There is a dramatic difference between the experience of reading on paper and on a screen. I firmly believe that the medium should not obscure the information, and text is no exception. Just as reading a brightly colored, elaborate font is tiring, the brightness and flashiness of a screen distracts attention away from the material. Paper, however, is the most plain and unobstructive texture possible. It is simply more comfortable for the eyes and easier for the mind to read something from paper that from a screen.
How we read also makes a difference. When reading from a screen we stare straight ahead and we rest our hands on the keyboard or mouse or fiddle with office supplies. When reading a book or an article, however, we either set the paper on a desk and read downward or hold the paper/book in our hands; we are much more engaged in reading from paper, both mentally and physically. We retain information much better when we read it on paper than on a screen, and this happens because of the plain nature of paper and the habit of reading in a certain position.
So I think that eventually the notion of "computer monitor" will disappear. It will be replaced by devices like the Kindle and the Sony Reader. We will all own several of these flat devices which are all connected to a central computer in our home. Each of these tablets will function like a dynamic stack of papers, allowing us to organize our data not only via a "folder system" but also physically, and to manipulate it.
We will be able to have a separate tablet for a particular project or document at work, a personal journal, or anything else. This structure of information is versatile and natural; it is how we organized data before the invention of the computer, and it works. Transferring data will also be easy: just send a copy of the pages in your tablet to a tablet belonging to someone else. Finally, electronic ink technology will allow these tablets to be read as comfortably as text on paper. Paper and books is simply a more physically intuitive way to organize information than the system in place in computers. This tablet system of information is natural and efficient, and it meshes with the natural way we read and allows us to intuitively organize information.
My question is: is such a system necessary? Will this way of organizing and reading information be awkward, or does it have the potential to change the way we get things done?
Did you know that the Sony Reader has started an amazing feature that no kindle could ever catch up? Yes, now you can download free books from the "library" to borrow the books using Sony eReader.
ReplyDeleteReally, really amazing; read the latest books for free....
I firmly believe that society will decide. No one is going to check out a book with a font that will irritate their eyes. Whether it's books or eBook, the purpose of reading is what it matters. Executing the action of reading a book is all it matters. The medium in which the words are written on is for the audience to decide.
I read an entire book on my iPod believe it or not. It was a 300 page book. Even though I enjoyed it, it tired my eyes and persuaded me to never read from a lit screen again.
So, to answer it again: I believe that the audience will choose whether they want to read it on paper or not. The demand will drive companies to make the desired product popular. Democracy rules in indirect ways.
-Bwangme
Yes, the public will indeed decide how and what they read, and this is an important part of our society and our economy. I argued that the public will choose paper or paper-textured mediums over backlit screens.
ReplyDeleteSupport you! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6250526/Princeton-students-dislike-Amazon-Kindle.html
ReplyDeleteThere is, of course, also the issue of unnecessary technology, and, more precisely, interface, getting in the way of getting things done. But that's another issue.
ReplyDelete