I recently asked Kalmbach (Trains magazine) if their new Trains magazine collection (70 Years of Trains) coming out on DVDs would be compatible with e-readers such as the iPad (which I’m hoping to get for the holidays). They indicated that it was intended to be used on computers in order to utilize the multiple search and view options.
I’ve seen in this and other forums people indicating an interest in having various Kalmbach magazines available in digital format. My belief was that if it was available in digital format that it would also be viewable not only via a computer but also by using various e-readers.
I like the idea of having my collection of Trains (and Model Railroader) available in digital format, but am now considering the way in which I would want to view the digital information.
Personally I currently read my magazines either curled up in an easy chair or in bed just before going to sleep. I like the Model Railroad Hobbyist e-zine, but only read it while I’m sitting in front of my desktop computer. I’m finding that’s not conducive to leisurely, convenient reading. Yes, I also have a laptop, but don’t consider that a good option while reading in bed (the iPad/e-readers may not too, but they seem to be more book/magazine-like and able to be laid on the floor/nightstand).
I like a good old fashioned paper magazine that I can fold, stick in my pocket and take with me to the Dr’s office to read while waiting. {and I, unfortunately, have a lot of them}
I am not yet ready for the “digital age” of magazines. I do NOT like sitting only in front of my computer to view things and read them. and I don’t have a lap top to take with me yet, wireless capabilities or not.
I have thought about getting something like a Kindle or Nook, but don’t read that many books to warrant the cost. I read more magazines.
If magazines such as TRAINS were available to go on a kindle or nook or competitor, I would MAYBE consider it IF I can attach the device to my printer if I want to print out a bigger paper picture of something on paper. But where/how would I download them?
I also question what happens when the batteries die, or if it goes berserk and dies, I have lost my mags?
Nope, I may be a bit of a dinosaur, and may eventually be pushed into the “digital age” but for now…
i like my e-reader small (I have a Sony) so it is easy to carry my books around. One of my favorite things about magazines like MR, or Smithsonian, is the photographs, and they don’t translate as well to that format. In my home office I have a 24" monitor, and reading Model Railroad Hobbyist on that works just great. i can even zoom the photos for more detail.
So, i enjoy e-mags on the computer, not the e-reader. On an iPad they would no doubt be better, but that’s getting a little large for me to want to tote around all the time like I do with my Sony.
A full blown e-magazine with nice big pictures and so forth begs a large screen. So when it comes to rading things like Model Railroad Hobbyist I generally use my main desktop computer with the 23" screen.
Books, I read mostly on my iphone. Yes iphone, not ipad. I’ve been reading books on small PDAs and smartphones since such devices came out. The clarity on my iphone 4 is incredible, the small size does not bother me at all, and it’s one less thing to carry around - the whole reason I got a smartphone when they first came out, so I didn;t have to carry around a phone, laptop, and pda. I always have the phone with me - and I am a voracious reader. When I go to a customer site and have to wait a few minutes for someone to come out and get me - I generally fire up the iphone and read a couple of pages. Such a device just isn’t suited for big photos though, you can’t see allt eh details, or else you have to zoom in and scroll around in small bits, thus missing the overall view. A big giant screen is best to see the details in a model, or take in a layout vista.
Like G, I much prefer old fashion paper magazines to any e-reader and wouldn’t ever consider switching to some “e” format unless it became the only form available. Nothing electronic can replace the enjoyment I get out of having an old fashion bound annual volume of MR on my lap and leisurely perusing the articles and ads from perhaps half a century ago. Reading same off a glowing screen to me would be cold and clinical.
Many of the younger individuals (i.e. those under 50 years of age) who are the main participants in on-line forums need to realize and appreciate the fact that the bulk of hobbyists are old timers. Their numbers are drastically underrepresented in on-line forums, giving those who are a highly bias impression of the hobby’s make up. These non-participants, in general, do not relish many of the electronic improvements that have come down the line over the past decade, or so, and to force certain changes that might limit, or totally remove them, from the marketplace could be a big mistake for the hobby indeed.
I read downloaded PDFs, like manuals and instructions, on the computer. I read magazines and things like that in paper form. My wife, however, is a voracious reader of fiction books.
With all that in mind, can e-content be shared or even just moved among devices, or is it restricted to the device on which it was loaded. FYI, I am a strong defender of copyright. I would not duplicate to share with other people, I just want to share or move among my own networked devices. Is it possible?
I grew up with books and magazines, so I like them…I am comfortable with that analog form of reading. However, time marcheth on. We are slowly coming around to the idea that shipping stuff, bottled water, fruits and veggies, and millions of tons of newsprint and magazines is not making a great deal of sense any more when we have perfectly good quality screens that can display everything in those newspapers and magazines, good tap water available in the pipes, and local produce. We keep making more of us who want fresh air and clean water, but we keep skinning forests and putting pressure on fresh water supplies. How long can it go on?
I recently recycled my piles of magazines, anything I wanted to keep for reference was scanned, ( and I back everything up to a second hard drive, in case my “batteries go dead and I lose my stuff” LOL)
I freed up some room that was previously taken up by magazines, and I no longer subscribe to any of them except Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette, which is above and beyond in quality than any other mag IMO.
The old folks can keep the paper mags, the DC, the carburetor, point distributors, bias ply tires, drum brakes, lap seat belts, tube TV’s and radios, and the outhouses, the world will move on with you, or without you, and it will be a better place.
If Kalmbach offered MRR in the DVD set (or any electronic format) like they did Trains, I would purchase it in a heartbeat. (hint)
I have a Nook by Barnes & Noble and absolutely love it for books. I would not enjoy using it to read/view magazines as the picture quality is not there (yet), and besides, sometimes I have been known to read Model Railroader starting with the back cover and moving my way forward.
I don;t have room for all the real books I own - I have every bookshelf full, I have boxes full, and I have boxes full stored at my mom’s house. On my media server, which takes up less space than 2 shelves of a bookshelf, I have at least 3x as many books as I have printed ones. I’m old enough to have grown up without this stuff - when I was a kid there was no such thing as a computer that you could have in your house, unless your house came complete with a climate controlled room and heavy duty power. I was in my third year of college before I had an IBM compatible computer that we would now call a PC - I had several before that but each one was unique and not the least bit compatible witht he others - my first one was actually a kit I had to solder together myself. But I have embraced this stuff about as thoroughly as anyone could - to the point of when I reread an old book that I don;t have an electronic version of, I get annoyed, especially the longer ones. Nor do I possees Superman eyes, I’ve worn thick glasses since I was in second grade, and it just keeps getting worse, I am not at the point of needing bifocals, and thank god for the illuminated magifier on my workbench or working with some of the fine pieces in Proto and Branchline kits would be right out. Yet I find even the small text on my iPhone to be quite readable. And it’s very lightweight - I cna read in any position, and since it’s self-illuminating I can read without the lights on. No more propping up with the pillows and having a light on and disturbing others. Still, for photo intensive things, like I said, the larger the device the better. I don’t yet have a computer permanently in the train room, for now I just take my laptop up when I need it, but I’ve been thinking about one of those rolling laptop stands that is height adjustable - so I cna put it at a convenient sitting height at the workbench to call up photos or instructions, and raise it to a working level when standing at the layout to do the same. I can’t think of a mo
The main problem as I understand it is a lack of a common format for all publications. Some books you can get at the library for FREE. I don’t want mu book reader held hostage to a format war. Been there & done that with Betamax & VCR going to DVD & now BlueRay. Been there & done that going from tape to CD. Don’t get me started on what kind of player. Music quality depends on the speakers.
Looking at the readers, they seem to all have a tiny screen compared to my PC monitor. Not going to pay for a black & white screen when a color version comes out next week.
Well of course they do. Are you going to lug around a tablet PC that’s 26 inches across so you can have a 22" screen? The Kindle, nook, and other e-readers are supposed to be the size of a book for a reason.
Another reason for a more general purpose device - I actually have 3 differnt book readers on my iPhone, which combined support pretty much any format anyoen ahs come up with so far (there is some overlap). At this point I don;t think there’s a format I CAN’T read. GOOD publishers will release their boosk in multiple formats, so that just about anyoen can read them. Anyoen who uses a proprietary format and does NOT make available an app for other devices to be able to use their files is doomed to failure. For example, Amazon has a Kindle app avaialble for most smartphone devices so you can read their content without actually owning a Kindle.