Re: tlug: Printed media?? Who needs TeX?

[Jonathan Byrne - 3Web <jq@example.com>]

On Wed, 30 Sep 1998, Scott Stone wrote:

>This surprises me, Jonathan - I thought you'd be more of the 'Save the
>Trees' type, which, I would think would favor electronic media.  Then

I didn't say it was a bad idea, I said it wasn't going to happen anytime soon,
and that somebody would write a paper book about it as soon as it did.

The fact is, the technology is still a long way from being there.  LCD screens
- even the best ones - don't offer resolution even close to the quality of a
printed page, which makes them tough on the eyes.  They will also be large
enough to display pages two-up like a book; this is very convenient,
especially in technical reading.  That means they'll have to be big, which
means they'll be too expensive for mass appeal for a long time.

Another important feature, as someone mentioned, will be the ability to write
notes on the pages as easily as you can in a paper book.  That means read-only
media just won't cut it, because you'll have to be able to store the notes
together with the book.  Something else to invent, and drive up the cost of
the e-book.  Furthermore, to compete with paper the book cartridges will have
to be priced like paper books (or less) to gain acceptance. 

And of course, you are also left with the problem that even the best and
brightest LCDs do about as well as a vampire does in sunlight.  All in all, I
expect we'll be well into the next century before electronic books have made
any significant inroads into the market, and I don't expect paper books to
disappear in my lifetime.

And there's lots of stuff you can make paper from besides trees :-)

Jonathan Byrne
Media and Content Section
3Web - Your Internet Solution! <URL:http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/index.en.html>
3Web Channel <URL: http://www.3web.co.jp/index.en.html>

---------------------------------------------------------------
Next Meeting: 10 October, 12:30 Tokyo Station Yaesu central gate
Featuring the IMASY Eng. Team on "IPv6 - The Next Generation IP"
Next Nomikai: 20 November, 19:30  Tengu TokyoEkiMae 03-3275-3691
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: PHT, makers of TurboLinux http://www.pht.co.jp