SAN FRANCISCO (02/16/2000) - You've heard about electronic books, but they sound costly and complicated. Don't you need to buy some sort of device that syncs with your PC? Too much trouble.
Glassbook Inc. wants to change that impression. With Glassbook Reader software, you can read electronic books without having to buy any hardware beyond the computer you already own. And Adobe Systems Inc. will integrate Glassbook Reader into the next version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is expected to ship this summer.
Glassbook Reader runs on any Windows PC. It supports Adobe PDF, so publishers and authors can retain the design and layout of their books.
You can download a basic version of the Reader from Glassbook's Web site, and create your personal digital library by buying and downloading books from the Web. You can get the Plus version in a beta form for free, but the final version, scheduled for release in March, will cost $39. The Plus version adds a dictionary and text- and file-searching; it also gives you the ability to lend or give your e-books to others.
Glassbook Reader works best on a notebook PC, as it is intended to simulate the experience of reading an actual book. To a large extent, it succeeds.
I tested the basic version of Glassbook Reader on an IBM ThinkPad 240. To my surprise, the small, 800-by-600-resolution screen gave a clear view of the text. To mimic the experience of reading a book, you can rotate the image on your screen and hold your laptop sideways.
Unusual but Usable
The Glassbook library lists available titles and pictures of the bookcovers. I chose This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and double-clicked on the icon to launch it. I paged quickly through all of the copyright, dedication, and title pages of the original, using the right and left mouse buttons.
The pages looked exactly like pages from a novel, but I could zoom in or out to resize the text. One drawback: If you zoom in too far, some of the text moves off the screen, and you must scroll back and forth to read the lines. I could read the text easily without having to zoom too far, however.
I got some strange looks from passersby who saw me holding my laptop sideways and resting on my knees. But the look of the pages and the feel of the computer almost truly replicate a book-reading experience. My right hand kept trying to turn the page. But a digital book has some advantages: You can bookmark your page with a click, and when you resume reading, Glassbook restores the page.
Of course, I used a small, lightweight notebook. Had it been larger or heavier, the experience could have been entirely different. The ThinkPad is only slightly larger and heavier than a hardcover novel, but a bigger notebook easily outsizes a novel. And consider the power cord; you can read awhile by battery, but you must eventually plug in. Having a wire extend from your "book" to an outlet can make for an uncomfortable reading experience.
You can choose from approximately 100 titles on Glassbook's site, or find books at Barnesandnoble.com. Many titles are free. Prices vary by publisher, but are generally comparable to the price of paperback novels.