Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again'

[davem]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...ted-again.html


Can't help wonder what Tolkien would make of this, given his time working on the OED.

Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’, said the switch towards online formats was “prescient”.

He said: “Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last for ever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise.

“The printed book is about to vanish at extraordinary speed. ...

“Books are about to vanish; reading is about to expand as a pastime; these are inescapable realities.”

"and you will read text off your ipad, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone,".....

[Inziladun]

I don't understand why "reading becoming an expanding pastime" must go hand in hand with "books are about to vanish".
There's such a charm about holding a book, especially an old book by a well-loved author; you have the story itself, but you also have the knowledge that people before you have held that same tome, thinking their own thoughts as they read. No batteries, no power supply. Just peace, and a different life between the covers to lose oneself in.
I don't have an IPAD, and I have no intention of getting one. Nor an e-reader, for that matter.

I really hate the fact that modern society puts all its energies into "bigger, better, faster". It's the sort of thing Saruman was after.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Well, I own both books and an iPad, and I use both. I very much doubt that hardcopy books will ever entirely disappear, just as the invention of the typewriter did not do away with pens, pencils, and paper. But this is certainly another change of medium — and it seems that every time it changes, there are people around predicting the complete death of the older media. How it will turn out in the long term, only time will tell.

I do see one upside to the massive OED becoming electronic: people will no longer be able to claim they didn't have access to a decent dictionary as an excuse for chronic misspelling due to laziness.

[skip spence]

I don't give much for this talk about the imminent demise of the printed book you keep hearing about. As far as I'm aware, more books than ever are being sold (at least where I'm at) and most people, me included, would never consider replacing physical books with an I-Pad or something similar, something I think is evident in how book publishers haven't suffered nearly as much as the record-companies because of illegal downloading.

A dictionary however is different. In this instance I'd much prefer the E-format to a bulky hardback, since it's a million times more convenient, and what you want from a dictionary is information, not a pleasurable reading experience by the fireside.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Sam: What we need is a few good ipads.
[Gollum makes a noise of disgust while sticking his tongue out]
Sam: Even you couldn't say no to that.
Gollum: Oh yes we could. The mean hobbit spoils nice books. Give stories to us with nice paper and print so we can hold it and see about the preciouss; you keep nasty ipads.
Sam: You're hopeless.
Frodo: Actually, I gotta go along with Smeagol on this one.

[Morthoron]

This talk of the book's demise is silly. Books are indispensible as door stops, for propping up uneven tables. holding down piles of papers and for filling empty bookcases. I have heard that some folks even read books!

Books: the duct tape of the literary world.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I think there is a place for both and would hate to see the printed versions go entirely extinct. I'm way too impatient to wait for Windows to boot up every time I need to look something up!

On a more serious note, I think if I were told I had to give up my hard back copy, I'd put up a good fight. It would be like having something very valuable and being told to give it to someone else for safe keeping. There is always that chance that something might happen and you would never get it back when you want it.

[Bêthberry]

I'm also of the opinion that books won't vanish. Has anyone ever tried to track down an address or telephone number when the power is out or connection is lost? Also, I never curl up with my monitor while reading in bed.

Originally Posted by skip spence

A dictionary however is different. In this instance I'd much prefer the E-format to a bulky hardback, since it's a million times more convenient, and what you want from a dictionary is information, not a pleasurable reading experience by the fireside.

There's definitely a value in an E-format OED but I have to admit that, word-nerd that I am, I do take out my hard copy OED and wander amongst the words sometimes (magnifying glass in hand, as I have the micro-reduced one), seeking the pleasure of reading the history of meanings and their changes. (I don't do this with any other dictionary.)

I also find it much easier to compare definitions from different dictionaries in hard copy. It's quite interesting to see how often the OED had been cribbed by other "respectable" dictionaries.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Content is far more important than the medium in which it's delivered– especially when we're dealing with text in each case. So, um... I'm afraid I think you're quite wrong. (Sorry if I'm starting to look like The Downer Who Always Contradicts Davem; I don't have a vendetta against you, mate, it's just the way the topics have been going at the moment.)

Here's one for davem: To quote Marshal McLuhan, "the medium is the message."

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I'm also of the opinion that books won't vanish. Has anyone ever tried to track down an address or telephone number when the power is out or connection is lost? Also, I never curl up with my monitor while reading in bed.

Well, how about I change that when to "if"? And I'm thinking of some future descendent of an e-reader that would have none of the current drawbacks.

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Here's one for davem: To quote Marshal McLuhan, "the medium is the message."

Just so you know, I actually thought about beginning, "Contrary to what Marshall McLuhan may claim..."

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Just so you know, I actually thought about beginning, "Contrary to what Marshall McLuhan may claim..."

Avoiding or ignoring evidence to the contrary (while a common habit in court cases) is not a way to influence discussion and win debates.

As the points which both Hilde and Ibrin raise make clear, the medium does influence content. It could well be that certain stories/information/text will be relegated to e-texts while a different line of story and graphic and information will be treated to paper.

Originally Posted by davem

But... I think its important to recognise that computers/websites are not merely a 'different' form of the book - they are something entirely different & the approach to producing & telling the story is entirely different. A generation (maybe two or three away) brought up entirely on e-texts/websites will not 'get' a book like LotR in the way we do, because 'books' will not carry the same meaning or relevance to them.

And when the oral stories of the scops and bards came to be written down, they changed also, as many of the devices for enhancing memory no longer were needed. LotR is as different from an oral mythology or legend as future ebooks may be from our current best selling novels. Tolkien learnt a great deal from ancient stories about the art of story telling and pleasing an audience, but I doubt LotR in its entirety would be a successful oral story, no matter how many passages are perfectly suited to recitation. The medium does change the story.

[Galadriel]

No way are books going to vanish. An ipad simply does not have the charm or cosy feeling about curling up with a nice book. And heck, who could live without good ol' libraries? They're so lovely and calming.
I'd say whoever said that books are going to evaporate is completely off his rocker, and does not at ALL understand what people actually want.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

No way are books going to vanish. An ipad simply does not have the charm or cosy feeling about curling up with a nice book. And heck, who could live without good ol' libraries? They're so lovely and calming.
I'd say whoever said that books are going to evaporate is completely off his rocker, and does not at ALL understand what people actually want.

Like I said, it won't be overnight, and it'll only happen when e-readers become good enough to do everything a book can, and then some. So... they'll be books.

Originally Posted by davem

computers/websites are not merely a 'different' form of the book - they are something entirely different & the approach to producing & telling the story is entirely different. A generation (maybe two or three away) brought up entirely on e-texts/websites will not 'get' a book like LotR in the way we do, because 'books' will not carry the same meaning or relevance to them

Content is far more important than the medium in which it's delivered– especially when we're dealing with text in each case. So, um... I'm afraid I think you're quite wrong. (Sorry if I'm starting to look like The Downer Who Always Contradicts Davem; I don't have a vendetta against you, mate, it's just the way the topics have been going at the moment.)

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Like I said, it won't be overnight, and it'll only happen when e-readers become good enough to do everything a book can, and then some. So... they'll be books.



Content is far more important than the medium in which it's delivered– especially when we're dealing with text in each case. So, um... I'm afraid I think you're quite wrong. (Sorry if I'm starting to look like The Downer Who Always Contradicts Davem; I don't have a vendetta against you, mate, it's just the way the topics have been going at the moment.)

More like 'if' e-readers become good enough...which they definitely will not. There's a charm about collecting books. E-readers will never have that.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I think there is a place for both forms, but wonder if in the future there will be enough of a market to support duel efforts. Personally, I do not care to read back lit text but enjoy toting around a paperback in my coat pocket. It is a more leisurely and intimate experience with no worries about battery levels or recharging. Nothing much to interfere between the reader and the author, beyond the odd typo or horrid cover.

I could see using an e-reader for books that I have no interest in ultimately keeping though. Realistically, from the writing and production side, it would seem electronic editions require less work (and workers) to deliver. Greener than printed material too. But this is not satifactory for well loved books. Nerd that I am, those are friends that I like to surround myself with.

I only hope that if the publishing world were to go strictly electronic, another line of business might crop up to print and bind the books at a reasonable rate, for people who want them that way. Both for individuals and libraries. In times like these with increasing population and technology decreasing need for human labor, we need all the employment oportunities we can muster.

Do e-readers hum?

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Hilde Bracegirdle

Do e-readers hum?

Only if you don't teach them the words. (No, they don't. And they don't build up heat like a laptop, either.)

I believe both forms can and will peacefully coexist, if not in the ways some would like. There will always be a market for books to appeal to bibliophiles and collectors, and certain kinds of books — such as ones filled with large, full-color and high resolution pictures, the "coffee tables books" as some call them — are just not the same when viewed electronically, not even on the best and biggest high-def screen. But the ease of portability and storage cannot be denied with ebooks. At home, I will take one of my copies of LotR off the shelf to read it, but on the road, I'm glad I can carry it — and four other Tolkien books — on my iPad, along with a whole bunch of other favorites. Both forms have their place, IMHO.