6 Aug
2008
6 Aug
'08
5:47 a.m.
On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 9:59 PM, der Mouse <mouse at rodents-montreal.org> wrote:
> didn't understand that the OLPC with suitable
software and e-texts
> was a LESS EXPENSIVE replacement for textbooks.
I'm not convinced that is actually true. I'm
perfectly ready to
believe it's true if you consider only up-front monetary costs, but
there are a lot of other costs involved, such as the failure modes (one
[...]
I agree, but think that even the up-front cost for books is not as
high. In my undergraduate (and earlier graduate) days, whenever a
friend would go home to India, China or Pakistan, they'd come back
with the overseas editions of engineering textbooks that cost $80-$100
here. There, they cost $2-$10, and we're not talking pirated copies.
Printed cheaply (phonebook type paper) but still very serviceable, the
content is exactly the same. (Yes, in english. There'd be a chinese
or hindi subtitle on the cover, and some front matter, but the rest is
the same)
The publishers know that unless they price them that low, noone would
buy the books.
Joe.