There was a prototype of this ereader built, but we never saw it.
"Today, a single Apple product—the iPhone—generates more revenue than all of Microsoft’s wares combined."
...
"According to [
Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Kurt] Eichenwald,
Microsoft had a prototype e-reader ready to go in 1998 (
emphasis mine), but when the technology group presented it to Bill Gates he promptly gave it a thumbs-down, saying it wasn’t right for Microsoft. “He didn’t like the user interface, because it didn’t look like Windows,” a programmer involved in the project recalls."
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/dai...-steve-ballmer
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That's funny, because I count my first ereader as an HP Jornada with Windows CE. I used to download content to it and put it in plain txt format to get away from the keyboard and still be able to read the online content I wanted.
I also put a couple of Project Gutenberg works on it, but it was backlit and the display was horrible and hurt my eyes compared to what we have today.