Pranav Mistry at MIT has developed a fascinating, beautiful device that opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the future of electronic publishing.

Take a look:



Consider the possibilities. You could go up to any wall and project the book stacks of an immense library larger than the Sun from your stomach (like a Care Bear) and then call any book to your hands with a single, swift gesture (like a falcon).

Then, you could open a blank book in front of you and project the ebook version you have selected onto the empty pages, complete with animated illustrations, appropriate background music, and instant annotations.

You could project the book into your plaintive, open hands, the way a child pretends to read.

In an airplane, you could project a novel onto the seat-back in front of you and read with your arms crossed and one eye shut.

Of course, ebook publishers haven't caught up with technology that's already available yet, so what are the odds they ignore this too and put more money into YouTube "book trailers?"

I think this is the most exciting time to be alive for publishing since the invention of the printing press.

Posted by miracle on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:19:01 -0400 -- permanent link