It is quite difficult to surprise a modern person with a device like a smart watch or an e-book, although a couple of dozen years ago such a technique was not widespread and recognizable. Who was the first inventor of the e-book and what evolutionary path did this device go before appearing on the shelves of modern technology stores?
The story of the first e-book
It all started back in 1971, when a promising writer from the state of Illinois (USA) named Michael Stern Hart made the "digitization" of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Hart digitized this official document because in this form it was more convenient for him to work with him, and the ability to access the powerful Xerox Sigma V computer at that time allowed him to carry out his plan.
Subsequently, Michael transferred several more print publications in digital form, and then took part in a project called "Gutenberg", whose main goal was to develop a project for an electronic library for thousands of e-books. Thanks to the enthusiasm and determination of the participants, the project was successful, and by 2005 the library website had more than 17,000 copies of various materials.
The development of e-book technology
Although Michael Hart is considered the ancestor of the reader, devices capable of displaying text information on their displays were released by specialists from DEC in 1996. They were released under the name DEC Lectrice, which can be translated from French as "reader." The first e-book resembled a tablet computer.
REFERENCE!Lectrice possessed a metal case and a button-type control panel. In fact, the reader did not possess any additional functions except the main one.
The invention of "electronic paper", which allowed the text displayed on the screen to be made more distinguishable and not too bright, occurred in 2007. The discovery and implementation of this method of displaying material has significantly influenced the popularization of e-books among ordinary people. New devices have become more accessible, and reading from them has become more enjoyable.
Modern e-books
Today, e-books can not only read the displayed text, but also perform other functions:
- Download books directly from the Internet
- view images and photos;
- play audio recordings and music;
- play video files;
- Run applications that are not very demanding in power;
- expand the available memory by installing additional media.
Today, there are two main display technologies for readers: LED and E-lnk Pear. Basically, the differences between the two types of screens are in the brightness and color display settings. In the case of the second type, the image has a yellowish color, such as is the case with some newspapers. In the case of the LED display, the main background is bright and white.
REFERENCE!Fans of not only reading, but also watching videos and images are better suited devices with LED-displays.
In order to better understand whether such devices are necessary, you should familiarize yourself with their main disadvantages and advantages. Among the undoubted advantages of electronic books, most experts distinguish:
- compactness and ease of use;
- the ability to adjust brightness, contrast and many other parameters for comfortable reading;
- the ability to store a really large amount of text information on a small medium;
- the possibility of expanding the available memory.
In addition, all "real accessories" for reading, such as bookmarks on pages, are available on an electronic device. For people with disabilities, braille readers are implemented.
However, it is worth noting that such devices are not without some drawbacks, the most important of which are:
- quite high cost (especially for models of famous manufacturers);
- inaccessibility to view color images on some models;
- negative impact on users' sleep and provoking feelings of lethargy.
Be that as it may, hundreds and thousands of people around the world use e-books every day to read a couple of pages of their favorite work in the afternoon or to always have access to a pocket library with tens and hundreds of books.
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