Anyone who reads blogs has an appreciation for reading digital media. And why not? It is so easy to access any form of information online from sources like The New York Times, Digg, and 4Chan. If you don't know that last one I suggest you avoid it. If you choose to check it out, you do so of your own volition; so don't blame me.
In my approximation there are two downsides to reading on a computer. The first being the concern of eye strain from staring at a screen for an extended period of time. But as far as I can tell, from my limited research via the Internet, eye strain from staring at a computer and eye strain from reading a book have the same causes: too little or too much light.
The main issue when it came to accessing digital media was how inaccessible it was. We were always tethered to a clunky computer. And as nice as laptops are for on the go computering (that is my new word meaning: the act of using a computer) it is still a bit much for a quick commute downtown on the overcrowded 1 train.
Fortunately, the Amazon "Kindle" (I am omitting the Sony "Style" because I have yet to see anyone using one) solved this age old issue. It is small, has the ability to download books at any time, and looks to be pretty easy to use. Or so I thought. Because then I realized it was black and white, and a gazillion dollars, and the IPod Touch/IPhone could do everything the Kindle could do as well as access all those Internet blogs and websites...in color...and with a touchscreen. And if I have not mentioned it yet, let it be known that I think everything is better with a touchscreen.
Let me be clear, if the Kindle were $100 less and had a color screen I would probably own one right now. Because the IPod is just too small when reading for longer than 20 minutes. And if the Kindle had some sort of online library where I could rent one book at a time for a small monthly fee I would be...I don't know...I have yet to be what I would be in that situation.
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