I admit to missing that as well, Charles, sitting around and chatting. Didn't get to do it often, with the demands of work, though.
On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 8:28 AM, Charles Sheehan-Miles < char...@sheehanmiles.net> wrote: > > > I made the comment to my wife a couple weeks ago that I'd be screwed if we > had any sort of apocalypse (or lengthy power outage for that matter). After > three moves in one year (and another one coming up in a few weeks), we got > tired of lugging around dozens of boxes of books from state to state. After > the last move, I donated more than a 1000 books to the local library, and > replaced most of them with ebooks. I carry my library around in my pocket > now, which is great… but when the battery dies, it really sucks. > > I have mixed feelings about Barnes & Noble. I was a regular at Oxford > Books in Atlanta for many years, met my wife there, got married in the > coffee shop. Not long after B&N opened up in Buckhead, Oxford started > careening toward bankruptcy, due to a combination of bad management, too > much debt, and sudden intense competition from a national chain. B&N killed > off many many independent bookstores, and now ironically is being killed off > by virtual competition. Not entirely sure how I feel about that, because > I'd give a lot to be able to sit in the coffee shop at Oxford again chatting > with the other regulars late into the night. > > From: Martin Baxter <martinbaxt...@gmail.com> > Reply-To: <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:16:31 -0400 > To: <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com> > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Barnes and Noble bites the dust > > > > "My hunch is that B&N never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied > as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores." > > Personally, rave, I think that just might be why I like B&N so much. I'm > not big on e-books at all (I picked up a batch over the past few weeks, only > because it was the only way I could get the books, as they're unavailable in > print. E-books, for all the marvel they are, are dependent on tech to be > viewable. If you've got a problem with your Kindle or iPhone or computer, > you're SOL. Books don't break down, even when they fall apart. > > On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Kelwyn <ravena...@yahoo.com> wrote: > >> >> >> >> http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110381/clearance-sale-barnes-noble-didnt-evolve-enough?mod=career-leadership >> >> How did Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS - News) fall so far so fast? >> >> The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into the >> hearts of independent booksellers everywhere, put itself up for sale this >> month, rendering it the corporate equivalent of the remaindered books it >> sells at a discount. >> >> The company said it made the move because its shares are undervalued, but >> to me there was an air of desperation about it. >> >> The simple explanation for Barnes & Noble's decline is the Internet, which >> spawned Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN - News), e-readers and digital books. But >> that didn't have to be the end for B&N, which had a dominant market position >> and should have out-Amazoned Amazon, leveraging its brand and innovating >> when it began marketing and selling books online. >> >> I know exactly when B&N lost me as a customer. Some years ago, to compete >> with Amazon, B&N began offering free same-day delivery in Manhattan if you >> placed your order over the Internet by 11 a.m. I did so several times -- and >> not once did the books arrive when promised. Everything I have ordered from >> Amazon has arrived on time or earlier. Then came Amazon's game-changing >> Kindle, and instant delivery. Nothing I've read about B&N's belated rival >> Nook has tempted me to try it. >> >> My hunch is that B&N never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied >> as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores. As B&N >> focused on managing decline, a much more nimble Amazon could concentrate >> exclusively on the new world it was forming. B&N needed to destroy its >> business model to prevail. Now it is probably too late. There is a lesson >> for all businesses here. >> >> > > > -- > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > -- "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
