Good article on history and future of e-paper

[TadW]

http://www.piworld.com/story/story_s...5168&var=story

Regardless, our outlook for electronic paper as a display technology is quite bullish, but we feel that while the first-generation devices are impressive, the real application for electronic paper will be incorporated into next-generation PDAs, cellphones, MP3 players—or whatever omnipurpose device evolves out of the merging of all of these disparate gadgets. The combination of a flexible or rollable e-paper display with a device that can access the wireless Internet and access updated content is a killer app waiting to happen.

Technological hurdles abound, of course. As the Web becomes more rich media-based, it is several strides ahead of the capabilities of the current crop of e-paper technologies.

[Anchoku]

Nice article. Thanks, TadW.

[Cthulhu]

I liked Natch's reply:
yeah, the sales of e-books is nothing compared to that of paper or audio books. Um.... how many electronic versions of those same traditional books did they sell again?

Not to flog a dead equine, but this self-fulfilling prophecy of releasing scant portions of a product, then claiming that the product was unsuccessful simply rankles.

I suppose that the counter-argument is that if electronic text was so popular, the demand would be overwhelming and the publishers would thus be forced to expand the market.

Sorry for the rant. The article was very good, and I hope that we see the extended implementation of electrophoretic displays that they envision.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I liked the article, inasmuch as it provided a nice hardware history. However, the statement in the opening paragraph:

Perhaps “market” is the wrong word to use, as almost all the news that came out comprised solely of technology demonstrations, announcements of strategic partnerships, and prototype media and devices—none of which were available commercially. As a result, there was no real “market” to speak of.

...says a lot. It would seem that any statements about the "market" are empty, as it is very clear that the publishing industry is practically going out of its way to make sure there is no market.

If I can buy a horse or a donkey for a job, but I've never seen a donkey, much less ever been told that donkeys exist, I imagine I'd "prefer" a horse. When average consumers believe that the only way to read an e-book is sitting in front of your PC screen (and have never even heard of Cleartype), it's obvious that there is a serious disconnect, and therefore statements about peoples' "preferences" are pointless.

[Cthulhu]

Steve--

Indeed!

I like the fact that all my friends who work in corporate offices--paperless offices--never need to mess around with copying files, writing things down, it's all digital nowadays.

Oh wait! That's a load of malarkey! Most people who use computers at home generate twice as much paperwaste, and corporations continue to ingest mounds of paper products each day.

But books, oh no, no one wants to "read" on a computer type thingy. That is why the weblog phenonemon is so unpopular. ;-

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

But books, oh no, no one wants to "read" on a computer type thingy. That is why the weblog phenonemon is so unpopular. ;-

I was recently very amused by the fact that, on another forum discussing e-books, one voice came out decrying his lack of interest in e-books... describing them with words like "repulsive," "sterile," and "distasteful," and stating his preference for the "wonderful old musty smell and slightly browning pages" of paper. He made it very clear that he does not prefer to read on computers.

The amusing part was that this was the moderator of the forum, who has put in (to date) 3,399 comments on his site!

Oh, Irony... thy name is E-book...

[jæd]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I was recently very amused by the fact that, on another forum discussing e-books, one voice came out decrying his lack of interest in e-books... describing them with words like "repulsive," "sterile," and "distasteful," and stating his preference for the "wonderful old musty smell and slightly browning pages" of paper. He made it very clear that he does not prefer to read on computers.

Yuck...! If any of my paper books got like that I'd throw them out and get a new copy...!

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by jæd

Yuck...! If any of my paper books got like that I'd throw them out and get a new copy...!

That's not always possible (or at least easy). I have several in this condition, including some I bought as a kid (and some my mom had when she was a kid). I'm considering how best to scan them without destroying them altogether-- if I scan them, I won't damage them further while reading, and if they completely fall apart, I'll still have the contents.