Where have we come from, and where are we going?

Today’s posting is a variant on the usual e-reader technology theme, exploring some of the historical alternatives to the traditional printed book, and asking what’s likely to come next.

Ever since writing was invented, people have been seeking different ways to record, share and store information. Cave paintings were replaced by stone and clay tablets. Writing provided a way to represent images and sounds, enabling information to persist beyond it’s creator. The Romans developed a reusable tablet, with wax held in a frame with a stylus to inscribe text, which could be reused by melting the wax. My grandmother remembered using a writing slate and pencil at Primary school. Papyrus, paper and vellum were used to generate readily portable scrolls and later books and folios with the precious information held in a protective binding. A forerunner of e-reader cases perhaps?

Growing up in the UK, there was a TV Program called "Tomorrow's World", featuring products and inventions that (in theory at least) were going to radically change our world, and how we lived. This series introduced the British public to such revelations as the digital watch, the CD and barcode readers. However, as far as I am aware, it never featured a replacement for books, such as an e-reading device.

Why? Replacements for books had already been suggested by entrepreneurs and authors.

Thomas Edison proposed printing on sheets of Nickel, as this would accept ink and could be made cheaply and much thinner than paper.

I remember a story by Isaac Asimov, where children find an ancient book made of paper, and how teaching and learning was predicted to have changed. I read this in the early 1980's - already much of this is superseded!

Microfilm enabled a large volume of text or images to be stored in a small area. However, this required a specialist reader to view the information, and has largely been replaced by digital storage.

Digital storage has the advantage that it can be searched and viewed remotely. If you look to the right of this blog, you will see a ‘widget’ this is a search tool enabling you to look within the DigitalNZ collection, and see what items are held relating to “Embroidery in New Zealand”, one of my other interests.

Audio bookshave been used for years by blind and vision impaired people as well as those who want to be doing something else whilst catching up with the latest bestseller, one of the classics, or whatever takes their fancy.

Conversion of existing text to an audio book has been a costly exercise, limiting the range accessible, and the results are of variable quality. Where content is digitally created, distribution via e-publishing is inexpensive and rapid, compared to printing in a variety of formats and the traditional distribution networks through Bookstores and Libraries.

A relative who works in a UK library provided this anecdote:

"I met a 30 year old partially sighted fantasy fan who had been using talking books as the range of books in large print which interested him was limited. I don't know which type of e-reader he bought but he was able to enlarge the text size and a whole world of books was opened up to him at a greatly reduced cost."

Another alternative has just been publicized - re-writable 'paper', capable of being reused up to 260 times.

Formats are changing as e-reader specifications change. Microsoft has just announced that it is discontinuing it’s Microsoft reader software and bookstore. Sony has discontinued it’s current e-reader range. Amazon has dropped the price of a Kindle 3 to $99 dollars, and the price of a Nook is also falling. Although new releases from these are anticipated, what these will offer is currently unknown.

So will future developments (e.g. affordable tablet computers, erasable e-paper) and patent wars limiting the options for displaying information consign the Kindle et al. to a technological backwater, to keep company with Betamax and the Sinclair C5?

How will we look for (and look at) information? Crystal Ball Anyone?

The shape of things to come... and looking back

Most blogs provide information, with the content chosen by the Author. Input from readers is limited (at most) to leaving a comment for the writer, and future visitors to the site to read.

This week I’ve added something a little different. If you look to the right of this blog you’ll see a “widget”.

What’s a Widget, I can hear you asking? In this case it’s a mini search engine (like Google without the adverts)!

This one is linked to the DigitalNZ website, and can be used to find images and articles held by a variety of New Zealand Organisations.

The search I’ve created is for “Embroidery in New Zealand”, and ongoing interest of mine. You can use this site to search for relevant items held in a variety of collections. The majority of the items returned relate to items in the Te Papa Collection, but also includes National Library, Ministry of Culture and Heritage and many more contributors.

You can then restrict the results by date, source, item type, creator etc. to highlight things you’d like to know more about.



Go on, give it a go! Try a search (or several), and let me know what you find and like best.

What are Manavelins?

Manavellins

It's a strange kind of word isn't it?

It's been used by my family to mean "The sort of dish cooked up from whatever leftovers are in the fridge and need eating up".

I thought it must be an Irish dialect word as some branches of my family tree came from there, but no one I spoke to of Irish extraction had ever heard of it!

My husband used it as the name for any Scratch Band he played in for a few years, but no Muso had heard of it either. Was it a product of my deranged Whanau's imagination?

So I decided to try and track it down, and see if the word had ever existed. The first challenge was that I'd only ever heard it, and never seen it written down. Munavelins? Menavellins? Manvaeeyns????

Trial and error eventually tracked the following definition down.

Here's a wonderful blog about the word

"Assorted ropes and equipment". so now I have an explanation for the word, but another mystery. How on earth did it get into our family's vocabulary? None of us have ever had any links with the Sea and the family historian (my Cousin) is no wiser!


So, what strange words are common to your family and rare elsewhere? Any ideas why you use them and others don't?

Devices and desires - e-readers in a learning enviroment?

Hello and welcome back to my blog.

Many of us have worked for a number of years in a corporate environment, and are used to creating, sending and receiving digital documents.  But at what point should this start?

I’m going to ask you to think back a few years, and imagine yourself (or your children) at school – should they have an e-reader, and if so what format?  Orewa College is requiring all year 9 students to possess a one-to one computer device for use in the classrooms.  The School preference is an iPad 2, although other devices may be used.


Setting aside the issue of whether the school should be introducing this, what are the options?  If you were a parent, what would you be purchasing for your child?

To help you decide, I’m going to look at some of the differences between the equipment available and their advantages and limitations.  I’m also trying something a little different, an embedded presentation.  This is a way of sharing content, using Googledocs.












Please let me know if this works for you, and what other areas you'd like me to cover in the next few blogs.




Sources:
Slide 1 Image
Other image sources  and technical specifications taken from the Dick Smith's Website 

Look at things from my angle...

Hello and welcome back!


This post contains some of the information sources I've found which discuss why an e-reader might be beneficial for specific groups, and provide some comparisons of the available models.  


Not all models reviewed are readily available in New Zealand.  Of the mainstream dedicated e-readers reviewed by the press; (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony) only the last two are available in stores for you to play with before you purchase.  If you want to look at a Nook or Kindle you need to find someone who already has one and ask to try theirs, or take a leap of faith and order from their website.

Tauranga library has produced a fact sheet focusing on the e-readers available in New Zealand.


But different age groups appear to be selecting different options for e-reading technology: is this because the different groups are intending to use their gadgets in different ways so purchase accordingly, or does it reflect the income they have available? 

But do you need an e-reader?


There has been a lot of debate over a School's decision to include an iPad2 or similar on the stationery requirements.  But is this a fad, or does it have real benefits?  


Here is an article discussing some benefits of e-readers for students, but it is US based and Kindle oriented.


So for another age demographic:
An article a little over a year old identifying issues which Seniors might wish to consider when selecting an e-reader.

A matrix comparing features between models (Note prices in US$)

I hope you find these of interest, please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see appearing in future blog posts, and I'll do my best to cover it.

Getting started with e-readers

Hello and welcome to my Blog.  

I'm looking at e-readers and what to think about if you're considering whether or not to buy one for yourself, or as a gift.  

This also includes iPad’s, Android and other tablets plus smart phones and e-ink devices, all of which are capable of displaying e-books.

I don't promise to have all the answers, but I've done some thinking and research, so hopefully this information will help you decide what e-reader option(s) could suit you best.

So, are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin!

Reasons to buy an e-reader

·                     First, the cool factor.  You just want one, you know you do!  Now, thinking with your head not your heart, here are some better reasons.

·                     Portability.  Your library can fit in your pocket.  No more filling your backpack with holiday reading, or prescribed texts, as most e-readers are no heavier than a paperback.

·                     Some models let you highlight and add notes, important when studying.  You also don’t need to print out every article you want to read whilst waiting for a bus, etc.

·                     There are a number of sites with free to download books.

·                     The range and variety of publications available is increasing rapidly.  For example, Amazon has announced it’s planning to introduce e-textbooks for rental or purchase.

·                     Turn pages by pressing a button, or swiping the screen.   Bookmarks capture where you reached. Both of these could be useful for someone with impaired dexterity (e.g. arthritis).

·                     You can enlarge the font, making it easier to read. Some models have text to speech ability, if vision is really an issue.

Possible reasons not to buy an e-reader.

·                     Cost.  Although the price is falling, purchase of an e-reader is still a considerable outlay.  E-books also vary considerably in price, and new (better?) models are being introduced.

·                     Library services for e-books are still developing and are not available in all areas.  The e-book collections are not as extensive as the paper ones.

·                     If several members of your family want to read the same item, it’s easy to pass around a book, but not always easy to transfer items between e-readers.  

·                     If you lose/damage your e-reader you may lose your entire book collection.

·                     Battery life is not infinite.  A paper book won't run out of charge just when you reach the exciting bit…..

What do you want to use it for?

If you still want an e-reader, start thinking about how it’s going to be used. This will affect which options you seriously consider.

·                     Do you want just to download and read books, or are you likely to want to look at magazines, newspapers, blogs and download apps?

·                     Where are you going to use it?  Some don’t fully function outside the USA.

·                     Some e-readers are limited to certain e-book stores, and document formats, making it difficult to use for items acquired elsewhere, e.g. borrowed from a library.

That's all for now, in future postings I'll look in more detail at the various options available, e.g. Kindle, Kobo, iPad, Android and other tablets.


Thanks for reading, and I'd welcome any feedback or comments.