Thursday, January 7, 2010

More info on e-readers

The six or seven hours we spent driving to Winslow yesterday were a great time for me to pick Mr. Sunflower's brain about his current view on e-readers. AKA Mr. Pixel (a nickname Kay and I have given him for his history with the plasma panel) was full of all sorts of news about the possibility of what might be coming down the pike from Apple.

I've known he wasn't a fan of Kindle or the others on the market (Barnes & Noble, for one) and wondered why. Now I know a little more. Part of it is that the screens are only B/W on the current readers (color is important when you're into pixels). There was much more but I will confess here I was also knitting, so part of what he was saying didn't quite soak in.

He has given me the following information to share with you, should you be interested. The video link below is particularly interesting...depicting a "futuristic" look at how a student might use the "possible" Apple tablet for studying, instead of lugging pounds of books around.* While the tablet would be larger (more like the screen on your laptop now), it could be an interesting alternative and possibly more useful tool overall for someone other than the recreational reader.
I admit even this one has my interest, although I don't see one in my immediate future. I'm still into holding a book.

Dreaming Up Textbooks on an Apple Tablet
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/01/05/dreaming-up-textbooks-on-an-apple-tablet/

About CourseSmart:
http://www.coursesmart.com/aboutus

And for la piece de la resistance, check out their video:
http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/apple-tablet-as-imagined-by-book-publishers/6B8EF7D4-3F23-4827-9CCB-7403080F4E10

Now it's time to head down to the Turquoise Room for breakfast. Hmmm...baked eggs? Pancakes? Well...whatever happens in Winslow, stays in Winslow...so I may not share.

Anxious to hear what you all think of this stuff above.


*Jack Matthews offered that having one's books surrounding you on a table during a research project is something an e-reader will never be able to replace. Right on.

AFTER NOTE: I just looked at the published blog page and for some reason, Blogger or Firefox is not letting me hyperlink the first two references. I hope you'll take the time to paste them in your browser if you're interested.

ONE LAST FLASH FROM THE PRESS ROOM:

Just found this:

Does the Brain like e-Readers?

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/does-the-brain-like-e-books/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Martie, Good links, sources. I was able to click the first two links from your blog. I have some colleagues at school that are using an e-textbook of some sort. I want to ask them what they think next week.

Winslow, AZ. Have a good time! -Jack

Taos Sunflower said...

I'll be interested to hear what they think. Oh...I ordered the book this morning after breakfast. Thanks for that.