iPad’s First Print Book Victim: Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary will not be printed again thanks in part to the iPad, Alastair Jamieson reports for The Telegraph:

Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’, said the switch towards online formats was “prescient”. He said: “Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last for ever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise.”

Wow.

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Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, iPad, Top stories |

George
You seem to have replaced the word “may” with “will”.
I’ve been reading this story over at many different news websites and nowhere does it say it will definitely never be printed again.
And anyway this only applies to the multi-volumed Oxford English, not the one seen in schools and book shops.
imajoebob
OED has been primarily an online resource for almost a decade. I’m sure they took a look at their list of clients who bought the last set of books (universities, libraries, and… ?) and how many now have an online license, and did the simple math. It has NOTHING to do with the iPad.
Fearless Fred
As George points out, this is only the massive, all-encompassing multiple volume set. This set is typically only bought by large libraries, and only sold in relatively small volumes. The dictionary that the general public buy/use is *not* being referred to here.
James
Just a few points…
1. This is not even confirmed
2. The image is not the OED
3. There is no link to the iPad.
Other than that, this is an incredibly thoughtful piece of investigative journalism.
Kris Jones
The idea that the iPad has anything to do with a possible decision to end printing the OED is patently absurd. The full OED runs to 20-volumes. It’s only ever had two editions, the last of which was published in 1989. Completion of the third edition is more than 10 years away. Assuming there is no third edition in print, it will be because of database software and fast online connections, regardless of what hardware is out there.