The loss of a format

I just got a new work computer and was installing all the software that I use when I went to add MS Reader to the machine and found this:

Microsoft is discontinuing Microsoft Reader effective August 30, 2012, which includes download access of the Microsoft Reader application from the Microsoft Reader website. However, customers may continue to use and access the Microsoft Reader application and any .lit materials on their PCs or devices after the discontinuation on August 30, 2012. New content for purchase from retailers in the .lit format will be discontinued on November 8, 2011.

Before there was ePub there was LIT, and I can remember reading a number of ebooks on my Casio handheld. This program was a leader in the interaction features of the ebook, things that I see just starting in some of the modern ereaders. It did highlighting (in multiple colors), linked notes, book marks, interactive dictionary (multiple languages), and you could even draw within the book. While I am glad that everyone is going for a more standardized format system, I am sad to see an old ebook format friend leave. So thank you Microsoft Reader for the vision of what ebooks could be, but now I guess I'm just going to have to reformat my old LIT books.

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Ebooks as Textbooks - Part 2 - Highlighting

Highlighting can be a very effective tool in reading and learning no matter the kind of text being read: from novels to textbooks.

Most textbooks or other forms of information text will usually used text features along with graphics to help organize information presented in the text. These elements are done to help focus attention on important or key concepts and provide additional information. The text organization itself can include structural elements such as heading, subheading, index, glossary, paragraph spacing, bulleted or numbered lists, sidebars or side boxes, italics, underlines or bold for words or even sections. Graphic content can include the use of symbols, colors, illustrations, pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs.
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The taking of margin notes is a strategy that focuses your attention on important information from the textbook, novels, or articles that you are reading. Because it involves tagging key words or …

Google Maps

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In one class I copied the map from Google Books and then we put it on the wall, so that as we read the book, we tracked where we were in the story on the wall map. One warning though, for some reason the books with maps in Google Books seems to randomly change fr…

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