Comments on: Plastic Fantastic

By: BinaryAcid, LV, NV

BinaryAcid, LV, NV — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:52:10 +0000

this kind of technology is easilly going to do its intended design, although it will take a hybrid silicon/plastic chipset with a higher ratio and pipeline display i doubt it will replace all silicon text display devices, this is the actual tip of the iceberg for the introduction of a similar tecnology in star trek also, the isolinear chips were made of thick layers of silicon and plastic polybdimides and laticies. not too far off i would say as far as new ratios in newer hybrid chipsets go…

By: R. Head Opp, AL

R. Head Opp, AL — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:40:58 +0000

Just think how many wonderful products like this the government could subsidize if they weren’t fighting a war for that utterly useless substance called oil.

By: Cary, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Cary, Plovdiv, Bulgaria — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:26:30 +0000

I cannot wait to have this gadget, even at the price of 350. I have a thousand literally) of pages, that I’d like to carry with me. This gadget will make it possible!

By: Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:05:49 +0000

Just a comment to Aaron: Your idea of embedded video or view an electoral speech is nice but impossible with the used technology. The used eInk technology is too slow for motion. But downloading newspaper at special outlets will be possible.

By: Tim, San Angelo, Texas

Tim, San Angelo, Texas — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:07:18 +0000

Let’s face it, folks. One piece of paper is light, but a document using a ream or two is very heavy. I really wish I had this when I was in college. Students could take notes all day long in the margins of their ‘e-books’. Also, geek alert! The Star Trek padd is here…

By: Jim, Taylorville, IL

Jim, Taylorville, IL — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:53:13 +0000

This would make life for school easier. Gone would be the day students tote around 50 pounds worth of books to/from home and between classes. I’d say it might make buying books for college courses cheaper, but I’m sure the campus book stores would still find a way to gouge you for the “rights” to download the book to your unit. And if they get the notation interface figured out, students could take notes during class and have them linked to the sections in their books.

By: Amy, Milford, PA

Amy, Milford, PA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:48:08 +0000

Sounds like the PADD of Star Trek

By: Scott,Siler City, NC

Scott,Siler City, NC — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:27:46 +0000

Nice…. I have over 4,000 if not more documents and ebooks on my laptop. I needed them there as I cannot carry my entire text book library with me. Besides that little gadget would be easier to put in a safe if a hurricane was coming, rather than 100’s of text books. Would be nice if it contained a MAC OS X like finder that could search inside of documents rather quickly.

These guys need to team up with Apple and come out with the ultimate tablet.

By: Steve, Grand Junction, CO

Steve, Grand Junction, CO — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:21:44 +0000

Don’t freak out folks. As CD’s haven’t totally replaced Vinyl, this type of tech won’t completely replace paper. But it can greatly reduce the amount of paper used in periodicals and non-masterpiece type books. Personally, I would love to be able to take this with me camping or traveling and have several books, etc available to read.

As a former Biomed Tech, having all my equipment manuals with me would be invaluable. I’ve tried using my Palm TX a an eReader device, but the small size was a hinderance.

By: Noah, Chilhowee Missouri

Noah, Chilhowee Missouri — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:03:23 +0000

I have envisioned this technology for atleast 5 years and have the format already designed for the new paper. I had a media reader already set and now Amazon steals it and this new company is taking my ideas as well. I guess all that unwarranted tapping by the government is really paying for the highest bidder.

By: Hunter Birmingham Alabama

Hunter Birmingham Alabama — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:02:25 +0000

@Goodman Zervos: What? Books cost money NOW! Libraries will simply stock e-paper readers and won’t be limited by physical space. billions of books and documents will be available to anyone with a reader – either checked-out from the library or owned by anyone with a library card. Today, the library can only stock one or two of each volume. Soon everyone will be able to read the same book at the same time!

Further, electronic paper will likely be free:
Kodak gave away cameras to sell film. Local Papers give away issues to sell ads. This reader will either cost about $20 (US) or be provided free so advertisers can show us their ads (like the ones already in newspapers, magazines and even – yes – in the back of some books).

Goodman Zervos, stop creating dilemmas that don’t exist. This will expand literacy and print availability not impede it…

By: Joez, Dallas, TX

Joez, Dallas, TX — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:02:19 +0000

It is a cool idea. But do you need another electronic device? Airbook by Mac is thin enough, couple more variations and it could weight less. Hopefully this will drive companies to provide smaller/cheaper/tablet type devices. Combine some of the functionality of IPOD Touch

By: JOJO, NY, NY

JOJO, NY, NY — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:40:06 +0000

YEAH…no more paper!

By: Kevin, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Kevin, Halifax, Nova Scotia — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:30:24 +0000

the last generation to know books will be the last generation.

By: M. Dillenbeck, Deerfield, WI

M. Dillenbeck, Deerfield, WI — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:35:32 +0000

As a student using a tablet pc, they have my interest. Sure, $350 may be expensive to most – but if it reads pdfs, text books could easily converted into ebooks.

Yeah, $350 may sound like a lot – but $350 for 13 ounces (instead of a 4-5 pound tablet) that holds all my notes and text books for my academic career would have been wonderful!

By: Mike, Virginia Beach, VA

Mike, Virginia Beach, VA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:41:07 +0000

Libraries in the future might offer these tablets as part of your library card (local taxes permitting) and books could be downloaded and deleted periodically. The same with periodicals, no pun intended. I love books, and my job has me carrying all types of documents. I am always trying to reduce the amount of printing we have to do, this looks great.

By: Karen, Novato CA

Karen, Novato CA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:25:10 +0000

I’ve envisioned something like this for a long time and wasn’t surprised to see the article on this screen. Replacing paper is a great idea. BUT, we also need to institute one rule with ALL high tech firms. Computers, cell-phones, etc. When it is ready for discard, YOU TAKE IT BACK. The companies making money off high-tech electronics are responsible for adding them to the garbage heap in this country. Since these products are going to multiply exponentially in the future, this needs to be addressed. Perhaps these companies should be made to pay into a special fund to ensure safe cleanup of their products…

By: Shawn, Stuart,Florida

Shawn, Stuart,Florida — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:45:08 +0000

As the article says, I can see this being a great help to lawyers or people who need to tote around a lot of documents, but paper will never be replaced. It’s been proved that people want to hold a tangible book in their hands and the majority are just not going to stare at some screen for hours on end when they could hold a book or magazine. I am a printer of 15 years, and when I started I was told I should go into something else because copiers would take over printing presses. Well, that’s still far, far off into the future. Every week some tech or another is at the shop fixing a state of the art copier that has decided to crap out while I continue to crank out the work on mechanical printing presses(as opposed to these digital contraptions that look like they’re full of spaghetti when you take off the covers. My press has broken down once in three years and it was due to a broken screw that was easily fixed in about half an hour.

By: Tom, NY, NY

Tom, NY, NY — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:56:50 +0000

This type of product is the future. Right now it might be a “$350 piece of paper”, but expect the price to come down over time. Don’t forget that it took a while before everyone realized how important computers are.

Every day, I carry between 40-70 pounds of law books on my back. I walk a mile to school each way. The weight is certainly a problem. If I could just carry this product, with all my books stored electronicly, I would be thrilled. They just need to add a few features: color screens, the ability to highlight in different colors, the ability to take notes on the page. If the companies can then pull of some contracts with the big book publishers and subtract the cost of manufacturing and shipping the books, this product will be amazing.

E-documents are the future no matter how much you cry about it.

By: Bryan, Indianapolis, IN

Bryan, Indianapolis, IN — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:43:16 +0000

Do I want one? Depends, whats the screen, LCD? If they can make it 100 bucks and make the screen OLED, they’ll make millions.