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Why Kindle 2's Screen Took 12 Years and $150 Million
waderoush writes "Critics are eating up everything about Amazon's Kindle 2 e-book reader except its $359 price tag. But if you think that's expensive, take a look behind the Kindle at E Ink, the Cambridge, MA, company that has spent $150 million since 1997 developing the electronic paper display that is the Kindle's coolest feature. In the company's first interview since the Kindle 2 came out, E Ink CEO Russ Wilcox says it took far longer than expected to make the microcapsule-based e-paper film not only legible, but durable and manufacturable. Now that the Kindle 2 is finally getting readers to take e-books seriously, however, Wilcox says he sees a profitable future in which many book, magazine, and newspaper publishers will turn to e-paper, if only to save money on printing and delivery. (Silicon Alley Insider recently calculated that the New York Times could save more than $300 million a year by shutting down its presses and buying every subscriber a Kindle). 'What we've got here is a technology that could be saving the world $80 billion a year,' Wilcox says."
should make the case, so you can read them in the john and not spread germs
Nullius in verba
"(Silicon Alley Insider recently calculated that the New York Times could save more than $300 million a year by shutting down its presses and buying every subscriber a Kindle)" You had me at Kindle.
I can't believe you don't know what a Hasemalphaginnojinglanaporphomism is.
eInk will never replace newspaper!
How will we start beach bonfires? What will we line the bottom of the bird cage with? What will we do when we forget our umbrellas? What will we put under kitty's food bowl? What will we roll up and smack our friends with? How will we "copy" things with Silly Putty?
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Well, that's because every discussion about economics on slashdot reminds somebody of the broken windows fallacy. In a few minutes somebody will claim Kindle is a hoax because saving energy on newspaper presses violates (their understanding of) the laws of thermodynamics. Then somebody else will say turning pages on Kindle is inherently unreliable because of the halting problem.
Your (troll?) post confuses me to no end. You seem to rebuke criticism of the Kindle in your points while admitting there might some truth to the complaints. That sounds like you like it.
Jump ahead to your summary, and you say "it sucks ass".
Inbetween those areas, you reference an outdated rumor about a now confirmed/release second Kindle.
Summary: You work for Fox News.
I traded all my mod points for these magic beans.
I agree! In the name of not harming anyone, we should never allow progress in these troubling times. Why, think of all the jobs we'll save! I just bought a set of torches, a horse, and a plow. Do your patriotic duty!
But I have an even better idea. Why don't we use our military to evacuate cities and then destroy them. Think of all the jobs that will be created in the evacuation, military, and construction industries!
SSC
not to mention the critical role they fulfil in maintaining an informed electorate.
A what? Since when did one of those every exist?
it would really be nice to hear about a new book, download it, and start reading it in minutes rather than wait a few days for it to arrive in the mail.
Yeah! Fuck you, patience.
I'm a little amazed that no one has linked to yesterday's XKCD.
What're they going to do, throw jelly donuts and beer at us? I, for one, welcome our new jelly-donut-and-beer-throwing overlords.
You just won 5,000,000 internets.
It would have been 10,000,000 if you'd gone further and mentioned 1984 and DRM.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
Now all we need is e-Toilet Paper and we'll start making some real headway on saving the forests!
You seem to think that discussions here always wind up with the same old erroneous arguments. If that were the case, Slashdot would lose its common carrier status.
Source
Faye: "It's a little known fact that every Canadian citizen is born with a sharp, serrated edge somewhere on their body as protection from polar bears and enraged Quebecois."
Marten: "Every night they quietly hone their blades, biding their time until the Great Curling, when they will cleanse the earth of all other nations. That's why they're all so polite- they know we're all doomed eventually."
In other news, Microsoft Windows users are now covered under the Americans with Disabilties Act...
Greed? How so?
It's basic economics of supply and demand. There is no more "Greed" in the equation than that of the publishers selling paper books at $20, they have their margins and operating costs.
My guess is what your definition of greed is, "It's a toy that I can't justify for the price, though I might like to have it if it was cheaper".
Sounds more like your crying 'sour grapes' to me.