March 11, 2014: eBooks and More on the iPad

e-books on the same page, but in different formats.

(Click for larger version)

Reading books in electronic form (eBooks) on a portable device has taken decades to develop and become practical. From LCD display research at RCA Labs in the late 1960s, to Alan Kay’s Dynabook concept in 1972, to the Project Gutenberg literature digitization efforts of the ’70s and ’80s, to MIT’s E Ink display technology and the first portable eBook reader (the Rocket eBook) in the late 1990s, to Amazon’s Kindle tablet in 2007, the practical buying and reading of eBooks have been long in coming.

Apple entered the eBook environment in 2010 by introducing its general purpose tablet, the iPad, alongside the iBooks App for reading and purchasing eBooks. Late last year, the iPad and iPad mini were updated to respectively weigh less and have a higher resolution screen—both are now even more suited for reading eBooks.

Reading books in electronic form opens new possibilities, but also presents tradeoffs not found in traditional paper books. PMUG’s Michael Blank will demonstrate the experience of buying, reading, and managing eBooks on the iPad.

The presentation will show the eBook purchase process on several online stores, present strategies for finding free e-content sources (such as catalogs, manuals, and travel guides), suggest the most useful eBook format based on a book’s content, demonstrate the most useful eBook Apps, and discuss eBook technical and consumer issues.

Come to this informative presentation and learn how to make the most of your eBook buying and reading experience!

 

About the presenter…
Michael Blank is PMUG’s Webmaster and produces the Monthly Meetings Podcast for the group. Michael is also a Website designer for the Princeton Internet Group.