[ahi]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Not oh-so-different, just somewhat different... and mainstream publishers are ignoring those differences entirely. They are trying to produce for screen as if it were exactly like paper.

Since there's no obvious way to change that, the next step is to allow end users to customize their reading for their own needs--and ePub is much better for that. The end user shouldn't need to, but the publishers aren't doing it for them. And while that means ignoring many of the nuances of typography, the publishers are doing that now anyway. They work to make good typographical design for print, but not for screens.

I strongly disagree that ebook readers will eventually standardize at 8-10" screens. That's too big for a pocket or small purse, which is where many people carry their reading, whether that's an electronic or an actual book. Ebook readers need to draw from the casual paperback reading crowd to be successful, and those people aren't going to go for a large, fragile device.

Don't forget the BlackBerry/iPhone readers. There are lots of them, and their numbers are growing. The ebook industry needs to cater to them. (Or, well, they can just ignore those millions of potential customers. But someone is going to provide them with paid content. It can be ebook makers, or games app designers.)

8-10" screens (assuming the device is [almost] all screen) need be no bigger than standard books. Standard books do not fit into pockets... unless it is a large coat pocket we are talking about, and people carry books all the same.

The fragility should also be a temporary issue that ceases with time.

And lastly, I see the current situation as wholly due to publishers' disinterest in the eBook market. It would be a travesty if the future of eBooks was set in stone by stop-gap measures required to compensate for publishers' neglect of their customers.

Personally though I don't see that as any more likely than blackberries and other variable size devices becoming people's primary way of reading, or cellphones becoming the average person's primary way of playing music.

Just because it's technologically feasible doesn't mean it's a good idea, or that there is even a realistic demand for it.

And demand as secondary entertainment device is not the same as demand as a primary entertainment device. People will continue to read stuff on blackberries and listen to music on their cellphones as long as the respective technologies endure... on the subway, on the bus, and in places where they have insufficient ability to opt for what they really want: their larger eBook device, their home stereo system, their honking paper book encylopedia of funny walks, et cetera.

People that can afford it, will continue to play music on home stereo systems, and books on paper or via dedicated devices specially made for that task.

Adobe's already existent PDF reflow will accommodate the people who think (some of the time) that a 2"-3" screen is an adequate reading area. But for standardized screen-sizes that are not optional, if eBook readers are ever to read books that aren't just gently flowing paragraphs, eBooks will need to have fixed layouts defined for specific screen-sizes with specific font-sizes (probably using fonts that indie DRM-free ePub makers are not legally allowed to include anyways).

Mediocre typography may not equal bad typography for novels; but it cannot but do so for anything with greater typographic or layout complexity.

Look at 48 Laws of Power. You will never see an ePub that accurately reflects the full glory of this book... not one that works on variable size screens at any rate. You also couldn't do a PDF for a small screen. But for an 8" - 10" standard size screen, you could remake this book without having to dumb it right down to nothing but straight-and-plain paragraphs.

Of course... with regards to predictions about the future... it's all up in the air until it no longer is!

- Ahi