Authors of the article (Alexis Christie and Ludwig Siegele) strongly claim that books transform from the traditional books we know to book applications. This transformation, process should be called "the law of McLuhan". It is though as inevitable as are the laws of physics (to those who don't know McLuhan was my insporation for this blog, as well as its title "Medium is the user").
The medium is different. We consume electronic books from E-ink technology or tablets like iPad or Galaxy tab. The trend is growing in numbers. Amazon and other ebook sellers claim to hit records in sales this Christmas. Strong competition on the market will make these devices faster, more endurable in terms of battery performance and more affordable (sometimes even free of charge). Who knows, maybe next year we will see this trend in the streets of Poland?
But the biggest change is on the side of the user experience. Book applications on tablets are rich. They have embedded multimedia and allow readers to interract with their content. E-ink ebook readers are pure and smart. Kindle provides me with instant translation of difficult words, sharing options, highlighting and notes. These devices also strip magazines like Bloomberg BusinessWeek or The Time down from unnessesary photos and disturbing elements allowoling me to focus on the true content itself.
We will see arguments between ebook early adopters and strong fans of book smell and feel in the coming years. We will also see a shift in book production not only in presentation (multimedia), but also in the plot itself. One thing is certain, the 500 year old tradition of book is at the edge of a radical change.
