Bookstores [Was: Re: Going OT [Was: Re: Replacing PBXes with Open Source]]

[Michael Costolo]

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 17:17:48 -0400, Ken D'Ambrosio <kend at xanoptix.com> wrote:
> Michael Costolo wrote:
> 
> > But why exactly would they do that? Same size, weight, etc. of a
> >
> >book, but needs batteries, has a screen that can break, and costs far
> >more than a common $10 or $15 paperback.
> >
> Have you seen the price of low-cost notebooks these days?
 
The last paperback I bought (Prime Obsession) was $10.50.  Far cheaper
than a low-cost notebook.

> Imagine one
> with almost no CPU, a relatively small hard disk (the 20 GB Ipod disk
> would work fine), minimal RAM, no legacy PCMCIA/serial/parallel/VGA, and
> yet the ability to hold hundreds if not thousands of books?  

You're almost describing the handheld platform.  For which there
exists ebook reader software.  Which, to the best of my understanding,
hasn't been all that  impressive sales-wise (ebooks on handhelds, that
is).

-Mike-

-- 
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by
those who have not got it."
-George Bernard Shaw