How dare
they!
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At Unbound Ideas, we follow the development of the e-ink and e-reader technology with great interest. We think the “e” is a large part of the future of publishing, and will provide a dramatically new way for readers and authors to connect. The Morning News is currently holding its Tournament of Books – an event that’s wonderful fun for lovers of fiction. One of the judges had trouble obtaining one of the books and finally ordered an e-version through Amazon. He was able to read the book on both his Kindle and his i-Phone.
What’s more the two devices kept in synch as to how far he’d progressed in the book. Continue reading » »  Amazon's Kindle 2 Slate’s technology expert, Farhad Manjoo, is one of our favorite popular writers about all trends digital. His recent commentary about how primitive the Internet of the 1990s seems now, and what that implies about the Internet of today was fun and thoughtful. (”In 2020, we’ll get the Internet over electronic ink scrolls powered by algae….”) In another piece today, he raves about the experience of using a Kindle, which he describes as the future of publishing. Among the claims: skeptics will become true believers the moment they use them; the Kindle will allow you to organize and gain control over your reading life like the iPod allowed you to manage your music life. (A favorite aspect for me.) But Manjoo also fears that this will make the Kindle as dominant and omnipresent as the iPod, circumventing all other book avenues. This seems dubious, and just another form of change fearing. While e-readers seem to have reached a popular tipping point, they have a long way to go before they achieve the kind of ubiquity of the television set or even the iPod. But Manjoo does mention something we’ve suspected and mentioned before. Digital readers increase book sales. In the same way, digital music players increases music sales. When you can click-buy, you buy more. Maybe the future of publishing isn’t as bleak as people fear. In fact, we think it’s soongoing to hit its information age stride – whether it wants to or not. We’re fans of the Kindle (2) because we think it opens up a new paradigm – as books go digital, publishing, distribution, sales strategies and author-reader interaction will be radically different. But there are plenty of naysayers inside the industry and among readers. It seems less likely that the Kindle or any particular variation will be the device that goes iPod on the industry. It seems more likely that e-ink technology will be the core innovation that drives the change. Imagine the environmental impact alone of e-ink newspapers and magazines? This article in Wired shows that Plastic Logic is way ahead of you. Check this out; resistance is not only futile, it’s less fun: |
  
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