For some reason, this reminds me of how adult movie theaters were put out of business by pr0n VHS tapes which were replaced by pr0n DVDs which were made obsolete by the Interwebitubes.

Borders has been delaying payments to book publishers in signs that it may be one of the first major victims of e-books. Early reports from Publishers Marketplace on Friday said it was putting off the payments to help refinance its debt but also wasn’t certain that the plan would be effective. It might have to break its existing credit deals early into 2011 after facing a “liquidity shortfall,” it said.
[…]
E-books have been credited in part to the damage done to Borders and even more successful stores like Barnes & Noble, where digital downloads are mostly replacing paper copies rather than adding to the business. Borders has been exploring the possibility of financing from an investor to buy Barnes & Noble and get a successful business through a takeover.

Any financial collapse at Borders could have a ripple effect on the e-book business. It would cost Kobo one of its most important markets for e-readers and would close one of the few major online book stores. The shift could feed Amazon, Apple and other survivors with extra customers.

In a vaguely not unrelated topic, here’s one guy’s take on how iPads, etc. are killing the old media model.

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