Home21 August 2002
Have you read an e-book lately?
By Jim Pinto
I used to take a good book with me on my long trips to Europe or the Far East. But with the usual packing limitations, I couldn't take more than one or two, and after I'd finished them, I usually lugged them back home (cheapskate). These days, I've been reading more and more e-books while I travel. It takes some getting used to, but now I can even curl up with one in bed. You can find everything from the latest mystery thriller to technology books and academic tomes.
Think about this: A publisher prepares a copy of a book, using a press to print on paper cut from a tree, binds it in book format, stores it in a warehouse, and then sends it to a bookstore for you to buy and keep till you get to read it. Why not simply send it to you electronically in a few seconds, to read in a format of your choice?
The popularity of e-books is clearly growing, but how viable will the medium be? Writer Stephen King recently released e-books online, and publishing house Simon & Schuster, which was an early adopter of electronic publishing, just unveiled its first full season of original e-books.
Amazon.com selected Microsoft Reader software as the preferred format for its planned e-book store. You can purchase and download e-book titles directly and read them in this format. The reader includes ClearType display technology that improves font resolution on LCD screens for users of desktop or laptop PCs. Competitors include Glassbook, Gemstar's Rocket eBook, and Softbook, among others. BarnesandNoble.com already has an e-bookstore online and offers readers their choice of a variety of formats.
And how about your magazines and newspapers? Do they still pile up everywhere? If you're like me, you don't feel good about throwing them away till you've at least glanced at the contents. I tear out the articles I like-and even those accumulate into unmanageable piles that I eventually discard.
Behind the byline
Jim Pinto is founder of San Diego-based Action Instruments. You can e-mail him at jim@jimpinto.com, or view his writings at www.JimPinto.com.
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