e-textbooks rant

I find it amusing that the e-textbook site I looked at lists free shipping via UPS on orders over $25. (textbooks.com)

I want to know if publishers will want to eventually to have the same costs for e-textbooks as they are currently charging for hard copies considering the trend towards costs for e-books that recently went into effect.
School districts usually don't buy new sets of textbooks every year. You can have a textbook that is 10 years old but it's still current enough for student use. If the Kindles they give to students are only usable for textbooks then maybe they won't be stolen but if not there's a market out there for stolen kindles and they are so very portable. We have a large enough problem with break-in thefts of school computers in the district.
In the school where I work we have a problem where students suddenly disappear meaning that we lose those library books checked out to them. We also have people's personal items that go missing just for malicious fun. Kindle in your backpack with all your other things.. too bad.

Internet access at home is not a given if the Kindle stays at school locked up. If it's food or heat vs. internet, internet isn't going to win.

Budget crunches in our state may make public libraries with their free internet unavailable on a regular basis.

Printing off hard copy of textbooks will increase printer paper/ink costs rise where such things are already rationed as a cost cutting measure.

School districts across the state are making budget cuts, letting staff go so that they can give raises to those remaining people, as was mandated by the state legislature for this school year(not that the teachers don't deserve those raises).
Where are they going to get the money to buy the Kindles and subscribe to the e-textbook as an on-going cost? College textbooks are upgraded every year it seems and one of the benefits is that the textbooks will be more easily made current but will there be additional costs for the new and improved textbooks? I can see it happening in a world where there's luggage carry-on fees.

This is going to be interesting to see this play out.

E-textbooks more popular in Texas schools, but shift will take some getting used to
Posted Tuesday, Jul. 27, 2010
By Hilary Collins
( Read more... )

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/27/2365696/e-textbooks-more-popular-in-texas.html

Rome's gay priest scandal

Are we not all sinners in the eyes of the church? How is being homosexual and not acting on those desires a sin that requires them to be weeded out from serving the church? The church needs to take a long look at itself and re-evaluate.

They ordain priests who are already married.
They should be able to have gay priests who still exemplify the church's standards of a righteous person.
While we're at it, church sanctioned gay marriage should have already been approved. Two people in love in a committed relationship and in some families' cases raising children is what a marriage is all about.

I believe this is what they call a 'witch hunt'.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/23/romes-gay-priest-scandal-makes-everyone-look-bad/

Today seems to be a ranty day..but there's so much to rant about.