Post on 19-May-2015
description
transcript
EMERGING READING TECHNOLOGYKatie Meyer
HISTORY OF READING TECHNOLOGY 1456: Printing press invented
Fuelled Renaissance and Reformation
New, literate merchant class with leisure time created demand for written entertainment and novels emerged as a medium
Hand-operated wooden press used for books, hardcovers which were then bound by hand
Prayer book in 1760 would have cost 3 shillings or $13.40 today
1870s: Industrial revolution and urbanization pushes the growth of public education and the creation of public libraries
Literacy skyrockets as reading becomes a family activity 1870: 10% of American children could read
1900: 20% of American children could read
Steam-driven mechanical lead type printing press makes the process more efficient, and books become cheaper
Memoirs of the Navy by Samuel Pepys, 1690
Woodcut images
20TH CENTURY READING
Literacy continues to grow United States: Enrollment rates for 5- to 19-year-olds rose from 51 percent in 1900 to 75
percent in 1940
Publishing houses begin to proliferate, undercut each other’s prices until the industry loses viability
Government agrees on system of price regulation for books at the turn of the century
Depression spurred the creation of the paperback and mass colour printing in order to maintain sales
Growing competition for leisure time Television, Video games, Internet
New sources of support for reading as a preferred leisure activity Oprah’s Book Club major force behind sales
Pressure to sell quickly builds in 1990s and 2000s Publishers must now purchase space in book stores Books given 6 weeks of active promotion before being declared successes or failures
OLD TO NEW MEDIA TRANSITIONS After illegal downloading platforms (Napster, Megaupload) ravaged the music and
movie industries, the publishing industry tried to pre-empt an illegal downloading platform for literature with e-readers
Largely successful Users reluctant to ingest novels through their computer screen
1998: First eBook reader goes to market, the SoftBook and Gemstar’s Rocket eBook Reader
Could store 4,000 pages, or about 10 books with 16MB memory Back and white screen, but capable of displaying images with 106 dpi, or 480x320 px Users can enter text using Allegra
2009: Canadian private school Blyth Academy loads all textbooks onto Sony Readers
First school in the world to do so
2011: Amazon debuts Kindle Fire, not open source Can only download Amazon books, movies, songs, magazines and TV shows with cloud Colour touchscreen that enables users to highlight and write on their texts
Again, to prevent keep industry viable, publishing houses decide on price regulation
Illegal, not sanctioned by the government, price-fixing debacle
HOW CAN WE KEEP THE MEDIUM ALIVE AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES? In 2012, eBook sales surpassed hardcover sales in the
United States Total eBook sales reached $1.8 billion, 20% of publisher’s revenues Users reluctant to upgrade models
1 in 3 Canadians buy a book each month 18% of Canadian readers use eReaders Approx. 2,100,000 eReader users in Canada Approx. 8,750,000 tablet users in Canada
OPEN SOURCE E-READERS
Different generations of the platform: ePub, ePub2 and now, ePub3
Kobo recently released all of its source code, enabling publishers to create more exciting eBook experiences Reflowable layout or PDF: most widely-supported, font can be
resized XML offers opportunities for interactivity Fixed-layout: HTML-based, supported in ePub3 and only in some
ePub2 readers
Capabilities of XML and HTML-based eBooksInteractivity through touchscreens or stylus to link between images and pages
Hyperlinking: can link any words or images to external sites, depending on the eReader specs
Multimedia: can embed video (2D cut-out), animated gifs, and audio in fixed-layout eBooks
Can have overlaping images and text with HTML, but in PDF, all content must be “boxed”
FIXED-LAYOUT (HTML) EBOOK
Fixed LayoutReflowable
EMERGING SCREEN TECHNOLOGY
Crossover between eReader and tablet market Many eReaders now behave like tablets (and many tablets now have
eBook capabilities), which means they are equipped with motion sensors and cameras
New possibility for interactivity beyond the touch screen
CASE STUDY: THE THIRTY NINE STEPS (2013) Faber and Faber worked with The Story Mechanics, a
software developer, to create an interactive, visual eBook of John Buchanan’s classic thriller
Game-like controls allow user to navigate through scenes and read chapters, while dialogue is delivered through audio
Characters not pictured, ghost-like App format, programmed using C++ http://thestorymechanics.com/digital-adaptations/the-
thirty-nine-steps/
MICROFLUID
Arguments against eReader and tablet-based learning: not as effective as tactile/haptic learning in knowledge retention and learning engagement 2013 UNC Study: “The haptic group was significantly more accurate in identifying the
complex objects than the visual or visual plus haptic groups.” “The haptic-only group of participants spent more time exploring the
… virtual objects than the visual or visual plus haptic participants”
Microfluid to the rescue! Turns flat 2D screens into 3D screens Can add buttons for navigation, raised outlines of images, and
create a paper-texture
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/06/tactus-technology-prototype-android-tablet-shows-off-shapeshifti/
TOUCH PROJECTION Pioneering technology turns any surface into a touch
screen Moves reading experience beyond device For children: Could add another tactile or haptic element
to reading experience to enhance learning For adults: Could be applied to eBook projects like The
Thirty-Nine Steps, to enhance alternate reality experience UBI available for $149, but same effect could be created
using a backlit screen and motion or light sensors with Arduino and Processing
REFERENCES
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482597/history-of-publishing/28622/The-flourishing-book-trade-1550-1800
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/06/tactus-technology-prototype-android-tablet-shows-off-shapeshifti/
http://liliputing.com/2013/02/pandigital-novel-hacks-could-eventually-turn-a-38-ereader-into-a-cheap-android-tablet.html
https://github.com/kobolabs http://sparkslinux.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/an-open-source-ereader/ http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/summer02/money2.cfm http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/business/media/e-book-sales-a-boon-to-publisher
s-in-2012.html?_r=0
http://ebookarchitects.com/learn-about-ebooks/enhanced-ebooks/#animations http://www.gizmag.com/microsoft-ubi-projection-touchscreen/28757/