Designing an infinite digital bookcase
Posted: 18 Oct 2011 12:29 PM PDT
(Cross-posted on the Google Code blog)
As digital designers, we often think about how to translate traditional media into a virtual space. Recently, we thought about the bookcase. What would it look like if it was designed to hold digital books?
A digital interface needs to be familiar enough to be intuitive, while simultaneously taking advantage of the lack of constraints in a virtual space. In this case, we imagined something that looks like the shelves in your living room, but is also capable of showcasing the huge number of titles available online—many more than fit on a traditional shelf. With this in mind, we designed a digital bookcase that’s an infinite 3D helix. You can spin it side-to-side and up and down with your mouse. It holds 3D models of more than 10,000 titles from Google Books.
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Posted by Aaron Koblin, Data Arts Team and Bill Schilit, Research
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I love the ability of reading books on the IPAD.
But, I’ve lost the ability of sharing a book with others.
And, it seems that everyone wants me to pay, re-pay, and pay again for the same content.
Ain’t going to happen! Can’t happen.
Reason #1: I can’t afford to buy all that content over again. Reason #2: Some of the content I want to have (i.e., Heinlein’s Starship Troopers) is not available.
And, I still have a grip with CopyRight law. If a book is “out of print”, how is that benefiting society. And seventy or more years under “protection”.
Sorry, copyrights and patents shouldn’t last more that a decade or two. And, just putting a ribbon on the donkey’s butt should give another decade or two of lock up. We, as a society, exchange the lockup for the benefit of everyone. Where’s the benefit of an extended lockup.
Argh!
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Reinke Faces Life 