Abbreviated History of Text

Final Post

"Material Literacy and Design" touches on an interesting topic - does the use of imagery showcase illiteracy? This is a conversation that happens often at my job. Upper management wants the flashiness and colors because it looks great, and meanwhile the content lacks. Do all of the visual contributions just serve as a distraction? I love the comparison to the cave paintings. Its as though we've come this far in technology to adapt a practice that is so old.

On the other hand though, these designs are great for attracting readers and any marketing/sales person can provide a list of benefits. When they are not overbearing, the images can be engaging and compliment the literature. But it does trod upon a thin line of immaturity and amatuer versus professional and interractive.

Writing is an experience and I think that "Theorizing Technology" does a great job of capturing it. Certain actions and encironments play a role in the process of writing and these aspects tie into the tools that we are using to implement our writing.

Theorizing Technology

“Theorizing Technology” explores the relationship between material tools and the mental process, as well as the relationship between material tools and culture. Haas states that by observing the meditation process, individuals can better understand the connection between material technologies and the mental process. She claims that writing tools are physical objects that exist solely from the human activities they are used for. As a culture progresses mentally; this progress is demonstrated through the technologies that culture creates.

Haas describes how altering text technologies can actually alter the cognitive process for the writer. Since different writing technologies require different 'spacial, tactile, visual, and temporal' thinking processes, it is implied that this can alter the authors writing. Print writing and digital writing are compared to prove how some writing technologies require different cognitive functions. It is explained that writing from a computer requires more abstract thought, while print writing offers a more intimate experience for the writers by allowing the to be more physically connected to their materials.

Haas describes that the connection between culture and writing materials is formed when writing materials are used across a specific population, for an extended period of time. She explains this process as a form of the body's memory. Haas makes it clear that a culture does not adopt a material tool based solely on its most appealing features. One of the deciding factors named in the adoption process is language. Haas explains that in Japan many of their engineers avoid using computers because of how the device is catered to Western literacy. For individuals literate in Japanese, these devices are very complicated to use. While the computer's features might be superior to the alternative devices, its westernized characteristics prevent some cultures from adopting the technology. She concludes by stating that technology is birthed by culture and cognitive thought. That these writing materials are the artifacts that define a culture and their level of progress, meaning all three of these components play a crucial role to one another.

Comment: I found her description of the relationship between cognitive abilities and writing materials to be interesting. I enjoyed her description of how different writing materials spur different cognitive functions. I have always been the kind of person that needs to physically write something down in order to truly retain the information being recorded, but I have always been told this was all just a myth. Her description offered a great explanation to why certain people might retain information better based on the writing materials used. I was relieved to know there are legitimate causes as to why some individuals favor certain mediums and that it all wasn't merely a literacy placebo affect.

Question: As technology advances do you believe writing technologies will be more 'culturally specific' or more universal? Also, do you think materiel intimacy can exist through a digitalized medium?  

Final Post

Theorizing Technology by: Christina Haas

Materiality and Thinking

• ·         Haas argues that the material of a text and the physical artifacts associated with a text shape the writers mental process
•   Writers are constantly engaging their text before anything has even been written

o   i.e

§  Laying their hands on the keyboard

§  Chewing a pencil

§  Typing text vs. handwriting text

• ·         Different writing technologies set up different spatial, tactile, visual, and temporal relations between the writer and his text
• ·         Haas believes there is a direct link between the method of writing and the author in order for an author to create he/she must form a relationship with the materiality of their text.

Materiality and Culture

• ·         Each form of materiality has its own culture
• ·         Handwriting

o   A form of inscribing

o   Comes from practice and repletion

Material Literacy and Visual Design

• ·  Faigley discusses how hypermediation enhances text online

o   Through links and animated pictures the reader forms a closer bond to the text and is able to engage the text

o   Subtext under the pictures encourages the readers to gather more understanding about the text

Comment: I found Haas’ explanation about another body of text interesting, because the original body of text discusses how a writer becomes closer to his work and yet her work was drawing her closer to another author’s work.

Question: Do literary analyses separate the audience from the text being analyzed or do they form another form of materiality that draws an audience closer to the original text? 

Theorizing Technology and Material Literacy and Visual Design

Summary:

Haas discusses two questions pertaining to technology: 1) how material tools shape mental processes and 2) how these material tools relate to culture. To answer the first question, she discusses how changing writing materials affects the writer in profound ways, making changes to his visual, spatial, temporal and tactile relationships with the text. The means by which the text is formed and/or viewed changes our relationship with its creation and the way it is viewed. She addresses the second question by discussing the effects of past textual mediums on the new. For example, the computer is embedded with endless symbols that originate in other text technologies, such as the pages, icons, and more. This, however, is not relevant across all cultures, so technology that is specialized for Western culture is avoided in other culturally diverse situations.

In Material Literacy, the author gives many examples of what would seem to be useless and poorly designed webpages, often created by teens. However, he argues that literacy is not based on text alone, but incorporates words and images alike. He believes literacy is material and multimedia-based, and has always been that way. Images are not a reflection of a lack of literacy, but the result of the ease of access to the internet.
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Comment:
I found it interesting that there are so many relationships among textual mediums, when you think about it. Everything had some kind of predecessor, and the effects of those never really seem to diminish.

Question:
If the lack of well-worded text online does not show a decrease in literacy, then what would? Is our immediacy based lifestyle contributing to a more image based literacy?

Summary: Porters research paper analyzes rhetorical delivery in digital communication. He describes that delivery is comprised of five key components; Body/Identity,  Distribution/Circulation, Access/Accessibility, Interaction, and Economics.

To describe these functions further he turns to the history of rhetorical delivery to explain how delivery has evolved in respect to the advancement of text technologies. Porter explains rhetorical delivery originated through oral communication in the Roman/Greek era. Changing ones oral delivery by speaking in a deep voice with long pauses is claimed to generate an emotional response from listeners. Oral delivery also pertain to how a speaker positions their body in addition to the volume, tone, and pattern of their speaking.

Porter explains how the printing press revolutionized delivery in the textual world by creating variety and standardization in this method of communication. He goes on to explain technology as a whole and focuses on the term "teche" which refers to the combination of abstract and physical knowledge. He discusses how technology restricted delivery by confining it within grammatical rules and standardization.

He discusses how the "body" of rhetorical delivery can be subject to invariables aspects such as race, gender, or age;  as well as alterable features such as pen names, profile photos, and background information. He describes delivery as the author's direct intended method of distribution and circulation as a works' degree of redistribution. Accessibility refers to how obtainable a piece is. Obstables in accessibility could be disabilities such as colorblindness or illiteracy, or could refer to physical barriers such as the inability to purchase the device a work is viewable on. Interaction refers to the exchange between two humans or a human and a machines, systems, or designs. Economics refers to the economical motives, hinderances, and overall effects on distribution that shapes a communication's rhetorical delivery.

Comment: I enjoyed how this piece deeply investigated textual delivery. I found it interesting how Porter describes humans as "cyborgs" referring to the degree of connection between humans and technology. I've always understood that as technology continues to advance it will become increasingly standardized in our lives; but never viewed it as becoming apart of us. This makes me curious how communication will evolve over future generations.


Question: Why do you think altering pen names affects how a text is received by the reader? Do you believe that readers like to read texts from authors whom are more similar to themselves or authors they feel are superior to them academically?

Wrap Up pt. 1

Analysis of magazine in print:

Analysis of magazine displayed on an IPAD: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F7644DC51D8E037B!8008&authkey=!AIMO-FmbJqKSNEI&ithint=file%2cdocx

Broad Conclusions:

WIRED on iPad

Summary: "WIRED on iPad:  Just Like a Paper Tiger" discusses why designers should stray from traditional- problematic designs. Reichenstein illustrates the issues with the app's white columns. He states that while these designs are traditional and created to emulate the printed text; it force users into the 'paper model' and limits text space, which in turn forces the text to become fragmented and crowded. The author illustrates how much the potential there is for designs that do not conform to the printed image. How removing black lines could reduce clutter and removing columns could offer space. 

Reichenstein goes on to illustrate the issues with the app's overuse of advertisement. He warns that overuse of advertisement could make it difficult to discern the content from the advertisement and leave the user feeling cheated. Also that even the overuse of noncommercial graphics can make a design overcrowded, distracting, and basically obnoxious. 

He discusses how the app fails to provide an innovative digital magazine. He quotes the company's statement, "The future of magazines is now", then goes out to illustrate how the app fails to provide the innovative design they claim. That the company simply put print magazines into a digital setting and fails to utilize all of the potential that the digital medium provides. Which leaves the user with a mundane app that crams Information into confined a space and forces them to swipe endlessly to enjoy the material. 

Comment: It seems that WIRED has combined the negative qualities of both paper and digital mediums. The app has allowed for the magazine to be confined by spacial limitations as well as being unable to zoom, copy  and paste, or scroll. But has also overused digital advertisement and flashy graphics to distract the reader and overcrowd the page. I felt this article illustrated the potential of mediums when the the creator is able to separate the idea of text from its paper based origin. I found his suggestions to be innovative but simple. 

Question: Wired claims, "The Future of Magazines is Now", but do you believe this medium will survive to see the future? Will magazines become transformed by digitization or will it lead to their distinction? If you believe they will become transformed, what would need to be changed or added for magazines to remain relevant? 

WIRED on iPad

Summaries:

As more and more printed avenues are appearing within the textual realm, their formats are more so resembling what they're accustomed to (columns, certain fonts) rather than what is necessary for optimum functioning as an iPad app. "If executed carefully, text on an iPad is a miracle picture book or photo frame - but designing long text passages for good readability is still a tough matter."

Since the iPad's resolution is higher than a regular LCD but lower than an iPhone, these companies such as Wired, need to stray away from utilizing InDesign - a print layout tool, and start creating with the iPad in mind. Reichenstein provides a plethora of "tips" such as ditch the dense multi-column layout, be weary of mixing fonts that might not transfer well, don't waste your limited space on useless ornamental graphics, etc., all of which he claims are a result of using InDesign, which is ultimately optimized for paper and not apps.

Reichenstein makes the claim that Steve Jobs was right. We shouldn't be using tools such as InDesign to create apps, thinking this is "the future of journalism." Original tools should be used in order to create iPad apps, taking into account Reichenstein claims and problems with the current format, and allowing the designers to get a better grip on the purpose, potential, and limits of their technology.

Comment: Seeing as I have had limited experience with reading on an iPad, this article was rather informative for me. That being said, although I hadn't viewed what Reichenstein was talking about, I could definitely agree with what was being said, regarding column formats and text size, etc. I feel like as print has transitioned and adapted into the digital realm, they haven't really found a new and innovative way to present themselves, and therefore are dishing out what they know, via columns and page turning. I also think one of the factors may be the readers, considering much like the kindle/book debate, some people like the visual aesthetic of the print format, just in a portable digital space. I would like to see new app technology that allows such avenues to be altered and bettered, but I think it will be an adjustment for both text producer and reader.

Question: Towards the end of the article, Reichenstein makes the claim that the future of journalism is definitely not a stack of banners spiced with videos, exported from a paper layout program, although we may think that the "future of journalism" is now. Do you think we'll be able to just completely let go of nostalgia and such journalistic formats that we've come to know for so long (columns, page turning) in exchange for a completely new format? What is the future of journalism in that sense? How do you think this new influx of design will be viewed?

WIRED on iPad: Just like a paper tiger

Key Point Summary:  When there are more graphics involved in a piece, there is more space that is being misplaced for valid wording. When graphic designs in print such as magazines or newspapers are intertwined with digital networks, their objectives can be derailed.

Key Point Summary: When you look at a newspaper you often notice how organized it is. You take a look at the columns and also the layout of the newspaper. Many people are not aware that newspapers actually have to consolidate all their rows and columns in order to have a successful and neat paper.  

Key Point Summary: There is a big difference between something that is viewed on paper rather than an application on a phone or technological device. Many people fail to realize that just because a font looks a certain way on paper, when it is made into an application or into something digital it will not look the same. The size will be different and of course the font type maybe different as well.  

Comment: There is a big difference between having something in print and then transferring it to a technological device. We have had his discussion many times in class and I personally hate viewing some things on a phone, laptop, iPad, and etc. Something’s I feel such as books have more value when they are read as a print document.

Question: Will there ever be such a thing as “enough technology”? We hear daily about new technology advancing like the iPhone for example. Sometimes I think to myself what more can a phone do? What do you think the next invention is going to be? How far is technology willing to go?     

WIRED on the iPad

Summary:

•  Newspapers have to cram a vast amount of information into pages and the need for columns would are for a reader who wants an organized layout. The issue with transferring this idea of columns in an app is that the columns also affect other parts of the layout: font size, accessibility and interactivity, amongst other things. When text is forced into columns, often times, the text is more difficult to read and seems squeezed together rather than fluid. 

• The aesthetics of typography and combining appealing typeface has seemed to be an increasing topic but when it is views in terms of the app, some font choices that look appealing on print do not are note cohesive when viewed on the app. As a result of using multiple columns on the apps, the text of the interface is much smaller and the reader cannot even appreciate the use of different combinations of fonts. 

• The choice to include graphics in print seems like a necessary normality but when incorporated in a digital interface, they can lose their purpose. The more graphics, the more space is lost that could have been used for meaningful text. Ornamental pieces will get confused with  interactive buttons or navigational tools, leaving the reader convoluted and bothered. A minimalist approach within digitally would be the best way to increase user friendliness, the need for graphics is not as obvious. 

Comment: I really enjoyed reading this article. I don't personally own and iPad but I was able to make many of same connections between displays on my Mac and my iPhone. Overall this article brings up the topic we have been talking about in class recently: developers obsession with transferring print to online. I liked the piece about that explains why a company should not hire someone apt in print developments or journalism to create an app that is supposed to be used online. It makes so much sense. Apps are developed to be used online and often times when apps first come out they are not cross compatible across phone carriers. When these programs are created, the idea of "what makes something work in print" should not be an opinion to be considered I believe. These developments should start from scratch in the sense that we should ask ourselves "What will make this easier to access on a technological device?" "How is this really interactive?" "What does it mean to be interactive" and "what are the differences and affordances of this app being used on an iPad in comparison to its print counterpart?"

Question: The article discussed how developers use InDesign, a program used to create print graphics, to make designs for apps. Why isn't (or maybe there is) a program that makes templates for creating apps and other online programs only? I do not know too much about html or anything in the tech realm but it seems to make sense to use a foundation that has the best interests of a digital technology in mind, instead of trying to appropriate from a program that was made to create things read in print.

Codex and E Codex

Text technologies and their eras

Digital Text and the Art of Delivery

     The rise of digital text and delivery has given way to new methods of how the rhetor conveys his message to the audience. Different modes of information each have different delivery methods associated with them. Before a written or print-based culture existed, oratory delivery was the predominant method used to convey arguments, thoughts, and ideas. The rhetor was judged not only on the words they spoke, but how they spoke them, along with their body language, tone, inflections, emphasis, and appearance. As writing, printing, and eventually digital text advanced, however, the method of delivery became less prominent due to the permanence and higher audience capabilities of writing. This resulted in a less personal approach to delivery that while still informative, is lacking the true passion and emotion that a live oration would bring.

     I find it interesting that the author is trying to resurrect the rhetorical canon of delivery. To me, it seems like a vain effort because as text technologies evolve and become widely used, they develop their own unique forms of rhetorical canon. The author draws comparisons to the orators of the Classical Age, however, this is not the Classical Age. This is a new time period, with new mediums that each will develop their own effective forms of canon over time. To base a new type of delivery on an model used by an outdated method is a good place to start, but not a complete solution.

Based on the increasingly impersonal direction that text technologies are heading, how do you think spoken word and face to face communication will play a role in the delivery of text and information in the future?

Recovering Delivery for Digital Rhetoric

• Delivery has become irrelevant today as we do not have an oral culture, but we now need digital delivery to help us navigate the rhetoric of online text
• Digital delivery consists of five components
• body/identity, distribution/circulation, access/accessibility, interaction, economics
• delivery should now be more powerful than ever
• Aristotle and his pupils said delivery was about
• emphasizing the role of body and the emotional impact of the speech
• Rhetorica Ad Herennium gave different ways of delivery
• The relationship between performance and persuasion was emphasized
• Quintilian said there was an important connection between the character of a speaker and delivery, for example, if you are modest you may be able to persuade judges in a legal matter
• The printing press brought a change in delivery of the printed word
• Delivery can help design, invention, and evaluation of writing
• Delivery has dropped off the map and is seldom taught in classes
• In many non-western cultures, delivery is still very important
• Delivery means reviving rhetorical and humanistic thought we as a western culture have left aside
• Body language is a very important part of delivery
• The way you dress and behave can impact your delivery
• Knowing the exact way to address the audience so that the message effectively reaches them is another very important part of delivery
• For digital rhetoric/delivery, you must format the text in a certain way so that it is easily accessible/sharable/moveable
• access vs. accessibility: difference is access is in general do you have the necessary devices to get the info, accessibility is to make the infer available for everyone
• Deliver a message that is interactive and compelling for users to participate
• the economics of digital delivery: what motivates a person to distribute, access, or interact with digital media?
• Two types of knowledge required for the "techne" of digital rhetoric: productive, how-to knowledge and practical judgement
• The point is to develop a rhetorical theory and type of delivery that sufficiently delivers information in a digital age
• Delivery helps the speaker do a better job of communicating 

Comment: I found this interesting that we have seemed to forget that delivery is still important when it comes to conveying a message.  I agree that we sort of chalk the digital, internet-centered world up to the idea that its supposed to be this robotic, machine-like process when that's not really true, we can still make delivering information artful and deliberate.  

Question: I agree that the art of delivery has been somewhat forgotten and that our culture today is far from oral.  But I was thinking about political speeches and news today, and in those cases I still think that delivery is very much relevant, even in a digital society.  I was watching a funny video by Russell Brand today and he was basically ridiculing Fox news for how they handled the scandal with the Texas cheerleader killing animals in Africa.  To me, the way the information was delivered by Fox was pretty comical and made me question the reporter's ethos.  I also questioned the ethos of the cheerleader for the poor delivery (in my opinion) of information about something so obviously awful.  Basically, is it really true that we've all completely forgotten about delivery when I think I still consider it pretty important today?  

Recovering Digital Delivery

Summary

·      The word “technology” comes from the Greek word techne, which represents a type of art and knowledge.  It requires a theoretical understanding and a practical know-how working together.  Rhetoric is considered a techne when it is taught as a form of knowledge with a critical understanding and how to achieve effects.

·      Even in a digital format, rhetoric is still very important when trying to persuade an audience.  Porter believes that in order to ensure a strong digital presence, you need to focus on body/identity, distribution/circulation, access/accessibility, interaction and economics. 

·      The body/identity aspect reflects on how you address yourself in an online situation.  People can quickly form an opinion on what you are like based off of many things, like the layout of a website or how you dress an avatar in a role-playing game. 

·      The next factor of a digital rhetoric is the distribution/circulation of an article.  You should try to choose the publisher of your article based on when the article can get published and also the audience.  You need to also make sure that you produce your work in the correct format, like a PDF file or an HTML code. 

·      Access/Accessibility refers to the average consumers availability to an online source.  Just because over 220 million people have access to Internet does not mean that all do whenever necessary.  You should ensure your audience could easily access your work.

·      Interaction between the audience and the writer is very important in digital formats.  The audience is more likely to be interested in an article that engages them and encourages discussion between them and the writer.

·       When someone produces a work, economics is important.  The writer wants to make sure to get credit and residuals for their piece.  In the digital age this can be more difficult because of the easy access to taking a screen-shot and other ways to reproduce copyrighted material. 

Comment

·      I completely agree with what Porter has to say.  When you are preparing a speech to be said in person you go through the different canons of rhetoric to ensure a good reception of it, and it should be no different when producing a piece for a digital format.  

Question

·      How are the canons of classical rhetoric and digital rhetoric similar? How are the different?  Could you use any classical canons in a digital atmosphere?

The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-Space

The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-Space

Summary: 

           

            The e-book had a tough beginning, it took awhile for these electronic devices to become sophisticated and evolve enough so that the e-book can be spread to the masses.  Drucker thinks that the advantage to the book is on the electronic side and will just take time for it to involve like the codex did.  She touches on the fact that books are static, fixed, finite forms that can be vastly improved through the addition of so-called interactive features that the e-books have.  She then talks about the layout of the e-book and how the reader wants to be able to mark where they are.  She says that with the progression of the format and the use of the slider that shows progress.  One main thing she touches on is the fact that the reader has an urge to annotate a text.  This is something that has always been super accessible for readers in the codex but this urge has been accommodated in electronic book designs as note-taking capabilities. 

Comment:

            Drucker touches on some great points in this read.  I never really thought about the e-book in this way until now.  I am a very traditional person and I really do not like reading online I like to physically hold a book.  I was not aware of all the advances in the e-book and how it is really becoming more and more like a physical book but just on a reading device.  I would use an e-book more if I knew all along that you could take notes and page search.  By talking about the format I was able to understand the layout of the e-book and how it has its pro’s and con’s. 

Question:

            Is there a way to achieve the esthetic that a codex has on an e-book.  Can an e-book ever replace a codex and be able to achieve the same results and effect that a codex has on the reader. 

A handful of links on redesigning the codex

Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes

Un Coup de Des

http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~doyle/docs/coup/scan/coup.pdf

Heinz and Judy

http://collections.library.uarts.edu/cdm/ref/collection/bookarts/id/1568

The Virtual Codex

Summary

• Ebooks have tried to become more like normal print books in that they allow for people to highlight parts that interest them or annotate in the book now like they could do with print books before. 
• Heinz von Föerster states that people need to focus more on "how" a book "does" its particular actions, rather than "what" a book "is."
• The biggest ways that ebooks are said to be separated from print books is that print books are static while ebooks are interactive, giving the reader more to work with. 

Comment

There will always be the argument of what is better, ebooks or a print book. People can think of 100 things supporting each one but it all depends on preference. Some people, like me, prefer holding the physical book and turning pages. Some are more practical and like a small handheld device that can fit many books on it. 

Question

The reading states "I would suggest that the slowness by which new formats have arisen is as much the result of conceptual obstacles as technical ones. The absence of an e-book with the same brand-recognition as Kleenex or Xerox isn't due only to the fact that the phrase "electronic document management and information display systems and spaces for inter-subjective and associative hyper-linked communication using aggregation, folksonomies, and real-time authoring and participatory editing" doesn't trip off the tongue." Do you think that Amazon's Kindle, being so widely known, helped other companies to create they're own idea of an ebook and expand the desire to have one?

The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-space

Summary:

• Drucker points out that it's important not to focus so much on the actual book (how it looks and how it's laid out), but on the ways the book works. Different authoring and editing environments like Sophie and the Collex are promising steps forward in the transition to e-books, but it's important to understand the original structure of the codex in order to continue forward in designing new environments for publication.
• Research has proven that consumers prefer features in electronic books that emulate paper book functions. In other words, consumers actually enjoy when an e-book has pages that turn or when they have the ability to mark their place with a bookmark or "paper clip" and annotate directly on the page.
• Many books in the virtual e-space come with certain qualities found in a traditional print book. Drucker mentions how sometimes traditional books are considered static because of the set number of pages and information that is bounded that way and resistant to change, but makes the point of mentioning that active and passive modes seems to be a better way to distinguish the technologies.

Comment:

• I thought it was interesting how Drucker describes the e-book as more than just interactive book. The last point in the summary struck me only because I believe that books are so much more than words on a page. The words and the pages may be unchanging, but the language and the message can sometimes change from person to person, or even just from each time the book is read.

Question:

• According to Drucker, what is the real effect of adding electronic bookmarks that mirror conventional ones and hyperlink footnotes that can lead you to outside information or help with navigation?

The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-space

Key Point Summary: There has been many different forms of text that has formulated throughout the years. From palms, to desktops, to laptops, iPods, and iPads so many different devices has made a widespread across the nation. Most of these forms have many similarities because they all are meant for the same purpose. You can read, write, type, research, chat, and do so much more with most of the items listed above. The “e-book” legacy has started to formulate all over.

Key Point Summary: The idea that electronic books will outshine paper-based books and overcome the drawbacks of traditional books features is a very interesting statement. In today’s society books are still being bought but most people are relying on electronic books to get them through the day. Even though some e-books are limited, there are still mixed reviews about the promotion of e-books and physical books.

Key Point Summary: Rhetoric has played a huge role in world of text. The promotional rhetoric says that books are static and fixed forms that can be improved through the addition of interactive features. Rhetoric that supports the e-books tend to suggest that all of the advantages are on the electronic side.

Comment: I personally think that physical books are getting outdated. More and more people are becoming technologically advanced which is why e-books are progressing.

Question: How long do you think it will take before almost everything becomes e-book generated?   

A few things about openness and coding

Stolley's "Lo-Fi Manifesto" --> a discussion about the relationship between technical formats, writing, and distribution: http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/12.3/topoi/stolley/

Skeleton --> Coding boilerplate for texts that work against PDFs : http://www.getskeleton.com/

"PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption" --> a list of grievances about PDFs: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/pdf-unfit-for-human-consumption/

Near Print and Beyond Paper

Summary:

• PDF's were revolutionary in there functionality. The Portable Document Format (PDF) is understood as a nonliving document that provides users with the ability to view a document that resembles a printed page.
• Adobe has a created a sort of authorship that is unbeknownst to most viewers by separating programs that allow readers to write only and write or edit the document that is displayed. Certain documents might not be provided in a write and edit format, giving the perspective that the text is permanent and not meant to be discussed for changes.  The opportunity to edit and write on an existing document allows for revisions by multiple users and changes the way people view PDF has just a document reader.
• Although PDFs are view as text and image reading documents, they don't classify their images as images but instead include them in the umbrella of text. In this way they do not have a alphanumeric tag that allows the image to be searchable, like those images displayed on Google, Pinterest or Flickr. To go even further, I would say that the decision to classify images as text instead of images by their lonesomes limits the way in which we can view, edit, or our computers reads these documents. 

Comment: Reading about the adverse opinions for PDFs was interesting because I share the same view in some ways. I hate how on some documents you are able to highlight the text but not copy it on a word document, I was not aware of any other reader programs that allow you to do this. I think that speaks to the popularity and "oneness" of using Adobe Reader as a personal and corporate respected software program that is omnipresent and accepted in the majority of work and home arenas.

Question: I found it interesting that the cursor used in Acrobat Reader is called a "hand tool" and not simply a cursor. Why is it referred to as this and how does this name supports the idea of PDF's being transferable in terms of image and text materiality and functionality?