Adoption of E-books Essay

The evolution of technology has already paved a way for various developments in terms of how people acquire information. Since computers and the internet have been very indispensable in fulfilling the needs of people for knowledge, modification aspects of lifestyle are becoming more and more common. Today, almost all commodities, processes and activities can be integrated into an electronic counterpart. One very good example is the introduction of e-books or electronic books. The adoption of e-books to make it commercially available just like selling bound paper materials has been very successful in terms of accessibility for the public. However, as what comes with every development, some concerns and issues abound. As a whole, the sudden transformation of publications into an electronic media can somehow overshadow the main benefits in the fabrication of such commodities. The publishing entities and elements are the core division which can easily fall into the problems of e-book industry. Apparently, there are specific issues which readily abound even before starting a specific process of launching a publication. The obstacles to e-Book publishing can be broken down into resistance to change, font issues, lack of a standard format, digital rights management, reproduction of graphics, and reader hardware. †(Stork, 1997). For the consumers, it can be very obvious that accessibility will be the primary advantage in acquiring publications. Since almost all households right now have computers and internet connection, it would be much easier to receive a copy of publications without going to a secondary retailer just to buy one. However, some implications may still be experienced. For one, users may not fully be able to utilize how electronic books work. There will always be market segments which are not really familiar with computer features which can make it impossible for them to use. Next, some end users may not be accustomed to reading publications on computer terminals or handheld screens, causing possible physical strains since it would be very possible that their previous reading experiences are accustomed to reading printed paper materials. Moreover, it can be more time consuming for an individual to set up the equipment first and opening the e-book file rather than flipping the pages of a conventional book. In terms of platform and distribution, the technical aspects of this parameter are to be blamed regarding e-book adoption. Since the format is electronic, there can always be a threat of unintentional or even intentional legality problems in terms of copyright. The internet is full of elements which have the capability to easily retrieve information with very little force. Moreover, these elements, which of course are individuals with unacceptable intentions, have all the advantages in committing electronic crimes. Hacking and plagiarism are just some of the things they can do to electronic versions of publications. Aside from the issues in platform security, the process of distribution of e-books poses another significant problem. Since there will be no physical item which are at stake, consumers may not be able to take hold of what they have purchased unless they have printed a copy. Computers and electronic media are intangible. One small system error could wipe out an entire electronic file. On the other hand, online company publishers may not be able to acquire the optimum profit share in selling e-books since computer users are able to do peer to peer sharing of files, putting their market performance at a disadvantage.