5 ms·

The only issue is that Ctrl+F doesn't work properly on paper, neither within a single newspaper, not across last year's newspapers.

by vog 10y ago

adtac 10y ago
I think I got a solution - every article is accompanied by a QR code that you can scan to open a searchable version of the exact same text. Just a couple of seconds away and you don't lose the papery-feel either.
- 24gttghh 10y ago
  Why not ditch the QR code and have an app that takes a photo of text and lets you perform ctrl+f on the image?
  - dack 10y ago
    because you still couldn't search across pages
- athenot 10y ago
  Skip the QR code and let the article itself be a code. Some magagines have implemented that already. It takes a specialized reader app but then the paper is not littered with QR codes all over. Of course the lo-tech version is simply google the title and chances are you'll find the digital version of the article.
- bitwize 10y ago
  We could provide a device -- say, in a nice friendly shape like a cat -- that can read these codes and open up the relevant text on their PC or iPad or whatever! What could possibly go wrong?
  - CodeCube 10y ago
    cue the music!
  - __jal 10y ago
    Man, brilliant! The VCs and media companies won't be capable of leaving you alone! ...I think I still have one of those in a junk-box somewhere.
rokhayakebe 10y ago
No worries, AR glasses coming soon.
paulofmandown 10y ago
This is the distilled version of my opinion. You get so many more useful tools to analyze and search data when it's digital.
jdietrich 10y ago
I recently read a printed book for the first time in ages and had a really weird experience. I wanted to find a particular passage, but muscle memory took over and I found myself pressing Ctrl-F on my leg. For a fraction of a second, I thought that the book was broken. It took me a moment to remember to look in the index. It really threw me for a loop. Electronic texts are so pervasive in my life that I had half forgotten how to interact with a printed book. My automatic familiarity with print had faded enough that I was consciously aware of the properties of the medium. I was frustrated by the inability to zoom in on diagrams or copy and paste. The margins weren't big enough for my notes. There was no autogenerated list of highlighted passages. I felt like a child confronted with a VHS tape or a classic Gameboy. I grew up obsessed with books. At the back of my desk drawer, there's a little envelope containing the membership cards for eleven different library services. For most of my life, I rarely went anywhere without a book to hand. I spent a large part of my adolescence digging through the dustier shelves of second-hand book shops. Still, I can't shake the feeling that print is largely obsolete. I don't feel nostalgic about books, I'm just frustrated that so few of them are available in digital format.

The only issue is that Ctrl+F doesn't work properly on paper, neither within a single newspaper, not across last year's newspapers.

by vog 10y ago

The only issue is that Ctrl+F doesn't work properly on paper, neither within a single newspaper, not across last year's newspapers.

adtac 10y ago

I think I got a solution - every article is accompanied by a QR code that you can scan to open a searchable version of the exact same text. Just a couple of seconds away and you don't lose the papery-feel either.

24gttghh 10y ago
Why not ditch the QR code and have an app that takes a photo of text and lets you perform ctrl+f on the image?
- dack 10y ago
  because you still couldn't search across pages
athenot 10y ago
Skip the QR code and let the article itself be a code. Some magagines have implemented that already. It takes a specialized reader app but then the paper is not littered with QR codes all over. Of course the lo-tech version is simply google the title and chances are you'll find the digital version of the article.
bitwize 10y ago
We could provide a device -- say, in a nice friendly shape like a cat -- that can read these codes and open up the relevant text on their PC or iPad or whatever! What could possibly go wrong?
- CodeCube 10y ago
  cue the music!
- __jal 10y ago
  Man, brilliant! The VCs and media companies won't be capable of leaving you alone! ...I think I still have one of those in a junk-box somewhere.

rokhayakebe 10y ago

No worries, AR glasses coming soon.

paulofmandown 10y ago

This is the distilled version of my opinion. You get so many more useful tools to analyze and search data when it's digital.

jdietrich 10y ago

I recently read a printed book for the first time in ages and had a really weird experience. I wanted to find a particular passage, but muscle memory took over and I found myself pressing Ctrl-F on my leg. For a fraction of a second, I thought that the book was broken. It took me a moment to remember to look in the index. It really threw me for a loop. Electronic texts are so pervasive in my life that I had half forgotten how to interact with a printed book. My automatic familiarity with print had faded enough that I was consciously aware of the properties of the medium. I was frustrated by the inability to zoom in on diagrams or copy and paste. The margins weren't big enough for my notes. There was no autogenerated list of highlighted passages. I felt like a child confronted with a VHS tape or a classic Gameboy. I grew up obsessed with books. At the back of my desk drawer, there's a little envelope containing the membership cards for eleven different library services. For most of my life, I rarely went anywhere without a book to hand. I spent a large part of my adolescence digging through the dustier shelves of second-hand book shops. Still, I can't shake the feeling that print is largely obsolete. I don't feel nostalgic about books, I'm just frustrated that so few of them are available in digital format.