As we all know, the Internet changed everything. The Net and the Web have brought the world closer together. Many older means of communication have either been replaced or changed so as to co-exist with, and complement, electronic communication. Email, for example, has replaced almost all business and a lot of personal letter writing, though our mailboxes remain filled with lots of mail, most unwanted. A lot of printed newspapers and magazines still exist, but their content is now also available on websites, and the websites are timelier and often offer more detailed information. Printed media is not dead by any means, as millions of people still prefer to curl up with a good book or grab a paper on their way to work. There have been many efforts to popularize ebooks, downloadable books in digital form, but their acceptance remains in its infancy.



But that won't stay that way. Ebooks make eminent sense. Since books are almost all text, an ebook download is very fast and hundreds of ebooks can fit onto a small storage card. Ebooks do not contribute to cutting down forests, they do not need to be trucked across the country, they do not produce waste, and they are usually a lot less expensive than printed books. Ebooks also have many other advantages. Depending on your ebook reader software, an ebook can be annotated, bookmarked and searched. The latter is especially useful; I often want to go back to a certain quote or paragraph in a book, and electronic search is so much easier than leafing through a printed book.

One of the problems ebooks face is that people do not know how to use them. They are confused by the many different ebook formats or think they need a particular piece of hardware to read them. In fact, the formats are not really a problem. Most computers can read popular ebook formats and ebook reader software is freely available. Hardware is a bit more of an issue. Hardcovers and paperbacks are awfully convenient and they don't need batteries, so a lot of people shy away from reading on a computer screen or spending the money for a dedicated ebook reader.

This is really too bad as ebooks are clearly the way of the future. They just make too much sense. Those who dismiss ebooks are missing out on a great and increasingly attractive alternative to the printed page. Those who are willing to give ebooks a chance are rewarded with lower costs and the ability to carry an entire library on a device of their choice, be that a notebook computer, a Tablet PC, a dedicated ebook reader, a PDA or even a smartphone. And they have access to a potentially much larger variety of books. That's because ebooks make self-publishing easy and lots of authors who don't have a chance of getting picked up by traditional print publishing houses can distribute their books electronically. Best of all, there is no waste and there will never be unsold books that end up on a bargain table or in a landfill.

My advice is to give ebooks a chance. Download a free ebook. Look for sites dedicated to ebooks, especially those with a website design that is appealing. See what format you prefer, and what device you like to read on. But be warned: you may get hooked. Once you get into them, downloading and reading ebooks can become a passion.