Textbooks versus iBooks

There it is, Apple's iBook 2. It's kind of a neat idea. It's one industry trying to topple another, however.

An example is that of Kodak, that iconic camera pioneering company of such huge repute for the quality of its products, going into bankruptcy. Now there's a paradox; the very company that originally introduced the concept of digital cameras which effectively destroyed the photo-film industry decided in its own best interests after the initial success of the digital camera introduction, to give it a pass and return to what they did best.

And, of course, that left the field wide open to other camera and electronics manufacturers to perfect their own brand of digital cameras, and the world of picture-taking will never be the same again. In the same token, digital cameras are now struggling to survive as well, with the advent of such highly diverse little iphones and even ordinary cellphones that take quite impressive photos at the blink of a practised eye.

And now we're looking at the gradual demise (say it isn't so!) of the printed book. Perhaps not. One needn't be a Luddite to adore the look and handling of a book. But eReaders have made great inroads in the possession of reading material in a completely other form. In a sense, it would be a great leap forward for the preservation of our forests if we no longer sacrificed them for pulp and paper. Trading that off against the other kind of energy required for electronic devices to operate.

Apple has made no secret of its designs now on the textbook industry. Its new iBook 2, has been lauded as a potential replacement for school libraries and the expensive acquisition of textbooks for schools. Presumably, each student to have at his/her disposal the use of an iBook. Now that too, is a truly costly proposal, since each device has a price tag of $499, and a presumed lifespan of a mere two to three years.

Replacement batteries are well over $100, and the cost of downloading a typical textbook to the iBook 2 is roughly $14.95. If parents are expected to pay that hefty amount per child for the iBook it will inevitably mean that some children of poor parents will be left behind. If school boards will take it upon themselves to provide the devices for their students that would result in a huge outlay.

There's quite a few 'ifs' in there, and obviously things have to be ironed out. On the positive side is that the heavy weight of a school backpack full of printed textbooks would become a thing of the past. A 2000 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology cited heavy school bags as a major culprit in children experiencing frequent back pain.

Yet, children being children, they tend to be casual about the care and treatment of objects. A single drop of water can destroy an iBook, so their durability in the hands of children and young people would leave much to be desired. A device that could be anticipated to last at most two or three years before a new one is required, doesn't compare all that favourably to printed textbooks that can last for years.