While watching “The Colbert Report” last week, I took notice of Steven Colbert’s guest, Nicholas Carr, author of the book, “The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google.”

Carr believes we are in the midst of a transition in computing, moving from using our own private hard drives to store information to using computers as access portals to reach external databases which will store information for us.

Soon, he says, all companies and individuals will outsource their computing systems, from programming to data storage, to companies with bigger hard drives in out-of-the-way places.

Basically, Carr is worried that wealth, in the form of information, will be consolidated into the hands of a select few companies that control content on the Internet – companies such as Google and YouTube – and that many industries will suffer, perhaps most notably the publishing industry.

Colbert then retorted in that flippant way of his that sometimes things just need to die in order for progress to be made.

He likened the publishing industry and books to primitive writing in the mud with a reed as a stylus.

Now Colbert is rarely serious, so it’s possible and very likely that he doesn’t really believe books need to die because they are outdated.

I for one think that books are not archaic, and are in many ways more convenient than using a computer.

We can’t and won’t do away with the publishing industry and simply put physical books onto a database.

I realize the huge advantage of putting books on a computer so that you can have more than one book available in one place.

It’s also easier to transport a computer than multiple books, especially if they are hardcover. Yet I still think the disadvantages of putting books onto the computer outweighs the advantages.

Books are portable in a way that computers, including laptops, are not.

If you take your computer to the beach, there is a very good chance you’ll get sand in the keyboard unless you have a keyboard cover that is designed to fit so closely to your keyboard that nothing can get in, similar to the ones used in the military.

But then there is also a chance that you’ll get water on your computer, and even if it is safe from all of this, there is still going to be a big glare off the screen from the sun.

These are only some of the inevitable problems that come with using computers in certain environments.

Books are more expendable, more lightweight and don’t need a power source to work.

I realize that I am speaking about future technology in terms of today’s technology, which can be limiting, but even if a book becomes available on a tiny transportable computer that is safe from the elements, is super cheap, lightweight, doesn’t hurt your eyes like today’s computers can, and has a very long-lasting battery, I will still choose a tangible book.

There is just something great about the feel of a book in your hand; the sense of accomplishment you feel when you turn actual pages with your finger tips and the satisfaction you feel when the last page has been turned and you can physically close the book.

It’s hard to feel these things, reading a book on a computer.

Even if technology advances so much that there is a way to turn physical pages of a computer book, I still would prefer an actual book.

Hell, they just smell good! I don’t think that books are ever going to die out and if they do, it will be a sad world to live in, bereft of the rustle of turning pages or the musty smell of a dog-eared paperback.

Colleen is a senior in Media and would really like to be reading under a leafy tree right now instead of doing her endless amounts of homework. She can be reached at [email protected].