E-Books in Modern Life - Research Paper Example

E-Books Introduction Many people think that e-book has been around for just some few years. However, this is not the case asthe electronic book (e-book) has been in existence for more than four decades. The first e-book was developed in 1971 with the first steps of Project Gutenberg (Kozlowski 2). However, the more than four decades of its existence are shorter than that of print books, which have been in existence for more than five centuries now. The emergence of e-books has been possible thanks to the invention of the Internet. Research indicates that it was not until 1974 that the Internet went live following the creation of TCP/IP protocol by Victon Cerf and Bob Kahn. Nonetheless, the Internet began spreading in 1983 as university and research center networks. The Internet got its first significant boost in 1990 following the invention of the web by Tim Berners-Lee. The second boost of the Internet was witnessed in 1993 following the release of the first browser Mosaic. At the time, the Internet was only accessible in few developed countries. The Internet, however, began spreading rapidly from 1994 onwards. Today, almost every part of the world is internet accessible (Kozlowski 2). Nevertheless, the spread of the Internet did not bring an end to the traditional print media, radio, movies, or television. Instead, it created its own space as a new form of media to access documents, obtain information, broaden knowledge, and communicate across the world and languages (Kozlowski 3). With the invention and spread of the Internet, booksellers began selling books online both within and outside the home country. Libraries also began developing websites as ‘virtual’ window and digital libraries stemming from their print collections. The website made it possible for patrons to surf information they needed at a period search engines were less accurate and unreliable. With time, library catalogues went online. This was followed by the availability of online magazines and newspapers, as well as their archives. Lebert notes that, with the spread of the Internet, authors began developing websites for their works online (3). Today there are several online books making it possible for people to read online without having to buy a printed book. Libert reveals that the Internet has become a common mode of communication and interaction since 2009. It offers people the opportunity to work, communicate, study, and entertain through the Internet (Primary Research Group 48). This paper will discuss the history of e-books, as well as the various devices where e-books are read. It will also explore how e-books e-magazines and e-newspaper reading may become more of internet connective or group activity. Finally, the paper will provide a prediction of how books will be read in the next decade. 1.1. History of e-books The history of e-books dates back to 1971 following the invention of the e-text #1by Michael Hart in his Project Gutenberg. Lebert reveals that, after the invention of the e-book, Hart disseminated the e-books to the rest of the world (5). The project Gutenberg allowed people of the twentieth century to have a digital library free of charge. Despite skepticism from many people who criticized Hart for his idea, he went ahead to prove them wrong by inventing an e-book. Hart with the assistance of volunteers began by creating online Bibles, which became a huge success. This was followed by the creating Shakespeare online book. Lebert indicate that, by 1989, Project Gutenberg had completed its tenth e-book. Among the books are The King James Bible (1769) both New and Old testaments and 5M for the entire files. Research indicates that there were only about 250,000 internet users by 1990. This stage is considered an infant stage of the Internet where the standard was just 360 k disks. Later on in 1991, Hart typed Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) followed by Peter Pan (1904) by James M. Barrie. Lebert reveals that these books fitted well on a single disk (Lebert 3). In November 1993, the first browser, Mosaic, was released making circulation of e-texts and recruitment of volunteers easier. Starting in 1991 and through to 1996, e-books numbers doubled yearly with one book every month in 1991, two per month in 1992, and four every month in 1993 and eight books monthly in 1994 (Lebert 3). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare was released by Project Gutenberg as e-book in 1994. Lebert indicates that the growth continued with an average of 8 books being produced every month in 1994, sixteen books every month in 1995, and thirty-two books monthly in 1996. By 1997, project Gutenberg had 1,000 e-books and 2,000 e-books by 1999 (5). The numbers grew on a yearly basis to date. The e-book development and reading began becoming easy in 1990 following the development of the first web by Tim Berners-Lee. This was also boosted following the release of the second browser, Mosaic in 1993. Research indicates that, by 1993, web was still at its infancy and was less effective. This led to the development of The Online Books Page, which enhanced the development of such online books. A year later, some publishers became bold enough and began using the web as a marketing tool. The National Academy Press (NAP) is reportedly the first publisher to post the full text of some books, free of charge with the authors consent. NAP was followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995. However, publishers went digital in 1997. Since then, many authors have been able to post their books on the digital platform (Kozlowski 6). 1.2. Past and present devices where e-books are read Memex Memex was the first e-book device invented in 1945 by Vannevar Bush. The device allowed people to read eBooks with ease. The Memex combined a microfilm reader and a screen. However, instead of storing books in digital files, they were photographed to microfilm and stored in reels. This device even though provided a platform of e-book reading; it lacked portability of today’s e-book reading devices (Kozlowski 16). DynaBook DynaBook is also another e-book reading device invented in 1968. Unlike Memex, it was portable and had a large keyboard and a grayscale capable of displaying locally stored documents (Kozlowski 16). BookMan BookMan device invented by SONY in 1992 also allowed people to read e-books. The device included a CD-ROM drive, a small keypad, and a built-in memory. This allows students and scholars to have easy access to e-books (Kozlowski 16). Rocket e-book and SoftBook The Rocket device invented by NuvoMedia in 1998 is another device where e-books could be read. At the same time, Softbook Press was released by SoftBook. These devices resemble those used currently. The devices allowed students to read online books in libraries. SoftBook Press and NuvoMedia were the first device manufacturers to break the barrier for e-book reading by creating a content distribution agreement with publishers. At this time, copyright protection system was established to protect piracy of contents across the Internet (Polanka 44). Kindle November 2007 was a momentous day in the history of the e-book following Amazon’s release of the first generation Kindle. Kindle is a device that allows people to read online contents. At the same time, it provides easy access to e-book materials, which can be read online. However, unlike its predecessors, Kindle had features that allow downloading of e-books and online materials. Amazon went a step further in 2009 releasing a more developed version of Kindle. This was immediately followed by the release of the Kindle 3 in July 2010 (Polanka 44). Nook Following the success of Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble entered the game releasing the Nook in November 2009. This device was very similar to Kindle. However, the Nook had a touch screen color navigation bar that apart from enabling people read e-books, it also allowed readers to see the e-book covers in the colors (Polanka 44). iPad Apple entered the game in April 2010 releasing the first generation iPad tablet computer. iPad allows people to read e-books and has been one of the most successful invention selling more than fiteen million units within just one year of its introduction. An iPad also has a touch screen features. It is also highly portable compared to earlier devices (Primary Research Group 52). Laptops and Desktops Ebooks can also be read on computer desktops and laptops as long as the device is connected to the Internet. 1.3. Ways in which e-book, enewspaper, and e-magazines reading may become more of interactive or group activity. Research indicates that the reading e-books, e-magazine, and e-newspapers will soon become more of interactive or group activity. This follows the emergence of smart phones and tablets, where e-books can be read. Smart phones and tablets allow people to interact easily thereby enabling e-book, e-newspaper and e-magazine reading more interactive and group activity. The interactivity of e-Textbooks, e-magazines, and e-newspaper swill likely take off following the emergence of easy-to-use software such as Apple’s iBook Author coupled with other competing tools, which are likely to free up new publishers to create compelling and engaging contents. This will free students from the current static, expensive, and literary heavy experience (Burrus par.16). 1.4. Prediction of how people will be reading e-books in the next ten years Following the trend of e-book reading experienced witnessed presently, it is highly likely that e-book reading will be merged together with tablet computing, happening on one convergent device. Conclusion Ebook has become very people among researchers and students using it as a source of information and knowledge. However, even though many thinks that e-book has been in existence for just a few years, its history dates back to 1971 when the first e-book was invented. Ebooks can also be read on a number of devices both traditional and modern. The devices include Memex, DynaBook, BookMan, Rocket e-book, and Soft Press, Kindle, Nook, iPad, laptops, and desktops among others. However based on the technological trend, it is highly likely that the emergence of easy-to-use software such as Apple’s iBook Author will make e-book, e-magazine and e-newspaper reading more interactive or group activity. In addition, it is probable that reading e-books will be merged together with tablet computing. Works Cited Burrus, Daniel. “20 Game-Changing Technology Trends That Will Create Both Disruption and Opportunity on a Global Level.” Big Think. The Big Think Inc., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013 Kozlowski, Michael. “A brief history of eBooks.” Good EReader. Oak Branch Media Inc., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013 Lebert, Marie. A Short History of Ebooks. New York, NY: Electronic books, 2009. Print. Primary Research Group. Library Use of Ebooks. New York, NY: Primary Research Group Inc., 2008. Print. Polanka, Sue. No, Shelf Required: E-books in Libraries. Hoboken, NJ: American Library Association, 2011. Print. Read More