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Originally Posted by MovieBird
As far as color diagrams, so insert a color picture. I'm willing to wager the majority of eReading is done on devices that can show color.
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I'm not. But the question is how much is done on dedicated readers vs multi-purpose devices. I honestly don't know.
My usual reading device does color because it's a multi-function device, but I don't assume I'm representative.
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And eInk devices will get color at some point.
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Not holding my breath, and recommending you don't either. eInk talked about having a 12 bit color prototype in the lab in 2006 that they expected to be in volume production in 2007. Didn't happen.
There are several promising low-power consumption color technologies out there, but they aren't eInk.
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My only point is that we should go back to linear textbook formatting, as opposed to having busy pages with an example in one corner, a second picture somewhere else, and margin notes. What's wrong with a paragraph and then an equation/picture/table? Margin notes can simply be hyperlinked endnotes.
I guess I just fail to see what is so hard about making a textbook enjoyable to use in a flowable format, other than having to do it differently from the firehose approach of putting as much glitz onto a page as possible in the printed world.
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Speaking as someone who was once a print designer/production guy, I wouldn't call it "glitz". The point is to convey information, and the best design is the one that does the best job of it. There are reasons for textbook design that aren't related to glitz.
But the fundamental issue is making best use of the capabilities of an electronic device. This requires a
different format from the one used to produce the printed book. Even if you simplify the design of the printed book to be single column with in line illustrations and the like, it will still be
different, and there will be additional costs involved in maintaining both formats.
The trick is reducing the additional costs to a reasonable level, which is where I think XML can help.
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Dennis