Rise of the Kindle

The Kindle, it's like a portable iPod for books. Whoever came up with the idea is quite genius to realize the fact that everyone is going digital with just about everything, so why not books as well? Amazon pioneered the first portable reading device with the Kindle, and with its success, many other companies produced similar products. You can purchase whichever book you are interested in and download it into the Kindle, all without leaving your house. It's small, convenient and you can take it with you anywhere. 

Is the rise of these portable devices a threat to bookstores or even to paperback books as we know them? Barnes & Noble could have possibly felt some kind of competition because they came out with their own version of the Kindle, the nook, not too long ago. Apple also came out with the iPad, which can be used for several things including the ability to store books. It goes without saying that as long as companies are willing to adapt to any new technology, they are more likely to stay around, as opposed to the companies that choose to ignore it or not do anything to adapt. Even textbooks are being sold as e-books, which for students its great because the cost is a fraction of what the hard copy goes for.

Although these products have been very successful, I believe there's still plenty of people out there that prefer traditional reading from a paperback book. I am one of them, not saying that I'm not open to the idea, I just prefer to have a book in front of me, maybe I'm just old fashioned. I think many people probably feel the same way, they like having a collection of books in a bookshelf, where they can pick a new book to read whenever they wish  . Others may feel that keeping books that already have been read is pointless and creates clutter. I guess only time will tell what the future holds for how we will enjoy our reading material.

Boeing Gets a Lesson

In regards to the New York Times article about 8 year old Harry, it is quite interesting to see how one comment by the boy's father can stir up so much attention that it caught the eye of the corporate giant. In my opinion it was a rather cold the response that was given to the poor child. I question why the company would take a child's picture suggesting an airplane for them to build so seriously. One would think that they would either ignore it, or thank him for his efforts. Looking at the picture it is quite obvious that is was drawn by a child so I don't understand why they couldn't just make a little boy's day and give him some encouragement.

The father's comments on twitter I think were made because he was rather upset about the situation. I don't think he made those comments intentionally to get attention as one could see from his last tweet on the subject http://www.johnwinsor.com/my_weblog/2010/05/harry-and-boeing-the-update.html. People use social media networks such as twitter to express what's on their minds and this was something that was bothering him. Put yourself in his shoes. Would you be bothered by that if it was your child??