Hebrew Scriptures and More . . . .

Steven Rosenberg at BBC News writes about the use of electronic readers that could replace the paper as the primary medium for newspapers and magazines. See: The revolution of paperless paper.

I have alway been excited at the thought of such devices . . . Amazon’s Kindle or a Sony Reader Digital Book. The environmentally friendly nature of this new paperless world sounds attractive enough. However, as an e-Evangelists, I have found many people, scholars and newspaper enthusiasts alike, that protest vociferously.

First, the e-readers are identified with sitting at a desk and reading from a computer monitor. The antagonist dream up an Utopian world where he/she reads a book under a tree or by a fireplace. “I just want to curl-up with a book . . . .” (Whatever that means!) The newer and upcoming e-readers would actually allow for such beatific moments since they are now portable and even improve reading visibility anywhere/anytime. An issue that needs to still be solved is durability of the whole unit, since our Utopian vision does have us carrying our e-reader to the beach and sand gets everywhere.

Second, e-readers seem to provide one page of visibility at a time. It’s harder to scan the pages to find the words or images that attract the readers attention. E-readers however allow for searches of the text and when one gets accustomed to it . . . you can find the portions that you want without any difficulty. Furthermore, linking systems can connect a newspaper article to a magazine essay to a . . . etc.

Third, what happens when you want to take notes? Well, some e-readers just haven’t realized that with new medium, greater things are demanded. I am convinced that marking and note taking features will be part of the new deal. Software of the Evernote variety or digital personal diaries/journals will be linked one way or another, so one can read and make notes.

So why are e-readers not flooding the market? Cost and fear of change/technology. As to the technophobia thing, take a look at Douglas Adams article, “How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet.” The cost? It just has to come down or else “we won’t buy!” The super-subnotebooks are the case-in-point.

A paperless world is green and so much more!

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