IDEO's e-book concepts threaten our enjoyment of reading with social networking, online commentary
Every once in a while we come across a product designed by IDEO, but generally not anything to write home (or at least blog) about. But that doesn't mean that the industrial design firm's not hard at work conceptualizin' stuff, as this promo vid chock full of possible future e-books amply demonstrates. Nelson is meant to clue you in on a book's context by providing online commentary, fact-checking, and statistics about cultural impact, which is great when you're studying global warming for a class, perhaps, but seems a little over the top if you're curling up with the latest Left Behind novel. Coupland? Think Apple iBookstore-meets-Linked In, with colleague's reading lists, recommended books, and book clubs. This is for those of you whose summer beach reading includes Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices. Last but not least, Alice is the e-reader for those of you who want to "experience narratives in new and engaging ways," which seems to mean some sort of Web 2.0 / Choose Your Own Adventure hybrid. Actually, now that we think of it, we're probably better off with our old fashioned print books after all. Speaking of which, where did we put out copy of Left Behind? Video after the break.
