When I was a child, growing up in the city of Bradford in England, I used to love going to the city's central library. It seemed a magical place where one could be transported in time by histories, in place by travel books, to other lives by autobiographies, and in imagination by novels. I could be dragged away only by force. Now, the Internet is proving to be an even vaster storehouse of information than that city library. Recently Stephen King authored a book that was published only on the Internet. Several hundred thousand "copies" were downloaded in the first few days of publication. Is this the future of the published book? Not so, in my view.
To be sure, there are now electronic book readers on the market, such as the Rocket eBook, and some observers are already predicting the demise of printed books and magazines. But "reading" such an electronic device today is difficult given the present small size of liquid-crystal displays and the resolution of the displays. However, such drawbacks are likely to be overcome in the next decade. One Microsoft executive has reportedly said that by 2010 we will see "popular electronic book devices that weigh eight ounces, run for more than 24 hours, offer beautiful non-backlit displays, are available in flexible/foldable form factors, and hold more books than most university libraries."
Multiple-media publication
The same Microsoft executive goes on to say that, by 2020, 90% of all publications will be electronic. However, I think we will see multiple-media publication of popular works and even of much scientific literature. By multiple media, I am envisioning the publication of a book in several different media. These media will include the conventional printed and bound format, an electronic book format that can be downloaded to a special reader, an audio-book format that may also be downloaded to a MP3-type player, and a digital video format that could use small high-density DVD disks.
The most popular works will appear in all media, although not necessarily simultaneously. Payment for such new media publications may vary from the single-use fee to a multiple-use and even to a multiple-user fee. An authored work will exist initially in a standard electronic format such as the Open Edocs Standard (www.opene-book.org), and consumers will purchase the publication in the format they choose. In effect, we will see publication-on-demand.
All this is good news for the optoelectronics community. There will be huge markets for new media devices such as the flexible displays mentioned earlier. Already, developers are working on bistable displays that retain text and images after the processor has been switched off. Ultrahigh-density optical-storage devices will also be needed for the new media. And, of course, all-optical networks will be needed to distribute vast amounts of information rapidly.
The view from the editor's chair *** More than eight years ago, I authored my first column as the Editorial Director of Laser Focus World. It was entitled "When talk is cheap and light is free" (Jan. 1992, p. 55). In that column, I speculated that the cost of transmitting bytes of information would tend to zero thanks to the increasing capacity of optical-fiber networks and optical amplification. Since then, I have enjoyed writing more than 100 such columns and have also enjoyed the reactions (both positive and negative!) of my readers. Under my direction and with the help of a tremendously capable staff, Laser Focus World has expanded its coverage of optoelectronics. But the time has come to put the editorial reins in the hands of another skilled editor, Steve Anderson, who, along with Executive Editor Conard Holton and Managing Editor Barbara Murray, will take Laser Focus World to new heights.
I intend to keep a close watch on the optoelectronics community as Editor of Optoelectronics Report, Laser Focus World's twice-monthly newsletter (available in both print and electronic versions—send me a note if you'd like a sample copy), and as Editor of Wafer News, a weekly newsletter (also available in print and electronic formats) for the semiconductor-equipment and materials industry. And Steve Anderson has asked me to contribute a regular column to Laser Focus World so you'll be reading more of my views in these pages. I expect I'll be hearing more from you, too.
Jeffrey Bairstow | Contributing Editor
Jeffrey Bairstow is a Contributing Editor for Laser Focus World; he previously served as Group Editorial Director.