The electronic book-a user's wishlist

The author takes a far-reaching look at the types of facility he believes should be accommodated by future electronic book delivery platforms and the publications that run on them. He suggests that the delivery platforms should be highly portable, light-weight, pocket-sized, self-powered and have a storage capacity of at least two gigabytes. They should be capable of using both ambient and self-illumination facilities and should be able to run for at least ten hours before a re-charge is necessary. In addition to displaying information visually, the author suggests that future book platforms should be capable of converting text to high quality speech output. As well as considering the basic properties of future delivery platforms he also considers important issues associated with piracy, and copyright. He discusses the lending of copyright material to other users without infringing either the copyright owner's rights or the traditional right of the owner of the book to lend it to a friend.