. I think, all kidding aside that we could revitalize the interest in becoming licensed if it were more online ready. Yea, I get that this is not an online thing....it's real and hands on. That's one of the things that drew me here but getting on board, online access really helped me. Of course my opinion may change, and I may drop off this forum altogether once I build my first radio and you can't pry me away from it....time will tell I suppose. |
| Jan 6th 2015, 20:57 | |
NV2KTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
E-books have the potential of being a viable alternative, but we have seen clunky, non-portable digital rights management (DRM) solutions make them undesirable for many and a non-starter for me (as a user of GNU/Linux). Remember the QST CD-ROM that will no longer work because it requires (IIRC) a pre-NT M$ OS to run? Only some e-book platforms I have used permit printing, and among most of those that do, quality is poor. E-books? Until a reasonable (and portable) DRM solution is available, they cannot be a viable alternative. |
| Jan 8th 2015, 15:56 | |
WB8IMYTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
ARRL Q&A license manuals have been available for the Amazon Kindle for a couple of years. The Ham Radio License Manual is also available for Kindle now and the Extra and General Class License Manuals will be available for Kindle this spring, if not sooner. |
| Jan 20th 2015, 04:17 | |
K5CJRTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
For fiction and some reference books, I like ebooks. For study and serious reference, I prefer good old paper books. They will also work when the electronic devices will not. It is a lot easier to flip pages back to look at figures or pictures that are referenced else where in the book. |
| Feb 3rd 2015, 13:09 | |
AI4BJTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I didn't respond to your poll, because my answer is not as black and white as your poll's options allow. I own two Kindles, and 99% of the fiction I read is in eBook format. Technical books are a different matter. Illustrations, schematics, tables etc. simply do not translate well to the small screen of the Kindle. Yes, you can zoom in to see detail, but that becomes very tedious. (Imagine trying to read a book with a microscope.) Also, reading books in non-linear fashion (i.e. browsing) is much easier to do with a physical book. |
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