Note: I apologize for repeating some of what Wizard-mag just said, but I started writing before he posted, and I don't feel like re-writing, 'cause I'm lazy. 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
> the problem there is that you can't really demand true innovation
of course not. but _we_ can be smart about making ourselves dependent (or not) on "innovation" that hasn't yet developed to the point where it is actually usable...
we can be smart about continuing to pursue other options, on a just-in-case basis.
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Ah, I must have misunderstood what you meant by "... demand some _real_ results ...."
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
as for being "up-front" about the refresh rates, why were so many people surprised?
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Possibly because they weren't paying attention? Keep in mind that
E-Ink, Inc. has not been marketing any consumer products. The Press Releases on their site are a pretty good indication of what E-Ink has actually said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
sure, e-ink said "this isn't fast enough that it could be used for video...", but that's a far cry from telling us that it will take a half-second or more to display each page.
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Their press releases
usually mention the refresh issue. When I first became aware of it some years ago I believe that the 4 gray-level monochrome was taking 2 seconds to refresh. E-Ink really isn't to blame for the ... glossing over of those who
are making end consumer products. I don't think they are responsible, anyway.
Incidentally, they've recently demoed a color version that
is almost good enough for video playback, and they're still saying ~2 years on the commercial viability for
that tech.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
furthermore, in programming my own e-book applications, i've been well aware that one of the ways that people actually _use_ books is to thumb through pages quickly, so i have taken pride in the fact that my apps can rip through 5-15 pages per second. and i've used that capability enough to know that it would be painful to live without it. does e-ink inc. not _realize_ slowness is a huge disadvantage? or just not telling us?
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Again,
E-Ink, Inc. is not making any reading devices of any kind, they make display tech -- others have decided that it's good enough for this or that application. And they're certainly not responsible for the software that drives a given reading device!
Personally, I happen to find a 1 second page turn adequate for my reading purposes. But that's something each user will have to decide for themselves. I'm also not trying to flip through pages to find references, but rather just reading fiction one page at a time, which is what the current crop of e-ink readers are designed for, and in my view, do quite well. The fact that they don't do things well that they weren't designed for is a bit like being upset with GE because their toaster doesn't make coffee -- actually, it's like being upset with the folks who make GE's toaster
heating elements because toasters don't make coffee.
If the current crop of readers doesn't do what you need, all it means is that they're not what you're looking for, not that they've been over-hyped by the display manufacturer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
again, i'm not faulting e-ink for failing to materialize.
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As a nit-picky detail, this thread was originally addressed to
Plastic Logic's version of electronic paper, which isn't e-ink.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
sometimes things do take time. and for the first few years of their promises, i didn't even fault them for making them. after all, if you think you can solve the problems in "a couple years", then _say_that_.
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It seems to me that's more or less what E-Ink, Inc.
has done, I can't really speak to Plastic Logic, as I haven't been following them for nearly as long, nor as closely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
but after you've been saying "a couple years" for _eight_years_straight_, then i think you've gotta come clean and tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. that's not "radical transparency", it's just common human decency...
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Plastic Logic has only been around since 2000, so it's only got 7 years under its belt, I haven't followed them all that closely, and their Press Releases only go back a to 2006, so I really have no idea what they've promised when for how long in the future.
As far as your
main point that these corporate PR predictions should be taken well salted until they actually materialize (and often for some time afterward), with that I agree unreservedly.
