Books in a new light: in Santa Monica, California, an innovative software publisher creates electronic books
Article Abstract:
The Voyager Company employs Apple Computer Inc's Macintosh and PowerBook computers as vehicles for presenting books on-screen. The project, called Expanded Books, has so far put a dozen books in computer form on the market, and Voyager is planning to publish 40 more in 1993. Although no one is really sure why anyone would want to read a book from their computer, and many critics claim there will never be a significant market for the technology, others recognize computerized books as a viable alternative to the real thing; the media also lets readers carry 10 books as easily as one. Expanded Books also offer some convenient features, such as the automatic bookmark and the search function, which helps readers search for text in a new way. The price of an Expanded Book is equivalent to that of a hardback book, costing from $19.95 to $24.95.
Publication Name: Publish
Subject: Publishing industry
ISSN: 0897-6007
Year: 1992
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Poster power: how a Massachusetts design firm transformed thousands of pages of software documentation into a single poster
Article Abstract:
Qad Inc revises its MFG/PRO manufacturing support package, $100,000 to $1 million, to make it easier for users to understand. The package had included some 3,500 pages of documentation, including flow diagrams and screen dumps, but the sheer volume of material made the documentation almost incomprehensible. Qad wanted to develop an information design that would communicate the software's essential meaning without smothering the user in details. The result was MFG/PRO version 7.1, a 49-x-77-inch poster of graphic documentation meant to guide users through the program, which comprises 1,300 screens and 2,00Mbytes of code in dozens of modules designed to handle all the steps in a typical goods manufacturing plant.
Publication Name: Publish
Subject: Publishing industry
ISSN: 0897-6007
Year: 1992
User Contributions:
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