Laptop-makers are Hollywoodizing the screens at the expense of e-books and other texts.
Rather than being in the up-and-down portrait mode, best for reading and writing e-books and for surfing the Web, laptops are increasingly coming with wide screens optimized for multimedia. On top of that, tiny fonts can be hard to see on new high-res screens.
Luckily I’m hardly alone in my grouchiness about this, and David Pogue‘s New York Times column contains not only complaints but also readers’ comments with some solutions. Wait. See his blog as well. Interesting, isn’t it—how the blog is so much more informative than the column alone? A lesson for journalists, especially a certain journalism school dean with newly evinced Luddite tendencies?
Related: Washington Post article on laptop-buying. Also see Use dead trees to proof e-text? Paper vs. screens and The double-column trick–for e-books on the Tablet PC, the Cybook and other big-screen readers. Above, I’m reproing an image from the latter item–showing a partial solution, yBook.
Personally, I think screen resolution and orientation are secondary for a writer. The most important consideration for me is weight. I like to be stretched out on my couch with the computer on, well, my lap while writing. A 5+ lb notebook is really not a laptop. I use the lightest computer I could find, a Fujitsu Lifebook which weighs 2 lb. This is right at my upper weight limit and what I would like is something more in the 1 lb range.
What I wish is that Iliad wasn’t so intent on putting out a crippled machine. Why not simply load it with Windows Tablet OS and include a bluetooth keyboard? For me that would be the ultimate writing machine.
Duane
Hey, Duane, I’m jealous if your eyes are better than mine. Re the iLiad: The display and the CPU are not right for running Windows Tablet OS. The goals are different. iRex is going for low power consumption, for example. Thanks. David
Oh, I am sure my eyes are no better than yours. I’m 49 and have worn bifocals for 5-6 years. I switched to firefox over a year ago and love its ability to change font size with just a cntl +. When I write in Word I use a 14 pt font for comfort.
(And your website is not particularly friendly to people like me. Why force us to only use 800 pixel width? With a font size I prefer, this comment box spreads into the green link boxs on the right, forcing me to use a smaller font. Also, your little ‘human verification’ graphic to keep out bots is too small, I have to put my face right against the screen to read it.)
I understand Iliad is not compatible with the operating system I mentioned. I just think there is larger market for an extremely lightweight laptop than there is for the device they are creating.
I don’t have the Iliad, but I have been following the discussion on mobileread. I think one of the problems is the device is the wrong size. It is too big to fit in your pocket, but not big enough to display useful sized pdf files. It might have been better with a full 8.5 x 11 display.
I may hold off upgrading my pocketpc as my reader until the availability of one of those flexible screens which will allow a large screen which will scroll-like retract into a pocketable shape. And perhaps by then the DRM issues will have all been worked out, Not 🙂
Appreciate the further feedback, Duane. I myself still think legibility would be number one, ahead of weight and everything else.
To address some points:
1. I think you’re more interested in a different machine than in changes to the present iLiad. It can’t be everything to everybody.
2. Well, yes, I join you in my frustration with the DRM issues and other format-related matters. That’s why I’m involved with OpenReader.
3. I suspect most people are using the res at which the present TeleBlog is optimized, and at least for the moment, I like generous margins (I might change my mind).
4.Sorry about the human verification graphic–I can’t control the size. Normally most people don’t have to mess with it. Let me know if you have to use it whenever you make a comment–if it persists. I can whitelist you. I’m using tough anti-spam software because the TeleBlog is such a frequent target for spammers.
6. I love the idea of those roll-up screens.
Anyway, once again, I appreciate your speaking up. At some point–I don’t know how far into the future–the blog will be redesigned and I’ll consider your suggestions. By then, maybe high-res will be the norm. One factor, though: I do want the site readable on cellphones and PDAs. Works ok on my Palm TX.
Thanks,
David
Duane writes:
Let me second this comment. I also size up the fonts, and when I try to write a comment, the darn comment box is covered by the green sidebars on the right. I have to shrink everything down to an illegible font to write this. Fixed pixel sizes are a bad idea all around. Set it in inches or mm or some such. Or size the comment box in pixels instead of columns.
Duane also writes:
I think a lot of people are going to have this reaction. My guess is that the general market will tag the iLiad (and the Sony Reader) with the “too little (display, battery, general computer capability) for too much (money, size, DRM)” tag. Be interesting to see if they can find a niche to sell to. Of course, this is just another variation on the generic 1998-ebook-model problem: no one can figure out how to successfully provide 1998-style ebook content or hardware for the low valuation the market puts on them.
Finally, see figure 2 in the the ReadUp paper to see the UpLib take on two-page display for laptops. I agree that it makes sense to use the multiple columns, but I prefer high-res screens on which to do it.
I prefer wide screens for reading/laying out documents: there’s no substitute for being able to view a double-page spread.
Duane, I think that the best “laptops” for writing may have more in common with PDAs than with PCs. I have an Alphasmart Dana. It’s not perfect (the main problem for me being the screen quality. If only I could somehow slot my Palm T5 into the Dana to replace the screen…though having said that, the lo-res mono screen does enable an awesome battery life. And you can increase the font size in the unit’s word processor 🙂