emerging reading technology

13
EMERGING READING TECHNOLOGY Katie Meyer

Upload: kmeyerto

Post on 19-May-2015

148 views

Category:

Business


0 download

DESCRIPTION

For my Creation and Computation class at OCADU, I examined the history of publishing and emerging technology that could be used in the publishing industry.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Emerging reading technology

EMERGING READING TECHNOLOGYKatie Meyer

Page 2: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 3: Emerging reading technology

Memoirs of the Navy by Samuel Pepys, 1690

Woodcut images

Page 4: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 5: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 6: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 7: Emerging reading technology

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”

Page 8: Emerging reading technology

FIXED-LAYOUT (HTML) EBOOK

Fixed LayoutReflowable

Page 9: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 10: Emerging reading technology

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/

Page 11: Emerging reading technology

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/

Page 12: Emerging reading technology

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

Page 13: Emerging reading technology

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/