Printing In San Sai Area (ebooks)

[mallmagician]

Hi,

Im looking for the cheapest copy shop in the San Sai area for printing of ebooks, in, for example PDF format. My eyes are getting tired trying to read from my mobile phone screen, so I need to print the books. (I cannot afford a Sony EReader or Kindle just yet)

Anyone know of a cheapy one? 25s - 50s a page available?

Phil

[CrossBones]

Hi,

Im looking for the cheapest copy shop in the San Sai area for printing of ebooks, in, for example PDF format. My eyes are getting tired trying to read from my mobile phone screen, so I need to print the books. (I cannot afford a Sony EReader or Kindle just yet)

Anyone know of a cheapy one? 25s - 50s a page available?

Phil

Cheapest way probably to print yourself using an inkjet printer with an external ink tank costs almost nothing to print get one of those ring binder machines to make up books

[angiud]

Buy an Ebook reader?

[Ulysses G.]

I sell books so I am not impartial, but to me, the whole e-books thing is smelling more and more like another big con job by the retail industry. Remember how they told us that CDs would have perfect sound, never skip, last forever and the price would come down quickly?

Yes, someday an e-book will possibly have evolved to the point where it is as useful and comfortable as a traditional book is today, but that might be in another 50 years, or more.

Hardly anyone is using them now, so the complaints haven't even started yet. Why waste your money on the clunky and expensive prototypes machines that they are churning out now?

How about just getting a real book - as we have done for centuries. I guess that is true that another sucker is born every day.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[threedot]

I guess you had better tell those suckers over at Google that their books.google.com project is an entire waste of time then. What a troll.

[Ulysses G.]

What are you on about? Books.google.com has little to do with e-books. It is a service to attract readers to a title on-line and get them to buy it (in any format).

Anyway, I'm not saying that e-books are a "waste of time". Retailers will con the public into buying the "latest technology" like they always do - by refusing to sell real books if it becomes necessary - and be able to charge the same prices for new titles, while not having to pay for paper. As usual, higher profits are the real motive.

Who cares if e-books are not only unnecessary, but also less enjoyable than the real thing?

[angiud]

IMO ebook and ebook reader are one of the most important and useful invention of the new electronic. Time 2 or 3 years the ebook readers will be with colour screen, bigger, ready to display also magazines and newspapers.

Still a little expensive, due to the cost of the special e-ink display but, as we know, prices wil go down soon.

My entire biblio in a small memory card, always available. It was one of my wettest dreams!

The same technology that allows me to carry 1000 music album in a soap-sized machine. Wow.

PS: my job in italy was book publisher and bookseller, so don't say I don't love the paper...

[uptheos]

I have always found browsing through shelves of books young and old to be a wonderful experience, but I do understand that for a younger generation this might not be so. To find that book you've long been looking for or coming across a gem you never expected, is still a delight after all these years.

I still like to settle down, get comfortable and start reading a book.

If we lose 'real' bookshops it would be a terrible pity.

[PeaceBlondie]

My entire biblio in a small memory card, always available. It was one of my wettest dreams!

The same technology that allows me to carry 1000 music album in a soap-sized machine. Wow.

You don't want to know my wettest dream. Don't drop the soap.

UG, a troll? Not with over 14,000 posts.

[chiangmaibruce]

Anyone know of a cheapy one? 25s - 50s a page available?

I always go over to the print shops in or close to Chiang Mai university and get printing done at 50 satang/page. I haven't found cheaper. Some of these places will also do binding for you. If you are taking over a USB to use just be aware that some of the 'puters in these places are absolutely rotten with viruses. Other shops keep their anti-virus gear up to date and you don't have a problem

Edited August 25, 2009 by chiangmaibruce

[swain]

Pantib plaza Bangkok... I checked out a dvd mixed in with other software, games and music discs that had 13,000 eBooks on it. I was amazed .. didn't know that piracy extended to the written works as well. I didn't buy it of course as it would be illegal but my friend did. It was quite amazing. He ran right out and bought one of those readers. Never really gave it a thought before.. but looked at the torrents as well. E-books and audio books are all over the torrents. Not just the text but the full book with illistrations. I think eventually with Blu ray you could make a 4 disc set of the entire works of the planet. Amazing how many fit on such a small space. IF the readers came down in price just think what a knowledge revolution this would be.

Yes yes I know.. for now its all quite illegal.. but it does make you think.

I sell books so I am not impartial, but to me, the whole e-books thing is smelling more and more like another big con job by the retail industry. Remember how they told us that CDs would have perfect sound, never skip, last forever and the price would come down quickly?

Yes, someday an e-book will possibly have evolved to the point where it is as useful and comfortable as a traditional book is today, but that might be in another 50 years, or more.

Hardly anyone is using them now, so the complaints haven't even started yet. Why waste your money on the clunky and expensive prototypes machines that they are churning out now?

How about just getting a real book - as we have done for centuries. I guess that is true that another sucker is born every day.

Edited August 25, 2009 by swain

[angiud]

My entire biblio in a small memory card, always available. It was one of my wettest dreams!

The same technology that allows me to carry 1000 music album in a soap-sized machine. Wow.

You don't want to know my wettest dream. Don't drop the soap.

UG, a troll? Not with over 14,000 posts.

Back on topic, I don't think the ebook will substitute the paper. The wonderful, Fabriano paper, handprinting and leather binding book, or the coffee-table, six colours offset printing photographic book, will never die, and always will be in my shelf.

But, what about the hundreds, sometime thousands of pocket, low quality novels most of us collect just to catch dust? I found the solution:

[zippydedodah]

My entire biblio in a small memory card, always available. It was one of my wettest dreams!

The same technology that allows me to carry 1000 music album in a soap-sized machine. Wow.

You don't want to know my wettest dream. Don't drop the soap.

UG, a troll? Not with over 14,000 posts.

Back on topic, I don't think the ebook will substitute the paper. The wonderful, Fabriano paper, handprinting and leather binding book, or the coffee-table, six colours offset printing photographic book, will never die, and always will be in my shelf.

But, what about the hundreds, sometime thousands of pocket, low quality novels most of us collect just to catch dust? I found the solution:

I have this ereader and LOVE it... but it just died... i moved here this week from USA and used my wifes cell phone charge on the ebook and i think i fried it.. into pantip this morning to try and get it fixed! Lets see if they know what to do with it... i feel lost without it

zippy

[hmficc]

I sell books so I am not impartial, but to me, the whole e-books thing is smelling more and more like another big con job by the retail industry. Remember how they told us that CDs would have perfect sound, never skip, last forever and the price would come down quickly?

Yes, someday an e-book will possibly have evolved to the point where it is as useful and comfortable as a traditional book is today, but that might be in another 50 years, or more.

Hardly anyone is using them now, so the complaints haven't even started yet. Why waste your money on the clunky and expensive prototypes machines that they are churning out now?

How about just getting a real book - as we have done for centuries. I guess that is true that another sucker is born every day.

Yes, a nice NEW one that noone has read in a bathroom.

[Ulysses G.]

Someday, perhaps people will leave an e-book machine in the toilet all of the time to entertain guests. I think that I rather practice my meditation.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[CM-Joe]

Since more than one year I use now my ebook reader and I would not want to miss it anymore. As I prefer to read in German, this is the only way to have a wide selection of books here in asia. If I am traveling I don't have to carry a lot of books with me, just one light reader. For people who like to read not just the very limited selection that you can find in the local bookshops it's great! That UG with his bookshops has a different opinion is from his business point of view understandable...

[Ulysses G.]

Actually, there are a few things that I think the e-readers would be worthwhile for and reading in another language than English is one of them - if they can be made comfortable to read.

It is just too hard to get good German or French books when you are traveling around and it would be worth taking the chance on losing an expensive machine and a few thousand dollars worth of titles in order to be able to read what you want when you want.

However, English books are available almost everywhere now and if you lose one, it is no big deal. I don't really care about having 10,000 titles available on one machine if I am not going to a desert island where no real books are available.

[zippydedodah]

Actually, there are a few things that I think the e-readers would be worthwhile for and reading in another language than English is one of them - if they can be made comfortable to read.

It is just too hard to get good German or French books when you are traveling around and it would be worth taking the chance on losing an expensive machine and a few thousand dollars worth of titles in order to be able to read what you want when you want.

However, English books are available almost everywhere now and if you lose one, it is no big deal. I don't really care about having 10,000 titles available on one machine if I am not going to a desert island where no real books are available.

well, from my experience, finding a wide variety of sci fi books, in english, in thailand is darn near impossible. In BKK i found a big store in Siam Paragon, but here in CM, well, not possible so far. So the benefit of having 5000 sci fi novels in english available to me is a big plus... not to mention the cost differential.

FWIW... i took my ereader into pantip plaza today and sony shop there could do nothing for me, as it has not even been released in thailand... they did give me phone number to call to seek help... but i am not too positive...

[Deke]

Do these e-readers display standard pdf files or is some other format required?

[CM-Joe]

There are various ebook readers, that display standard pdf files and many other formats, like the brand new sony readers (PRS300 for 199US$, PRS600 for 299 US$ or the readers from iREX and many more). Reading is very comfortable with them. And contrary to the statement of UG you do not loose your ebooks if you should loose your ebook-reader. You can store them on your computer, save them on an USB stick and restore or copy it whenever you need to do it, no big deal at all. Only the KINDLE of AMAZON is different. If you don't know, there are thousands of ebooks legally free available and many more ilegal... So if you compare costs, it is much cheaper to read ebooks. You can compare an ebook reader to a mp3 player, who would like to miss it today. It is just much more comfortable and you are free to read what you want and not what your local bookshop is offering you. As I read at least 2 books or more a week I realy know what I am talking about.

[zippydedodah]

Do these e-readers display standard pdf files or is some other format required?

different ereaders handle pdf files with varying degrees of success....do you homework and research online if this is a critical factor for your purchase.

sony readers use one format, kindle (amazon) uses another, then there are pdf and other readers have their own propritary formats....

however, thanks to the need for info to be free, there are conversion programs for almost every type of format to any other format... again, these conversion programs work with varying accuracy and ease, so research is necessary to find the right solution for you.

FYI.. the kindle works via sprint network in usa so it would be useless here in thailand... however, rumor mill has it that a sim card slot is already on the kindle board and the next version will allow for international sim cards and hence downloads... if you are willing to pay ...

[angiud]

I have this ereader and LOVE it... but it just died... i moved here this week from USA and used my wifes cell phone charge on the ebook and i think i fried it.. into pantip this morning to try and get it fixed! Lets see if they know what to do with it... i feel lost without it

zippy

Try with the PSP playstation portable charger. Is the same of the PRS 505. Otherwise you must send back in the USA. The sony service is very efficent. And check the Mobileread website, you could find an answer to your reader problems

[Ulysses G.]

If you don't know, there are thousands of ebooks legally free available and many more ilegal...

If you are willing to steal off the internet - and most people are - reading "free" books is certainly an advantage as long as no one is able to do anything about it. However, my guess is that eventually someone will figure out how to stop it and prices will go up considerably on new, popular books.

As someone said, you can back up these book documents on your computer, but how many people really back up documents now - not very many in my experience.

Yes, many classic books that don't have copyrights will be free, but how many people spend alot of time reading old time classics? The truth is that they have always been available for free in libraries anyway. I have read most of the classics (that are out of copyright) that I want to read long ago, so that feature is of little use to me.

As I said, I own a bookstore, but I am also a prolific reader and still don't see any reason - at all - to change to e-books unless I get stranded on a desert island or have to live in China (where they very well might outlaw them from entering the country).

I much rather stick with the real thing.

Edited August 27, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[hml367]

EDIT: Before anyone looking to argue actually does.

The world would be dull indeed if everyone thought the same way about everything.

MSPain

Edited August 27, 2009 by hml367

[hml367]

If you don't know, there are thousands of ebooks legally free available and many more ilegal...

If you are willing to steal off the internet - and most people are - reading "free" books is certainly an advantage as long as no one is able to do anything about it. However, my guess is that eventually someone will figure out how to stop it and prices will go up considerably on new, popular books.

As someone said, you can back up these book documents on your computer, but how many people really back up documents now - not very many in my experience.

Yes, many classic books that don't have copyrights will be free, but how many people spend alot of time reading old time classics? The truth is that they have always been available for free in libraries anyway. I have read most of the classics (that are out of copyright) that I want to read long ago, so that feature is of little use to me.

As I said, I own a bookstore, but I am also a prolific reader and still don't see any reason - at all - to change to e-books unless I get stranded on a desert island or have to live in China (where they very well might outlaw them from entering the country).

I much rather stick with the real thing.

Just a question, UG.... How do you 'know' MOST people are willing to steal off the internet?

MSPain

[Ulysses G.]

Maybe "many" would have been a better word, but I know so many people who are downloading the latest TV shows and movies as soon as they are available that is seems like "most" to me.

[swain]

Maybe "many" would have been a better word, but I know so many people who are downloading the latest TV shows and movies as soon as they are available that is seems like "most" to me.

Software, video games, movies, television, e-books, audio books, news, telephone, global video interaction, and lets not forget adult entertainment. I would not have stayed in Thailand if I didn't have this pipe. Well, to be honest I will not stay anywhere that doesn't have a high speed connection. You have the world at your finger tips. The Internet for better or worse is bringing people and knowledge together. Newspapers, books, magazines, television sets, radios.. We will be laughing at people that rely on them 10-20 years from now.

Next step is to embed a chip in your skull and have the data streamed directly into the brain. (Computer viruses will take on a whole new meaning....) Or virtual reality will make major advances and we will from the comfort of our lazy boy at home be able to visit Thailand or anywhere else for that matter... Virtual sex will replace real sex because no risk of disease. Maybe the body itself will be put in suspended animation and we will live our lives in virtual reality, virtually interacting with our fellow man.

Or maybe the copy write police will win and we will keep chopping down trees to make books, magazines, and newspapers...

Yes yes rambling off course... sorry...

[Ulysses G.]

Some quotes about e-books:

Nicholson Baker (the author) had an article in the New Yorker where he ruminated about the Kindle. He said it was "like reading a wet newspaper."

(A major science fiction publisher) "Still, I think e-books have a high ratio of annoying meetings to fully dozens of sales. They're like Brazil - they're the wave of the future and always will be".

[hml367]

Maybe "many" would have been a better word, but I know so many people who are downloading the latest TV shows and movies as soon as they are available that is seems like "most" to me.

I was not trying to start any debate, UG, just so you understand. In my MANY years on this planet I have learned (not well enough apparently) that we should not place judgement on a whole group of people we do not know by using what we do know of just the people we know (confusing?????). In my opinion people tend to 'know' and associate with people that are like themselves. Thus, with deductive reasoning, it could lead to thinking that everyone else's thinking should be like our own.

Whew!!! I have a headache!!!

MSPain

[Ulysses G.]

I am looking at how many CD and DVD shops in Western countries are going out of business due to illegal downloads. Would you say that most e-book users would pay to download books that they could easily get on the internet for free?