both if:book and printisdead blog on a salon article
by Manjoo on the difficulties of browsing through a
physical newspaper.
here is printisdead, which has a longer consideration,
although i appreciated also ben vershbow's attempt to
recognize the vagaries of the core issues between
personalization and public space.
http://printisdeadblog.com/2007/10/24/living-the-life-electronic-farhad-manj
oo-on-life-without-newsprint/
"Print is indeed a really great thing. People have produced and
consumed it for centuries. In fact, nobody said a transition
from print to digital would be easy. Therefore Manjoo's reaction
is natural and good. People love newsprint the same way they
love books and magazines. But the fact that people will and do
miss print has nothing to do with the efficacy of digital reading
(not to mention to the inevitability of digital reading). It also
doesn't mean people are going to go down with the ship, and cling
to their "antiquated technology" just because they canšt stand to
live life without out.
"In the end, Manjoo comes to terms with his loss, reflecting that
digital reading is at the dawn of its evolution while newsprint
is receding into the sunset: "The online newspaper is an infant;
in time designers and engineers will surely find a way to give us
a perfectly skimmable electronic broadsheet. Until then, there's
a lot I'll miss -- and mourn." So not only is Manjoo stating that
print is dead, but he's been to the funeral and is now getting on
with his (electronic) life. "
and ben, in a response to our favorite commentator, bowerbird:
http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2007/10/of_forests_and_trees.ht
ml
"[T]he interface is vital and carries its own politics. The
personalized info screen, though it looks on a vast network of
possibilities, seems to me at odds with notions of a public
sphere. These are paradoxes inherent in technology. I'm trying
now to swim a bit in the ambiguities."
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