Stinky e-Books Coming Soon!

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Reuters says that an electronic textbook web site is launching a smelly e-book after learning that college kids liked the smell of books. Huh? Somehow I don’t think people putting “musty” smelling stickers on their PCs will make them read more e-books.

A survey of 600 college students conducted by pollster Zogby International found that 43 percent of students identified smell, either a new or old smell, as the quality they most liked about books as physical objects.
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Comments
 
This does not make sense, if 43% identified it as a quality they most liked about books as physical objects... then what about the other 57%...


Anyways, why send them a sticker that they can scratch and sniff when you can just send them the real deal?


Six out of 10 students also preferred buying used textbooks over new or electronic textbooks even though e-books are generally a third less expensive
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Okay, so let me get this straight... 60% of students prefer used text books while only 43% prefers the smell....


So what exactly are these people thinking? "hey lets cater to a minority!!"
 
hmm, I have to agree, I liked the smell of my brand new text books.

Well, the brand news ones I didn't buy at the photocopy shop that is. ;)
 
"By placing these stickers on their computers they can give their e-books the same musty book smell they know and love from used textbooks -- without any of the residual DNA you often find stuck to the pages of used textbooks," Johnson said in a statement.
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.... um.

What kind of ... "textbooks" are these?
 
there is already a technology that can synthesize smell. if people really have a olfactory fetish, technology makers can implement any smell you wish onto e-readers or even your cellphone.

of course, my own use of that be a variety of fart smells :eek:
 
Six out of 10 students also preferred buying used textbooks over new or electronic textbooks even though e-books are generally a third less expensive. E-books sales have been slow to take off.
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How stupid do you have to be to be an executive in publishing these days? e-book prices are "generally a third less expensive" and they think the problem might be the smell? Something smells, but it ain't the books...

Production, distribution and inventory costs account for waaaaaaaay more than a third of the cost of a book, and they think people won't catch on that e-book pricing is a ripoff? (And that's not counting the extra restrictions put on some e-books.) It's comforting to see that they really are stupider than they assume the customers are.
 
Ill get back in ~3 days, have "A Clockwork Orange" brand new being shipped to me. Ill smell it and report soon!
 
^^ Good Book. ^^

This seems kinda stupid though. What would I wanna smell my books?!?! I books to read. Not smell.
 
Ockie said:
This does not make sense, if 43% identified it as a quality they most liked about books as physical objects... then what about the other 57%...
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The other 57% identified books as metaphysical objects. There's the difference.
 
JediFonger said:
there is already a technology that can synthesize smell. if people really have a olfactory fetish, technology makers can implement any smell you wish onto e-readers or even your cellphone.

of course, my own use of that be a variety of fart smells :eek:
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You have a fart fetish? :confused: :p
 
I still prefer books over anything. As a mechanic, its nice to have something for reference material, to look up clearances/tolerances, bolt torques, manifold port locations etc. Yes, books are expensive... Especially books for any kind of mechanical related things. Some of my books cost over $100 for paperbacked "magazines" sized things. Printed material has been around for thousands of years, possibly longer, and still is the easiest and most reliable form of getting information.

E-books (or any electronic information) is better suited for someone sitting on their ass behind a desk all day, or someone whos too lazy to use a table of contents and would rather use the search feature. If im doing 3d modeling, or blueprints in autocad... Dragging a few books out and covering my desk with them is the last thing I want to do. Id rather have a few PDFs open on a laptop or 2nd monitor, and not have to mess around with books. Though that is about the only exception to my preference of printed books. Books kick ass, and when you need one they are there. Can you name one time you lost a book due to a hard drive failuire? Can you name one time that your book BSOD'ed?

This smelly e-book idea seems like a half-baked attempt by someone with a lot of stock invested in scratch-and-sniff companies.

steele said:
http://s216606257.websitehome.co.uk/1.html
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Steve... Kyle... someone, ban this nubtard : http://hardforum.com/search.php?searchid=7470255
 
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