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Comment by cromulent | Hacker News Reader

I think you are right, but my mind keeps wandering to the person who can drop 6000 USD on a Kindle title. I hope they get the value out of it they need.

http://www.amazon.com/2SO4-family-K3BiCl6-KH3F4-ebook/dp/B00...

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Seriously, I look at this title and have no trouble at all imagining that it generates $6000 worth of value. Look at it, think about why you might need it, and then think about how much it would cost you to generate an alternative to it.

Again, I think you are right. In this case, I would want the hardcopy. I don't think I'm alone.

Why would a digital version NOT be better? This is a 1500 page book that comes with a cd full of data anyways. I guessing something like this would be used as more of a reference. Seems like the ability to search the text would make things a whole lot easier digitally.

Obviously paper books have their benefits. But some books are far better suited to be digital.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be better.

I'm thinking of the situation when you would buy something like this. I'm guessing most individuals would not buy one, and any corporation or other institution would have some kind of purchasing policy that would affect a purchase of this size.

An institution would probably not want a non-shareable Kindle copy - rather than buy each individual a Kindle copy, they would buy the hardcopy and stick it on the shelf.

Institutions that I am familiar with, anyway.

Having handled books from that series, I can assure you that a Kindle edition with proper search capabilities is definitely worth more than the physical version.

At least one reviewer has an interesting take on it

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1WUN3F61QZD5Y/ref=cm_cr_dp_per...

The review for that book is entertaining.

And the one-touch purchase button has never been more terrifying.

My thoughts exactly :)

It aren't individuals that purchase such books, but rather universities, companies and research institutions.

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