This still intrigues me as a Tablet PC user.Why wouldn't more people want all their books on their hard drive and be able to read and refer at will?
My previous and only prior post talked of one scheme. Now The Wired Campus of the chronicle.com reports comments by Bill Gates on the subject. "A Bright Future for E-Books?" reports that Gates believes all reading will go completely online. I tend to agree.
For my Tablet PC to completely be useful it is the screen and the weight that is all important. I need to be able to view in any light, at any angle and have a weight not heavier or more bulky than the book itself. The Sony device is GREAT, but it needs a pen and the ability to be my computer or to sync seamlessly with my computer.
From Sonys page: What is E Ink® Technology?The Sony® Reader’s display uses E Ink® - a significant improvement over CRT and LCD technology. Instead of rows of glowing cells, E Ink® microcapsules actually appear as either black or white depending on a positive or negative charge determined by the content. The result is a reading experience that’s similar to paper - high contrast, high resolution, viewable in direct sunlight and at a nearly 180-degree angle, and requiring no power to maintain the image. In other words, it's a screen that, like you, is well read.
While I'm not sure how much longer it will take for students to switch to eBooks, I know I am already almost completely finished the transition. Though I don't have an eReader like Sony's yet, I've been buying all my resources off of http://www.dedicatedteacher.com and keeping all of my books on my laptop. The only real complaint that I have is not being able to make notes in the margins (something I'm sure will be available in the future), but as a middle school teacher it isn't imperative.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think the day that you can pull out your eBook reader, load any book from your shelf onto your screen complete with notes, and quickly search or cross-reference with other books you own, then the day of the eBook will have finally arrived. In fact, can you imagine having 5 books open in front of you, all occupying only the size of a paperback?
Anyway, I guess we'll all just have to wait a little bit longer before that happens. Thanks for posting on such an interesting debate,
-Andrea