Talk:ebook

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Link format[edit]

It is consistent WP link style that if we make a link to the WP page for a particular product, we do not also put in the external link to the home page of the product, and the links just put in are being removed. Se WP:EL, and do not revert.

That's not true[edit]

Article sais "Printed books use three times more raw materials and 78 times more water to produce when compared to e-books." and provides a source; that source do not suport it, and in fact it's an opinion blog about iPad, not an eBook.

For example, this paper of 2012 does a comparation asuming that user reads 60 books per year, and it's quite even; if user doesn't read many books electronic devices are more polluting. Greenpeace talks about thousands of books in the lifespan of the device to be better than paper books, since nowdays no paper comes from natural trees and the issue it's water consuption etc. Books transportation consumes fuel; eBooks downloading and storage consume huge amounts of electricity in Internet's data centers (a central point in polluting issue nowdays).

I mean, it is not trivial, as article sais. And of course iPads can't be compared... --85.48.235.204 (talk) 11:07, 16 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Good catch. I've removed it. ElectricAutumn talk 06:20, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Do all apps really track users?[edit]

Under "Digital Rights Management" the article states: 'All of the e-readers and reading apps are capable of tracking e-book reading data'.

As far as I know this is true of all dedicated hardware ebook readers, but I don't think it's true of all apps, even assuming that "apps" is restricted to cellphones and tablets. There's KOReader, FBReader, and others available for Android which are Free Software in the full sense of the term (you can get, and modify, the source code). I'm too lazy to check whether the versions as commonly distributed track reading data, but as far as I know, they do not, and the statement in the article is false and should be changed. Does anyone disagree? Longitude2 (talk) 08:47, 15 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that it's an overstatement. A quick look at KOReader's github page and user manual reveal no mention of tracking (though that is, of course, no guarantee that the capability isn't present). ElectricAutumn talk 06:23, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Capitalization[edit]

@Aoidh: is the word "ebook" normally capitalized at the start of a sentence, such as "[E/e]book readers include the Kindle, Nook, and many other devices"? 206.204.236.102 (talk) 23:23, 14 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Especially in the earlier days of the eBook it was handled inconsistently between reliable sources, but the convention now is generally to have it in lowercase even at the beginning of sentences, barring the usual things like internal style guidelines to the contrary. Since Nook was mentioned, as an example Barnes & Noble, appear to always have it lowercased, even when starting sentences and section headings. - Aoidh (talk) 00:59, 15 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Advantages, etc.[edit]

The Advantages section says: "using an online dictionary". Some e-readers have a built-in dictionary so that no internet access is needed. If you are using e-reader software on a laptop computer, then you probably have dictionary software available, sometimes with hotlinking.

Another big advantage is that content can be searched for. An example is that someone asked me if "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" by Howard Pyle had much about Maid Marian. Using an EPUB version, I was able to determine that she is only mentioned twice, with very little detail. That would have taken hours with a paper book, with no guarantee of accuracy.

The writer(s) of these sections assumes that every user is continually connected to the internet and can be tracked. Some internet access might be needed to acquire some eBooks, but that could be done at the library so that no one would know you even existed.

agb 173.233.167.50 (talk) 18:13, 7 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]