FSCA NEWS

REINVENTING THE BOOK BY MAKING IT DIGITAL TO ENCOURAGE READING
As the world becomes increasingly technology driven, with new gadgets coming out every season, it is easy to forget the book, an object which, thanks to Gutenberg, is superbly designed, completely functional and has thus far stood the test of time. In fact, books remain a more reliable storage device than any external hard drive, are easily "turned on" (just open it up) and unless it is one, require no instructional manual, reports Steven Levy in Newsweek. According to Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com, "books are the last bastion of analog," as long-form reading has failed to conform to digitization. To fill this market niche, Amazon has released the Kindle, an electronic device that has the dimensions of a paperback with a tapering of width to simulate binding, does not run hot or make electronic beeps, mimics the clarity of a printed book and allows for 30 hours of reading on a single charge. In addition, the Kindle enables users to change the font size and stores 200 books "onboard," with space for hundreds more on a memory card. Another added amenity is that the Kindle lets owners subscribe to newspapers, so when issues go to press the virtual publications are atomically beamed (thank you, Scotty) to their Kindle. As newspaper circulation numbers dwindle and Americans of every age are reading less and less for pleasure (as reported by Greg Toppo in USA Today -- second link), the Kindle just might be one way of increasing reading.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-11-18-reading-decline_N.htm