Electronic Paper?
Is such a thing possible?
Well, according to this article on Yahoo, it just might be! Imagine what it might mean to the future of publishing. Add in some wireless connectivity and you’ve really got something here. Textbooks that change based on which class a student is in when they’re opened. An entire university library available to students on campus, wirelessly. Books that can be downloaded from the ‘net directly to a reading device.
Then, of course, there is the interactivity aspect. The article talks about catalogs that can be used to place electronic orders. Add in the ability to automatically update inventory, price and availability and you’ve really got something.
Of course, we’re a ways off from that, so it’s still science-fiction, but the possibilities are endless. In a fully networked world, devices like this might replace PCs alltogether. They would become the ultimate PDA. It could be the Next Big Thing. Or, it might never get enough market penetration, like the poor Mac. That Mac was revolutionary, too, but it got beat out by a cheap knock-off.
In any case, it did strike me as an interesting thing to have in a sci-fi story.
