Although it is now closed to the public, Rockford Illinois' "Time Museum" was one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. http://www.timemuseum.com/ It was a privately owned collection of timekeeping devices dating back to the Egyptians. The exhibits were (of course!) organized in chronological order, and it was possible to walk through the entire museum and get a feel for how timekeeping technology changed over the centuries.
Since I'm invariably drawn to pivotal or "disruptive" technologies, the Time Museum was a place for me to ponder and learn. It turns out that invention doesn't occur in even and manageable steps. Technologies are refined and improved and then suddenly there is a huge shift to a new technology concept. In regard to clocks, the introduction of mechanical gears, pendulums and springs was totally disruptive. Sundials, waterclocks, and hourglasses were obsolete in a moment. From that time onward timekeeping technology was a matter of housing better gears in more ornate and compact packages.
Then suddenly in the 1970s the first digital watch was introduced. I'm old enough to remember these $800 marvels that used "hot" LED display technology, chewed through batteries quickly, couldn't be read in the sunlight, and could be stilled by a single drop of water. And yet the world was forever changed by solid state timekeeping technology. From then on in the museum exhibits were all about digital technology improvements. Gears and springs were the stuff of quaint specialty watches and fashion statements. The world had changed.
Ever since the offset printing press made its debut in the Middle Ages, bound books have been the method of choice for delivering written words. Much effort has gone into creating electronic means for delivering books and periodicals, but none were compelling. Books don't need batteries, can recovery from water damage, cost very little, are easy to read, and satisfying to hold. Their electronic cousins just couldn't out book the books.
Amazon's new Kindle device is the first compelling electronic book replacement thingiemajob. The fact that I haven't got a word for it is a clear indicator that a new thing has happened. it isn't an electronic book, it is a Kindle--that is the point.
You can buy books and periodicals, read them, search them, annotate them, bookmark them all from the Kindle. It is constantly online using free cellular technology, so if you have a spare moment at the airport and no book to read, you can buy it right from your Kindle and it will download and install in a minute or so. No intervention is necessary.
It is very personal to hold and use one, much like a book. The display is very readable. Rather than providing a depth-of-field view to the text, the Kindle display presents crisp 2-dimensional text which the eye can easily track.
It is a transparent technology in that you forget you are using it and disappear into the book you are reading, which is as it should be.
It isn't waterproof but a simple ziplock bag will fix that if you, like me, read in the hot tub.
It is also, by the way, able to take advantage of the current revolution in federated taxonomies. So it could conceivably serve as a front end to corporate libraries and the like. However, to my knowledge Amazon has not introduced such plans.
When I travel I like to bring a novel or two, my Bible, a few computer and business references. All these now fit easily into my Kindle, which is about the same size as a thin paperback.
I highly recommend you give the Kindle a look. This one is going to stick.
Mark, I agree with your point about the transparency of the Kindle. I completely lose myself in the words when I'm reading a good book or other piece on it.
As a new user, you might be interested in the free weekly podcast I have launched, The Kindle Chronicles. You can subscribe to it at the iTunes Store by searching for "Kindle Chronicles" or listen to it at the blog page, http://TheKindleChronicles.com . I'd be interested in your feedback on how to improve it!
Posted by: Len Edgerly | August 06, 2008 at 02:01 PM