One of our United States members, Genny Gebhardt-Kanning, from Seattle, sent us this piece which has been circulating on the Internet.
BOOKS-ENTERTAINMENT
Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organised Knowledge device (BOOK).
The BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology;
no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or
switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift
its protective cover!
Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair
by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as
a CD-ROM disc. Here's how it works...
Each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper(recyclable),
each capable of holding thousands of bits of information.
These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder,
which keeps the sheets in their proper sequence.
Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of
the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs in half.
Experts are divided on the prospects for further increase in information
density; for now, BOOKs with more information simply use more pages. This
makes them thicker and harder to carry, and has drawn some criticism from
the mobile computing crowd.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into
your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK
may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it., The BOOK never
crashes and never needs re-booting, though like other display devices it
can become unstable if dropped overboard.
The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet,
and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index"
feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information
for instant retrieval.
An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK
to the exact place you left it -- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks
fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in
BOOKs by various manufacturers.
Conversely, numerous BOOKmarks can be used in a single BOOK if the user
wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the
number of sheets in the BOOK.
You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional
programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication
Language Stylus (PENCILS).
Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the educational
and entertainment wave of the future. The BOOK's appeal seems so certain
that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform. Look
for a flood of new titles soon.