Thursday, April 26, 2007

Just not the same! And Synergy!

I'm a literature major (if you haven't read my profile) and I love reading (surprising, I know). My passion for reading for pleasure goes in streaks due to assignments, classes, events and just a plain lack of time.

Today, I decided to explore the growing online phenomenon of Project Gutenberg. Basically the site is a place for anyone to download and read many of the classics of literature. The entire basis for the project is to have free, accessible, digital versions of the "classics, but there is a small issue: it's hard to beat just holding a book in your hand and reading it.

There is just something about having a book in your hand and watching the pages accumulate on the left hand side, all while your mind is immersed in the world of someone else's brilliance or lack thereof depending on the author.

Just downloading and scrolling through pages just seems to lose the appeal and authenticity of reading a book. It seems too much like scrolling a website and trying to find information that you are looking for. Something gets lost in the translation and that's unfortunate.

It's a great cause and a wonderful idea, but I would still rather just pick up a book and enjoy! The current choice: Catch-22.

I do have a tech find for anyone just feels like being incredibly productive with not one, but two or more computers using the exact same keyboard and mouse. The free product is called Synergy and works great! The best part is that it is cross-platform compatible! So if you happen to have several computers or want to try out Linux or Mac, but you still love your Windows machine, you can download and install Synergy and set it up so that you can use all of your operating systems on their proper screens. I know this is useless to anyone who doesn't have two computers with monitors, but the novelty and the space saving of only one keyboard and mouse is just nice!

Anyways, feel free to subscribe and leave your comments and have a great day!





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1 comment:

War News Updates Editor said...

Enjoyed reading your post on Gutenberg. It was Gutenberg that motivated me to start my own free online library site 5 years ago. The site is Bookyards and it is located at http://www.bookyards.com

For your info, we at Bookyards have compiled a list of over 500 free online libraries offering ebooks. That link is located at http://www.bookyards.com/links.html?category_id=1780