I got this message from a reader concerned about the size of our Windows Guide. “I don’t see how my computer could possible have room for something with more than 400 pages. It would probably take hours to download a file that large.”
This brings up an interesting point about our Ultimate Guide to Windows 10, as well as other eBooks. Actually, despite being a long book with hundreds of pages and images, it’s not really that big of a file. The information has been converted into a PDF. That stands for Portable Document Format and can contain a huge amount of information in a reasonably-sized file.
You’ll also find eBooks in the epub format and Amazon’s Kindle Package Format. All of these file types allow you to fit a tremendous amount of information in a file. That’s why a Kindle can hold thousands upon thousands of eBooks.
The actual size of the 400-page guide is 14.23 MB. To put that in perspective, a photo on my phone is 3.6 MB. That mean the guide is equal in size to 3 or 4 photos. With a high-speed connection it takes 10 to 15 seconds to download. A PDF this size is actually small enough to attach to an e-mail.
Most eBooks download rather rapidly. From purchase to the time you can read it on your eReader, tablet, phone or PC the time is usually a matter of seconds. That’s one of the best features of eBooks.
A GB can hold 1000 MB. You could fit a lot of these guides on a hard drive without running out of room. The beauty of digital is that is can take something like a stack of records, a shelf full of books or reels of movies and fit it all on your phone or tablet. The average smartphone now has as much computing power as an old desktop PC. Plus it allows you to carry your music collection, magazines and books, photos and movies and TV with you anywhere.
~ Cynthia
My issue is not with the size of the Widows 10 Guide*, rather with the amount of intensive blue coloring on many pages. My Cyan cartridge had to be replaced long before the other two color cartridges.
*I did manage to copy the guide on to my tablet from my desk top computer. I did this via a cable, and the process went very smoothly.
Leonard: eBooks are not designed to be printed. Part of the choice of using an eBook is that we were able to use a lot of large color images to illustrate what was happening. Those images are direct screenshots from Windows 10 that actually show what’s happening on the screen.
Hey Cynthia, Great decision to make ‘Ultimate Guide to Windows 10’ a PDF, makes it easy to add my own inserts and URLs for reference, thanks.
Great info! It never even dawned on me to ask this question and the answer is really a good one.
Thanks for this question and answer. I have not been downloading the guides because I thought they took up too much space. I don’t ask questions on the WorldStart Q/A page due to snarky put down answers from the EXPERTS.
Bill:
I’m not sure what you mean by the WorldStart Q/A page. If you have a question for us, submit it to http://www.worldstart.com/ask If you’re talking about the forums, those are hosted on our servers, but maintained and run by users. So we’re not answering there and you’re actually asking your fellow users instead of “experts.”