Time really flies. It is now 8.30 pm Wednesday 31 Mar 2010, the 11th and second last lesson of this 12-lesson module which commenced (it seemed) an eternity ago.
What had changed?
For sure, my fear of anything digital has taken a back seat..."He is definitely not a brave man who knows no fear and that's not because it doesn't exist but rather he knew how best to handle it."
Knowing what caused the fear in the first place helps...
By the same token, since embarking on this Module, I did quite a bit of reading on 'anything digital' and I dare boast that during the last 3 months or so, it would be difficult for any article in The Straits Times with the word 'digital' to escape the scrutiny of my eyes.
Having Dr Philip Towndrow and Dr Mark Nelson as joint-facilitators proved to be the good fortune of the students as the lecturers very carefully and subtly planned each lesson to enable all the students to have maximum hands-on contact, supported by a wealth of literature on what else? but topics related to Digital Literacy, of course!...to be continued.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blog # 12 -- Continuation of Blog # 11
The soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" plays on, continuing to tug at the heartstrings of the viewers until the part when he sings:
" I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more and
I'll never know...
And I think to myself
What a Wonderful World..."
These lyrics seem to be speaking directly to me as they so rightly pointed out that I'll probably never know how Samuel will grow up.
The duration of this part of the song (about 15 seconds) will see the photos of 3 adorable Asian babies being flashed against a white background and a quotation "A Baby is God's opinion that life should go on" (Anonymous).
From this point onwards, all photos will only be of Samuel and myself. Texts describing some of the more memorable moments manifesting the close bond between father and son will be white against a black background signifying that the 'happier times' may soon be a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, the background music has turned classical, playing theme tunes from a 1979 American drama film 'Kramer versus Kramer', which won 5 Academy Awards; Best Picture, Director, Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Screenplay.
The reason for the selection of this movie was the strikingly similar storyline where the father (Ted Kramer, played by Dustin Hoffman) decided to spare his son, Billy the nightmarish scenes in court, having to witness the brutal character assassinations that the divorce lawyers will no doubt unleash on both his parents and chose to concede custody to his wife (Joanna Kramer, played by Merly Streep) instead.
Through the music (Concerto for diverse instruments in C major) the composers, Vivaldi and Purcell were able to describe the most intense, delicate, dramatic and intimate moments between father, mother and son.
Snippets from the movie will be imported.
The Kramers had it worked out. The plan was for Billy, to spend one evening with his father before his mother takes him away the next morning.
On that fateful morning, both father and son decided to make the morning memorable by making the 'Perfect Breakfast' together. Viewers could not miss the powerful body language signals sent when the doorbell rang and Billy looked into his father's eyes and slowly a teardrop began to form on the latter's left eye and flowed down, ever so slowly, his cheek.
Ted hugged Billy tightly and whispered, "Billy, I love you."
In reality, the voice of Wilson Kan, the narrator will be broadcast:
"Samuel, Papa loves you and always will."
Epilogue
In the movie "Kramer versus Kramer", there was a twist at the end when the mother knew in her heart of hearts that the son was better off with the father and unconditionally 'returned' the custody but...reel life is so different from real life, isn't it...?
" I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more and
I'll never know...
And I think to myself
What a Wonderful World..."
These lyrics seem to be speaking directly to me as they so rightly pointed out that I'll probably never know how Samuel will grow up.
The duration of this part of the song (about 15 seconds) will see the photos of 3 adorable Asian babies being flashed against a white background and a quotation "A Baby is God's opinion that life should go on" (Anonymous).
From this point onwards, all photos will only be of Samuel and myself. Texts describing some of the more memorable moments manifesting the close bond between father and son will be white against a black background signifying that the 'happier times' may soon be a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, the background music has turned classical, playing theme tunes from a 1979 American drama film 'Kramer versus Kramer', which won 5 Academy Awards; Best Picture, Director, Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Screenplay.
The reason for the selection of this movie was the strikingly similar storyline where the father (Ted Kramer, played by Dustin Hoffman) decided to spare his son, Billy the nightmarish scenes in court, having to witness the brutal character assassinations that the divorce lawyers will no doubt unleash on both his parents and chose to concede custody to his wife (Joanna Kramer, played by Merly Streep) instead.
Through the music (Concerto for diverse instruments in C major) the composers, Vivaldi and Purcell were able to describe the most intense, delicate, dramatic and intimate moments between father, mother and son.
Snippets from the movie will be imported.
The Kramers had it worked out. The plan was for Billy, to spend one evening with his father before his mother takes him away the next morning.
On that fateful morning, both father and son decided to make the morning memorable by making the 'Perfect Breakfast' together. Viewers could not miss the powerful body language signals sent when the doorbell rang and Billy looked into his father's eyes and slowly a teardrop began to form on the latter's left eye and flowed down, ever so slowly, his cheek.
Ted hugged Billy tightly and whispered, "Billy, I love you."
In reality, the voice of Wilson Kan, the narrator will be broadcast:
"Samuel, Papa loves you and always will."
Epilogue
In the movie "Kramer versus Kramer", there was a twist at the end when the mother knew in her heart of hearts that the son was better off with the father and unconditionally 'returned' the custody but...reel life is so different from real life, isn't it...?
Blog # 11 -- a FAILED MARRIAGE is NOT a BROKEN HOME
The heading is the title of my Digital StoryTelling (DST) Project.
I am telling this story to raise the awareness of my readers that in the aftermath of a divorce, indeed, there is a group of fathers who suffer and are still suffering in silence because some Family Courts have decided to award the sole (or is it 'stolen' custody) of their child/children to the mothers, in the 'mistaken' belief that the first ten years of the children's lives are better spent with them (Article entitled 'Equal Shared Parenting' in the Toronto Star dated 2 October 2009).
My case in point...come end June 2010, I will join the abovementioned group of fathers as my only son, Samuel, who is now 7 years old, stays with her mother 'for good' in Hong Kong; I have no wish to subject Samuel to the trauma of a contested custody and therefore decided not to contest.
The DST Project begins with the heading, in written text, bright red in colour against a black background with the type and size of font selected to give a maximum contrasting effect and the viewers sensing an intangible tension...at the same time feeling rather uneasy, call it a foreboding if you like, as the story unfolds.
This first slide stays on for about 10 seconds, sufficient time for the viewers to feel its full effect before the music and soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a wonderful World" takes over and plays quietly yet audibly in the background.
Many peole have attested to the 'healing nature of a wounded soul' type of feeling after listening to this song which brings forth joy and optimism to carry on the living process. Naturally, Louis Armstrong needs no introduction as he was credited with being the best jazz musician in the 20th Century and even had an airport named after him (New Orleans Airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport exactly 100 years after his birth in 1901).
While the song is played, written texts giving the backdrop of the story will be flashed; this time, however, the background colour is red signifying the 'happier times' before the initiation of divorce proceedings two and a half years ago. Interspersed with the texts will be photos of Samuel' s early years from infancy to toddler, all photos in black and white and professionally contrasted using the Photoshop Software technology. Captions will be displayed as text overlays on the photos, again, the texts in red to show 'happier times'.
It is envisaged that through all the 'preparations' done so far, viewers will develop an 'affinity' for the 'protagonist' in this story, that is, my soon-to-be single-parent son, Samuel Kan.
To be continued...
I am telling this story to raise the awareness of my readers that in the aftermath of a divorce, indeed, there is a group of fathers who suffer and are still suffering in silence because some Family Courts have decided to award the sole (or is it 'stolen' custody) of their child/children to the mothers, in the 'mistaken' belief that the first ten years of the children's lives are better spent with them (Article entitled 'Equal Shared Parenting' in the Toronto Star dated 2 October 2009).
My case in point...come end June 2010, I will join the abovementioned group of fathers as my only son, Samuel, who is now 7 years old, stays with her mother 'for good' in Hong Kong; I have no wish to subject Samuel to the trauma of a contested custody and therefore decided not to contest.
The DST Project begins with the heading, in written text, bright red in colour against a black background with the type and size of font selected to give a maximum contrasting effect and the viewers sensing an intangible tension...at the same time feeling rather uneasy, call it a foreboding if you like, as the story unfolds.
This first slide stays on for about 10 seconds, sufficient time for the viewers to feel its full effect before the music and soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a wonderful World" takes over and plays quietly yet audibly in the background.
Many peole have attested to the 'healing nature of a wounded soul' type of feeling after listening to this song which brings forth joy and optimism to carry on the living process. Naturally, Louis Armstrong needs no introduction as he was credited with being the best jazz musician in the 20th Century and even had an airport named after him (New Orleans Airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport exactly 100 years after his birth in 1901).
While the song is played, written texts giving the backdrop of the story will be flashed; this time, however, the background colour is red signifying the 'happier times' before the initiation of divorce proceedings two and a half years ago. Interspersed with the texts will be photos of Samuel' s early years from infancy to toddler, all photos in black and white and professionally contrasted using the Photoshop Software technology. Captions will be displayed as text overlays on the photos, again, the texts in red to show 'happier times'.
It is envisaged that through all the 'preparations' done so far, viewers will develop an 'affinity' for the 'protagonist' in this story, that is, my soon-to-be single-parent son, Samuel Kan.
To be continued...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Blog # 10 -- Digital Storytelling; what makes a good multimodal text good?
This blog was written in response to an e-learning assignment scheduled for Week # 7 of the Digital Literacy Module.
I chose the digital story "Bruises" as told by (Ms) Olga Vigi; website http://www.storycenter.org/stories/index.php?cat=3 refers.
Sypnosis of the Story
From a very young age, Olga and her Nicaraguan parents immigrated to Toronto, Canada to seek a better life. To eke out a living, her lowly-educated parents had no choice but to leave Olga in a "foster" home for coloured kids which is not exactly an ideal environment for kids to grow up in. As expected, Olga grew up to be a "delinquent" kid at school, constantly getting into trouble with the School Authority and even the local police.
All her teachers called her a "pink arse kid" (pardon the vulgarity but as used in the digital story) except for Mrs Robinson, who saw her as a "person deprived of much needed care and concern from a very young age."
Soon, Olga was expelled from her School, mixed with bad company, got herself pregnant and became a single parent.
Ironically (and happily for her, too) her daughter became her God-sent Angel and her raison d'etre (main purpose for her life/existence) and transformed her life altogether. Armed with a renewed vigour for life and an abundance of self-discipline, she enrolled for night classes, got a place in collge and finally graduated with a degree in Social Science.
Olga went with her daughter (her Angel) back to her old school to look for Mrs Robinson who could only beam with pride, her tears flowing ceaselessly.
Olga is now working with the Toronto Immigration Authority, assisting newcomer youth and their families to settle in.
What's so good about this digital story?
In the short span of 2 mins 47 secs, using a powerful and engaging storyline, Olga was able to use her personal anecdotes to speak her own story and appeal to educators/teachers to see their troubled students as "victims of their unfavourable growing-up environments" just like Mrs Robinson did and not to quickly classify them as bad or lazy students.
There was a lot of meaning-making in the selection of photos/images used in the story eg:
1. A long row of coloured lockers to represent the composition of coloured children in her school.
2. The long flight of stairs in her School which looked so "soulless" when she was a student but was later transformed to a "soulful" experience when she went back with her daughter to visit Mrs Robinson. Her bright red dress and the warmth of the sun's rays suggested optimism for the future, that of Olga and her daughter.
3. Towards the end of the story, her acknowledgement texts will no doubt tug at the heartstrings of all viewers alike eg:
a. To my parents whom I thought didn't care but actually, didn't know how.
b. To Mrs Robinson, the only teacher who saw me as a person.
c. To my darling daughter, my reason for living, and
d. To all those students who fell through the cracks.
After viewing the story, one couldn't help concluding that indeed, against all odds, Olga has grown up to be a matured adult, discerning and able to count "critical thinking skill" as one of her assets.
How I would improve on this story
By incorporating some music pieces, featuring children's laughter in syn with the photos showing Olga and her daughter happily playing together. I might even include a taped version of "I love you, Mummy" for special effects.
Here, I am attempting to increase the amount of "human element " in this story.
I chose the digital story "Bruises" as told by (Ms) Olga Vigi; website http://www.storycenter.org/stories/index.php?cat=3 refers.
Sypnosis of the Story
From a very young age, Olga and her Nicaraguan parents immigrated to Toronto, Canada to seek a better life. To eke out a living, her lowly-educated parents had no choice but to leave Olga in a "foster" home for coloured kids which is not exactly an ideal environment for kids to grow up in. As expected, Olga grew up to be a "delinquent" kid at school, constantly getting into trouble with the School Authority and even the local police.
All her teachers called her a "pink arse kid" (pardon the vulgarity but as used in the digital story) except for Mrs Robinson, who saw her as a "person deprived of much needed care and concern from a very young age."
Soon, Olga was expelled from her School, mixed with bad company, got herself pregnant and became a single parent.
Ironically (and happily for her, too) her daughter became her God-sent Angel and her raison d'etre (main purpose for her life/existence) and transformed her life altogether. Armed with a renewed vigour for life and an abundance of self-discipline, she enrolled for night classes, got a place in collge and finally graduated with a degree in Social Science.
Olga went with her daughter (her Angel) back to her old school to look for Mrs Robinson who could only beam with pride, her tears flowing ceaselessly.
Olga is now working with the Toronto Immigration Authority, assisting newcomer youth and their families to settle in.
What's so good about this digital story?
In the short span of 2 mins 47 secs, using a powerful and engaging storyline, Olga was able to use her personal anecdotes to speak her own story and appeal to educators/teachers to see their troubled students as "victims of their unfavourable growing-up environments" just like Mrs Robinson did and not to quickly classify them as bad or lazy students.
There was a lot of meaning-making in the selection of photos/images used in the story eg:
1. A long row of coloured lockers to represent the composition of coloured children in her school.
2. The long flight of stairs in her School which looked so "soulless" when she was a student but was later transformed to a "soulful" experience when she went back with her daughter to visit Mrs Robinson. Her bright red dress and the warmth of the sun's rays suggested optimism for the future, that of Olga and her daughter.
3. Towards the end of the story, her acknowledgement texts will no doubt tug at the heartstrings of all viewers alike eg:
a. To my parents whom I thought didn't care but actually, didn't know how.
b. To Mrs Robinson, the only teacher who saw me as a person.
c. To my darling daughter, my reason for living, and
d. To all those students who fell through the cracks.
After viewing the story, one couldn't help concluding that indeed, against all odds, Olga has grown up to be a matured adult, discerning and able to count "critical thinking skill" as one of her assets.
How I would improve on this story
By incorporating some music pieces, featuring children's laughter in syn with the photos showing Olga and her daughter happily playing together. I might even include a taped version of "I love you, Mummy" for special effects.
Here, I am attempting to increase the amount of "human element " in this story.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Blog # 9 -- The eICU, a reality for the US, a potential DL descriptor for Singapore
This morning, I was reading yesterday's Straits Times (dated 18 Feb 2010) when I chanced upon an article (page B3) about an electronic Intensive Care Unit (eICU) system bought by Philips Healthcare two years ago to monitor 6,000 or about 10 per cent of ICU beds in the United States, resulting in a big drop in the number of deaths in ICUs which generally account for about half the deaths in hospitals.
An eICU team comprising one doctor and two nurses can monitor as many as 150 ICU patients across several locations at any one time and this scenario could well typify the materialisation of Singapore's vision to become a regional medical hub by exporting its expertise without its doctors leaving town.
The software monitors the vital signs of the patients and can see trends that occur over several hours, alerting the local hospital team that a patient might need attention, even before alarms in the ICU are set off.
For Singapore, since the technology provides information and surveillance in real-time, each public health cluster could have one eICU monitoring all the ICU beds in different hospitals.
Personally, for me, I have never doubted the high quality of medical care available in Singapore...its the high cost that scares me. Sure, the eICU will add another layer of protection and care for patients but how many ordinary working-class citizens and Permanent Residents will be able to afford it.
Well, that's a feedback for our extremely highly-paid politicians to consider and 'to lose some hair over'...
An eICU team comprising one doctor and two nurses can monitor as many as 150 ICU patients across several locations at any one time and this scenario could well typify the materialisation of Singapore's vision to become a regional medical hub by exporting its expertise without its doctors leaving town.
The software monitors the vital signs of the patients and can see trends that occur over several hours, alerting the local hospital team that a patient might need attention, even before alarms in the ICU are set off.
For Singapore, since the technology provides information and surveillance in real-time, each public health cluster could have one eICU monitoring all the ICU beds in different hospitals.
Personally, for me, I have never doubted the high quality of medical care available in Singapore...its the high cost that scares me. Sure, the eICU will add another layer of protection and care for patients but how many ordinary working-class citizens and Permanent Residents will be able to afford it.
Well, that's a feedback for our extremely highly-paid politicians to consider and 'to lose some hair over'...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Blog # 8 -- Continuation of Blog # 7
What then are the other DL descriptors which will influence the lives of Singaporeans 1 -5 years down the road?
In the medical arena, soon, there will be telemedicine and chronic health care services, particularly suitable for diabetes and hypertension patients. Presently, they have to go to the polyclinics for follow-up care but soon, these care services could be delivered to the patients at home where instruments connected to the Internet can measure sugar levels and blood pressure, letting medical staff monitor the patients remotely.
The IT experts are also predicting that within the next 36 months, there will be a video revolution where the majority of people will communicate through video email rather than typing an email messsage. This vision will materialise with the NGBN (Next Generation Broadband Network) which promises speeds of 100MBps, thus making interactive video a reality.
At the moment, the hurdles to overcome are the problems associated with the lots of fast bandwidth, namely, unstable and inconsistent delivery, too expensive for the masses and compounded by the use of complicated devices eg camcorder. To lend support to the prediction, already, the Flip pocket camcorder is being marketed and it promised easy-to-use features as well as a user-friendliness to children and grandparents alike.
And finally, what I would term the 'Mother' of all DL descriptors which could happen in the next 3 - 5 years and that is the 'omnipresence' of the Internet, regardles whether it is 3G, wired or wireless Internet. Already NTT Domoco in Japan is testing wireless speeds of 100 MBps and the tech providers and device makers have already been identified. The trick is HOW to stitch them together to deliver services securely and in an affordable manner.
When that day comes, as I am confident it would, communication would no longer be the same. The impact on Education would be great as it would drive experiential learning away from rote. For example, students who are learning about ecology with netbooks or e-readers can go to MacRitchie Reservoir or Bedok Reservoir and learn about the ecosystem of the surrounding areas. They can tap into the data centre, pull data down and post video clips of what they have seen without worrying about whether there is a broadband connection or not.
The list of possibilities is simply endless. Isn't the future of the IT world amazing...so full of yet-to-be-explored wonders?
Tell you a secret. Sometimes, I do feel a little unc0mfortable during the Digital Literacy class. Not to worry. It has nothing to do with the way it is conducted. On the contrary, I think, credit must really be given to Dr T and Dr N for their creativity and innovativeness in organising the lesson plans to give the students maximum hands-on practice on the Net, at the same time beefing up the fundamental knowledge of the less tech-savvy students like myself.
The discomfort comes from glancing round the class now and then and reminding myself that I am the oldest member, yes, even older than both our lecturers.
Well, that thought is gone now...replaced by an earnest desire to equip myself to the best of my ability to welcome the revolutionary changes to the IT world in the next 5 years and barring any unforseen circumstances, I want to participate actively and be engaged in these changes, in a professional sense.
In the medical arena, soon, there will be telemedicine and chronic health care services, particularly suitable for diabetes and hypertension patients. Presently, they have to go to the polyclinics for follow-up care but soon, these care services could be delivered to the patients at home where instruments connected to the Internet can measure sugar levels and blood pressure, letting medical staff monitor the patients remotely.
The IT experts are also predicting that within the next 36 months, there will be a video revolution where the majority of people will communicate through video email rather than typing an email messsage. This vision will materialise with the NGBN (Next Generation Broadband Network) which promises speeds of 100MBps, thus making interactive video a reality.
At the moment, the hurdles to overcome are the problems associated with the lots of fast bandwidth, namely, unstable and inconsistent delivery, too expensive for the masses and compounded by the use of complicated devices eg camcorder. To lend support to the prediction, already, the Flip pocket camcorder is being marketed and it promised easy-to-use features as well as a user-friendliness to children and grandparents alike.
And finally, what I would term the 'Mother' of all DL descriptors which could happen in the next 3 - 5 years and that is the 'omnipresence' of the Internet, regardles whether it is 3G, wired or wireless Internet. Already NTT Domoco in Japan is testing wireless speeds of 100 MBps and the tech providers and device makers have already been identified. The trick is HOW to stitch them together to deliver services securely and in an affordable manner.
When that day comes, as I am confident it would, communication would no longer be the same. The impact on Education would be great as it would drive experiential learning away from rote. For example, students who are learning about ecology with netbooks or e-readers can go to MacRitchie Reservoir or Bedok Reservoir and learn about the ecosystem of the surrounding areas. They can tap into the data centre, pull data down and post video clips of what they have seen without worrying about whether there is a broadband connection or not.
The list of possibilities is simply endless. Isn't the future of the IT world amazing...so full of yet-to-be-explored wonders?
Tell you a secret. Sometimes, I do feel a little unc0mfortable during the Digital Literacy class. Not to worry. It has nothing to do with the way it is conducted. On the contrary, I think, credit must really be given to Dr T and Dr N for their creativity and innovativeness in organising the lesson plans to give the students maximum hands-on practice on the Net, at the same time beefing up the fundamental knowledge of the less tech-savvy students like myself.
The discomfort comes from glancing round the class now and then and reminding myself that I am the oldest member, yes, even older than both our lecturers.
Well, that thought is gone now...replaced by an earnest desire to equip myself to the best of my ability to welcome the revolutionary changes to the IT world in the next 5 years and barring any unforseen circumstances, I want to participate actively and be engaged in these changes, in a professional sense.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Blog # 7 -- Digital Literacy (DL) descriptors 'Akan Datang' (Malay for 'Coming Soon')
As I ponder over the DL descriptors that could well influence the life of Singaporeans in the near and not-too-distant future, as usual, my mind drew a blank.
Previously when I had not signed up for this DL module, I would not have given the question a second thought, let alone, cause the demise of some more brain cells from its prematurely depleted bank (I reckon) in my brain.
Then, I thought of the possibility of having to face Dr T and/or Dr N over the sparingly scattered (blog) postings to date and that thought alone was sufficient to spur me to scan the past few days' copies of The Straits Times...
The following posting is adapted from 2 articles in The Straits Times dated 10 Feb 2010; one on page 23 and the other on page 28.
By the way, have you heard of Project Gutenberg? Do you know that you can download for free, yes, for free close to 30,000 e-books to your PC, iPhone or most portable devices. Check out www.gutenberg.org
The above paragraph sets the 'backdrop' for me to predict that very soon, in Singapore, there will be the 'advent of the e-reader' craze. Already, there are ways to circumvent the system if you know someone who has an American credit card (immediately, Dr N comes to mind).
Things like packing half a dozen novels for a weekend gateaway and lugging around three pocketbooks to read on a 15-minute train ride will very soon be a thing of the past. The e-book reader iRiver Story, now retailing at SGD 499 at Popular bookstores in Singapore, with its 2 GB of internal memory and weighs just 284g, can actually store 8,000 e-books.
Undeniably, the battle of the e-reader between digital heavyweight Sony and book giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble is in full swing, with the e-book skeptics watching somewhat curiously from the sidelines...to be continued.
Previously when I had not signed up for this DL module, I would not have given the question a second thought, let alone, cause the demise of some more brain cells from its prematurely depleted bank (I reckon) in my brain.
Then, I thought of the possibility of having to face Dr T and/or Dr N over the sparingly scattered (blog) postings to date and that thought alone was sufficient to spur me to scan the past few days' copies of The Straits Times...
The following posting is adapted from 2 articles in The Straits Times dated 10 Feb 2010; one on page 23 and the other on page 28.
By the way, have you heard of Project Gutenberg? Do you know that you can download for free, yes, for free close to 30,000 e-books to your PC, iPhone or most portable devices. Check out www.gutenberg.org
The above paragraph sets the 'backdrop' for me to predict that very soon, in Singapore, there will be the 'advent of the e-reader' craze. Already, there are ways to circumvent the system if you know someone who has an American credit card (immediately, Dr N comes to mind).
Things like packing half a dozen novels for a weekend gateaway and lugging around three pocketbooks to read on a 15-minute train ride will very soon be a thing of the past. The e-book reader iRiver Story, now retailing at SGD 499 at Popular bookstores in Singapore, with its 2 GB of internal memory and weighs just 284g, can actually store 8,000 e-books.
Undeniably, the battle of the e-reader between digital heavyweight Sony and book giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble is in full swing, with the e-book skeptics watching somewhat curiously from the sidelines...to be continued.
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