There is some good news first, this is the first time I have posted to the blog from iPad. I’m using the keyboard with the stand and it works very well (yes, the hardware keyboard supports the dvorak layout for any fellow typing geeks).
My only thought is that it might be better to use the bluetooth keyboard and a stand so that I can see the monitor in landscape view, the portrait view is not the best for the Gmail interface, or wordpress for that matter. Scrolling up and down works well, side to side causes problems with readability.
So… back to the sad day thing… A little more than a year ago I mentioned that I was using a PSP to watch movies while traveling, and that I had checked out a comic book application that wasn’t too bad. I could see the writing on the wall that eventually this would become a problem for the local comic shop, much the way the small local bookstore has been taking a beating for the past 5 years or more.
Fanboys like me know that Wednesday is Comic day, that’s when the new publications hit the stores. I’ve followed the stories of adventure for more than 25 years, but last Wednesday was the first time that a comic I was going to buy in the store was also available via the Comixology Application for iPad. Instead of driving to the local shop to buy it, I just clicked and had it instantly. Comic shops are like antique stores, fishing stores and hardware stores, just fun to walk around and see what’s interesting. I wish I could say that comic shops will stick around, but I think they have a lot more in common with newspapers than boutiques. Hopefully I’m wrong…
Addendum: Seth Godin wrote today in a similar vein about the quest to save the paper.
3 replies on “A Sad Day”
I’m not a comics / graphic novel aficionado — I think I was too old for the wave of graphic novels starting around Maus and moving on from there — but I wonder if there’s a tactile appeal to them that will be difficult to replicate in an online format.
I don’t really think of them as the same as books; they seem quite different to me. If I had to find a parallel I’d think more of as a piece of art.
And I would wager that online wouldn’t replace the collectible side of that medium.
I’ve pulled all of this right out of my butt, just so we’re clear. I have absolutely no idea whether I’m on base or in left field.
Yes, the time around Maus was huge, that and Dark Knight Returns…
The tactile appeal is true, but you have to see the pan and zoom on the iPad – an interesting benefit – it forces you to stay linear, you never get any spoilers from the next page.
Collectors are another market that will always survive, but I have to point to LPs as a datapoint – even the biggest original Elvis Vinyl is going for less than $5 on ebay if not in original shrink wrap.
I had to check it out and yes, the iPhone also supports a Dvorak layout. This is probably a DuH type moment but it would also help with people trying to convert because you could set your computer and your phone to the same keyboard.