[Prestidigitweeze]

First of all, props to the OP for doing everyone's work for them. Like others here, perhaps, I haven't checked the synopsis by reading the original article in Wired (really another leisure brochure from Conde Nast, Inc. and not the tech/SF-friendly mag it once was). I'm going to do so before writing further responses just to be fair.

I only wanted to say this:

I, too, am loathe to profane bound pages with scrawls that will only emphasize passages and insights that will seem obvious when next I pick up that same book. Whether it's my second or twentieth, each reading has the potential to reveal something new.

However, other kinds of note-taking are required for college students and editors whether they respect books or not. The copies they use are meant either for maximum strategic retention or hands-on editing.

My criticism of eReaders' (not eBooks') note-taking options is that notes will only be useful when their exact content and position in the original text can be backed up and reproduced. A person who's taking notes for educational or professional reasons can't afford to have their work vanish in an instant. We're talking about people's grades, livelihoods and futures, not personal preferences.