4 ms·

Printing news should have gone out of style a long time ago. We should have had, for some time now, a lightweight electronic notepad-sized device that just down

by jshajan 18y ago

Printing news should have gone out of style a long time ago. We should have had, for some time now, a lightweight electronic notepad-sized device that just downloads thew news every morning that we grab on our way out the door. The money spent on printing is unnecessary and obscene. While I concede, for those who grew up on printed news, there's a certain comfort in the experience...there's just so much of a benefit to a digital version of it..aka the internet!

blackguardx 18y ago
I find it very nice to be able to sit at a coffee shop or restaurant and read a newspaper without worrying about spilling food/drink on it. You can't do that with electronics.
- jerf 18y ago
  "You can't do that with electronics." - yet. Electronics have come in hard, bulky cases simply because they have to anyhow. Shrinking them a little bit still means you have a hard, bulky case. But we're within spitting distance of being able to build something like the Kindle as a flexible, waterproof thing thicker than paper, but not too much thicker than paper, with a single bit of bulky electronics attached to the bottom for the battery. Not sure it'll ever work as a broadsheet, which wasn't really chosen for your convenience, but a nice 8x11 or A4 sheet of paper, sure. Now, when I say "spitting distance", I still mean "5 to 10 years". But it no longer requires fundamental breakthroughs, just feasible advances. (Also, don't read my specs too literally. We'll have to play with the design space before we work the optimal design out, but "something I can read over coffee" will definitely be a niche.)
- moe 18y ago
  I find it very nice to be able to sit at a coffee shop or restaurant and read a newspaper Really? I've always wondered how people cope with the sheer size and format of these things. I hardly ever read a newspaper simply because the involved acrobatic puts me off. Especially on the breakfast table I much prefer a simple magazine or book that I can lay down or hold with one hand. You ofcourse have a point with the spilling/dropping issue but I think a kindle could easily be made robust enough to survive a certain degree of abuse.

by jshajan 18y ago

blackguardx 18y ago

I find it very nice to be able to sit at a coffee shop or restaurant and read a newspaper without worrying about spilling food/drink on it. You can't do that with electronics.

jerf 18y ago
"You can't do that with electronics." - yet. Electronics have come in hard, bulky cases simply because they have to anyhow. Shrinking them a little bit still means you have a hard, bulky case. But we're within spitting distance of being able to build something like the Kindle as a flexible, waterproof thing thicker than paper, but not too much thicker than paper, with a single bit of bulky electronics attached to the bottom for the battery. Not sure it'll ever work as a broadsheet, which wasn't really chosen for your convenience, but a nice 8x11 or A4 sheet of paper, sure. Now, when I say "spitting distance", I still mean "5 to 10 years". But it no longer requires fundamental breakthroughs, just feasible advances. (Also, don't read my specs too literally. We'll have to play with the design space before we work the optimal design out, but "something I can read over coffee" will definitely be a niche.)
moe 18y ago
I find it very nice to be able to sit at a coffee shop or restaurant and read a newspaper Really? I've always wondered how people cope with the sheer size and format of these things. I hardly ever read a newspaper simply because the involved acrobatic puts me off. Especially on the breakfast table I much prefer a simple magazine or book that I can lay down or hold with one hand. You ofcourse have a point with the spilling/dropping issue but I think a kindle could easily be made robust enough to survive a certain degree of abuse.