So, we are all hip to the Kindle*. Or if not hip to, at least we are aware of e-book readers of varying brands. And that they are a)pretty cool in concept and b) so far, I hear, mediocre in execution. Turns out Steve Jobs is probably on it. He may or may not have said something about Apple making a compeditor to the Kindle, zomg lolz commence with the frothing. He also said chilling words that haunt my soul:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”
Damn you, Steve Jobs. While I don’t totally buy into them, I fear the truth behind them. Readers of my blog! Go cuddle a paper book now, I demand it! Keep ahold of your humanity by reading, please! I fear what this world will become when people stop reading books….more than they already have…sigh.
Really, if any company pioneered the Device, I think it would be Apple. Buying books from iTunes leads to buying everything from iTunes leads to iPeople equipped with iDevices that eventually cause the doom of humanity.
Okay, maybe I’m taking it a little far. But does it strike anyone else as a little ironic that the apple, a symbol of original sin, is (possibly) pioneering technology that will (possibly) lead us into the horrible dystopian future??? Eh?
…
I promise I don’t actually hate technology as much as I pretend to on this blog. I appreciate netbooks, blogging, and my new cell phone which is pretty shiny, even if buying a cellphone is creepy….Seriously. The fact that I have to wait in a virtual queue to buy a thing that’s actually described as a “Device” (as in “Device Only: $49.99″) from someone with a bluetooth headset in is a little off-putting. Although I bought my new cell from a woman, and I honestly think she’s the only woman I’ve seen working at a Verizon store. Like, ever. That’s creepy enough in and of itself.
Crap. I originally started writing this to prove I’m not a turbo Luddite with a fear of all things shiny and digital. I suppose the fact that this post is uploaded to a blog is going to have to prove it well enough.
And thus it is so.
*Actually, apparently I am not yet hip to the Kindle, as although you can download Freedomland as an e-book, it will not yet go on the Kindle. I may actually pay Amazon to make it so.