Government’s policy. In my country they regard hardcopy/printed receipt etc as a (the only) valid transaction record. It’s stupid but there’s nothing we can do much.

Writing a program to download the statements is a good idea, but my banks require either the number from an RSA device or several challenges or picture identification that would be difficult to program around..

@AngelValerie – The digital camera is a good idea if you can hold the camera steady and straight. There are actually book scanners that use two digital cameras and automatically turn the page, snap two photos, turn the page, snap two photos.

There are other options though, you could write a program that logs onto your banks website downloads the pdf and emails it to you automatically.

Ereading for hours can be a strain on the eyes, so I prefer my novels and large texts to be in hard copy. However, all journals and news should be epublished only.

I cheated on the scanning – I used my digital camera to photograph ALL the notes from college and uni over the years. Because I photographed in sequence and saved, the pages are automatically numbered. I also did yearbooks and such. Saved a bunch of space on the bookshelves, loads less dust around the place and I can move countries with ease….relatively

Great site!

I too have switched some bills back to paper based because it is just to inconvenient to handle companies nonsense methods of sending “paperless” updates.

I just want my statements sent to me as a pdf. I want them to be exact replicas of what I would otherwise have received on a paper statement. And I want the pdf to be password protected, preferably with the password that I use to log into the account page in question. Perhaps the password should be a straight combination of the login ID and the password in question to make it stronger.

What’s wrong with that? Enlightened minds please discuss.

This may piss ecofriendly people off, but I am so fed up with the current paperless statement systems that I am not using them until I get what I want. The companies save money when I sign up for paperless, so I am not giving them that privilege until I get my statements as described above.

With this in mind, the price seems even higher for ebooks that what it does now.

@Claude – I agree that a significant obstacle to going paperless is our mind. Right now I’m struggling with whether or not I should scan in all my college work and throw out the paper or not. On one hand it makes sense. On the other, there is quite a bit of sentimental attachments to the reams of handwritten music from the years I spent at a university.

Right now my plan is to scan them in and then see if I can bear to part with the paper.

There are other roadblocks and our current infrastructure doesn’t really support secure communication. That is why so much stuff comes on paper already. If we were somehow able to get everyone up and running with encryption I think we’d see much less paper being produced.

The roadblock is simply the mind. I have all the tools in here but I will sometime stash a piece of paper in a drawer. Probably because it’s attractive, well done, well written.

To become paperless is a goal and as such must be worked on with deadlines and record of accomplishments. I got rid of a lateral filing cabinet (four drawers) down to a vertical two drawers. Never felt so good.

i forgot the Green points!

governments should calculate the cost (carbon and financial) of newspaper production PLUS those costs pertaining to disposal of read copies.

i have a feeling it might work out cheaper for all concerned (the individual and the state) if FREE e-readers were supplies to all households with costbenefits split 50 50 between reader and e-reader supplier

I’m shooting from the hip writing this – i.e. haven’t thought it through yet – so any ideas/amendements etc anyone?

thanbks again

J

First, many thanks for such an excellent site – megamany useful tips/points etc.

Question re E – Ink

Sorry if its a daft question but can one read e-ink written docs on a mac screen?

Re online subscribing v. hardcopy

I’ll focus first on the economics & practical aspects first

I enjoy handling a paper, it doesn’t have a battery that runs out and its easy on the eye. On Sundays its therapy

however …

I subscribe to MANY infojournals (London Times etc) and rely on RSS in order to be able to scan (hopefully absorb) cherry-pick (accept and reject) megamany story feeds

There’s no way I’d have the time or inclination to plough through x number of physical journals (never mind the expense!)

I can clip items in moments for storage in a database e.g. the excellent DevonThink so that I can cross-reference etc. later

the alternative would be scissors, scrapbook file, a ruined manicure – and time!

what kills the e-readers is that they’re SO expensive. ok they fit in the pocket but $ for $ their functionality is megalimited and primitive even.

Books are a no-no. Even books I consider part of me only get reread once every 5 years – so Its more cost effective to lash out a buy a new copy.

Journals and newspapers etc – totally agree e-readers are an excellent medium.

However, most people (like me!) resent paying almost the price of hardcopy for an eversion – so we won’t play.

THE business model is to supply e-readers FREE or at e.g. $50 tied in with a subscription – a subscription which should be calculated at the hardcopy price MINUS the production costs thereof.

Publishers could hook up, informally, to provide x numbers of subscriptions for a set price + an e-reader

The take-up would be ENORMOUS. I feel SO confident I’m willing to volunteer to direct crowd control on opening day! The answer is VOLUME – at current prices only footballers and webmasters can afford these things!

BOTTOM LINE – very VERY few people will cough up $400 for such a basic gadget – hell, for $700 more you get a macbook with so many functions that, function for function, equates an e-reader to be worth $10 if that! (well, its a FORM of logic