Electronic Reading Devices

["Hoelker, Mechthild M" <mmhcolo _at__ usia.gov>]

Liebe Kollegen und Kolleginnen,

das Buchwesen schlaegt neue Wege ein. Wie ich hoerte, wurden auf der 
Frankfurter Buchmesse "Electronic Reading Devices" vorgestellt. Fuer 
Interessenten dieser neuen Technik ein kleiner Literaturhinweis mit 
Abstract und URL:

Silberman, Steve   EX LIBRIS - THE JOYS OF CURLING UP WITH A GOOD READING 

DEVICE
(Wired, vol. 6, no. 7, July 1998, pp. 98-104)

The book made of paper, bound in sturdy vellum covers, is an icon of 
permanence, of thoughts deemed worthy enough to be fixed in a form 
designed to endure. In the digital era, however, we've come to think of 
texts as fluid resources, circulating through the watercourse of the Net 
and pouring themselves into convenient forms in our browsers. Steve 
Silberman, senior culture writer at Wired News, introduces three 
electronic reading devices coming to market this fall billing themselves 
as "books." The assumption behind these new devices is a contemporary 
one: Divorce the content (bits) from the container (atoms) and you no 
longer have to schlep the atoms around. In his article the author also 
outlines how digital books `work.' 
This article is also available on the Internet at 
http://www.wired.com/wired/6.07/es_ebooks.html

Have a nice day!

Mechthild Hoelker

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Mechthild M. Hoelker
U. S. Information Service
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