MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Cory Doctorow: "Hardware ebook readers are a dead end"

Jeff Duntemann · 03-05-2008, 07:45 PM

Before personal computers became commonplace, there were "dedicated word processors," which were special-purpose computer/storage appliances targeted at (affluent) offices. Xerox made one (I worked there at the time, midlate 70s) and it was well received in its day. There were similar dedicated payroll appliances and programmable scientific calculators (IBM's 5100 from 1975 was almost a personal computer) and other things that were basically 1-trick ponies that worked because of engineering cleverness and specialized hardware. All were gone within ten years because general-purpose computers got better and better while still getting cheaper and cheaper through expanding markets.

I think Cory was arguing against the current generation of dedicated readers, which are similar 1-trick pony engineering compromises that allow the reading of ebooks on something that'll fit in your pocket and not suck its battery dry in three hours. Those will eventually go the way of those Xerox dedicated word processors.

What we probably will see is convergence in two directions: Toward a thin, light, Letter/A4-sized tablet on the high end for general-purpose field computing, and a handheld cell/reader/music player device for limited-function pocket portability. A clever company like Apple could create something like a thin Air-style Macbook tablet with a slot in its side that would accept an iphone-like cell with ebook reader and music player ability. When in the slot, the cell handheld would provide cell-network access to the tablet a la Kindle. When the phone rings, you push a button and pop it out of the tablet (or leave it in and hit the tablet's "speakerphone" button) and if you want to leave the tablet at home you can still read books on the cell. The two are actually functional facets of the same overall computing system, and should be designed to be separable parts of a single hardware unit.

We're maybe 3-5 years away from a mature implementation of that, but most of us will still be here then. The Kindles and Sony Readers of 2008 will be museum pieces at some point. They're milestones, not roadblocks. We will do better, and soon.

03-05-2008, 07:45 PM	#47
Jeff Duntemann Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 2434999 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3; also Moto G Stylus phone	Before personal computers became commonplace, there were "dedicated word processors," which were special-purpose computer/storage appliances targeted at (affluent) offices. Xerox made one (I worked there at the time, midlate 70s) and it was well received in its day. There were similar dedicated payroll appliances and programmable scientific calculators (IBM's 5100 from 1975 was almost a personal computer) and other things that were basically 1-trick ponies that worked because of engineering cleverness and specialized hardware. All were gone within ten years because general-purpose computers got better and better while still getting cheaper and cheaper through expanding markets. I think Cory was arguing against the current generation of dedicated readers, which are similar 1-trick pony engineering compromises that allow the reading of ebooks on something that'll fit in your pocket and not suck its battery dry in three hours. Those will eventually go the way of those Xerox dedicated word processors. What we probably will see is convergence in two directions: Toward a thin, light, Letter/A4-sized tablet on the high end for general-purpose field computing, and a handheld cell/reader/music player device for limited-function pocket portability. A clever company like Apple could create something like a thin Air-style Macbook tablet with a slot in its side that would accept an iphone-like cell with ebook reader and music player ability. When in the slot, the cell handheld would provide cell-network access to the tablet a la Kindle. When the phone rings, you push a button and pop it out of the tablet (or leave it in and hit the tablet's "speakerphone" button) and if you want to leave the tablet at home you can still read books on the cell. The two are actually functional facets of the same overall computing system, and should be designed to be separable parts of a single hardware unit. We're maybe 3-5 years away from a mature implementation of that, but most of us will still be here then. The Kindles and Sony Readers of 2008 will be museum pieces at some point. They're milestones, not roadblocks. We will do better, and soon.