The reading appliance revolution

In the 1970s, Alan Kay and his colleagues at Xerox PARC envisioned a dynamic, interactive electronic book. Now, nearly 30 years later, that vision has become a reality. A new kind of personal information appliance-the reading appliance-is emerging as a tool for serious readers. But is the world ready for reading appliances? The authors believe that these appliances are indeed viable. Advances in mobile hardware have made it possible to build the necessary hardware. Additionally, the Web has created a market for online reading by introducing millions of people to it, and books, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and other printed matter can be produced and read at very low cost. Network based digital libraries increase the availability of information, but people still tend to print the documents to work with them. Electronic book and document readers will neither replace paper nor will they replace desktop computers. Instead, they will occupy their own unique and valuable role in our lives, bringing the paper and computer worlds closer together.