Badmovies.org Forum

After 244 years Encyclopedia Britannica is ceasing publication of its print edition. (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/?src=me&ref=general)

Now kids will have to go to the internets to find out where their 'mandibulas' are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GseI-fcYM

Expected, but I still hate to see it happen.

Probably the thing I remember best is the people who use to come around in the evenings and try to sell the encyclopedia to my parents. They thought about it, but they never bought one.

I also hope this means that we are not seeing the end of books being published in hardback and/or paperback. Picking up a book and reading it by using an electronic device is just not the same.

The end of print is not going to happen for a very, very long time if ever.  About 1 in 10 adults in the US has an e-reader, and even amongst them most still buy print part of the time.  Print is actually quite cheap and effective, and reaches a much larger percentage of the population.  Even if 100% of the adult population had e-readers, as essentially "disposables" for when people don't have their e-reader with them (or are in an area where they could be damaged, like on a boat), they'll be around for a looooooong time. 

Not to mention there are plenty of print-on-demand options available, which means even if the market penetration of e-readers becomes dominant, for those curmudgeons who will always prefer paper (myself included) there will probably always be options.

This makes sense for an encyclopedia. At least online they can correct any mistakes they make instantly, instead of having the error circulate until the next edition comes out.

I don't think print books in general are going anywhere anytime soon, though. Jim already outlined some good reasons why, but there's the nature of each platform/medium to consider. Sure, an e-book is much lighter than carrying a library around and you can buy a book for it without having to go to a bookstore. A book, however, never needs to be charged, won't break if dropped, and is currently easier on the eyes (I'm sure programmers will eventually realize that black text on a white background strains the eyes when projected from a monitor)

Have you used the e-ink devices Gravekeeper?  They're not backlit and actually use magnetic ink, so it is much more like the printed page.  However, books are still generally easier on the eyes because a good print is at a higher resolution than the e-ink screens are currently capable of.