Read, reference, and comment--an online format that does it all

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Andy Oram
Jun. 17, 2004 01:52 PM
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URL: http://openreader.org/...

Anyone who does serious publishing or design, or just wants to get information online in a well-structured and attractive way, knows how limited online formats are. Finally we have a framework for doing things right, and for adding new features in a standard and open manner as they come along.

OpenReader™ is an initiative led by digital publication expert Jon Noring, who challenged publishers and manufacturers to adopt open standards last year in a well-circulated article, which I commented on in a blog.

OpenReader is just starting out, but Noring and his partners have a solid foundation (thanks to sticking closely to XML and related technologies) and have piqued the interest of some hardware vendors and potential users. Potentially, with OpenReader, a publisher could:

• Put out a book, magazine or newspaper in electronic format that is rendered exactly like the printed page, preserving all the expensive and attractive design elements.

• Let the user switch to some other layout more appropriate to the device or user's needs, through the press of a button that adjusts the CSS.

• Put up a document that is formatted in some existing style, such as PDF, the DocBOOK XML used in many computer publications, the DITA format proposed by IBM for online help, TEI, and plain old XHTML.

Users, in turn could have a field day. Features currently considered for OpenReader include:

• Simple one-click changes to trivial layout matters such as font and margin size, along with an advanced settings window for customizing the CSS.

• Bookmarks implemented as XPath/XPointer links from parts of one document to parts of another, and the potential to create pathways through multiple documents.

• Sharing bookmarks and pathways over instant messaging, RSS, or other low-barrier communications.

• Plug in converters such as text-to-speech.

Noring has authored all three versions of OEBPS, the ebook industry specification, and is presently the acting vice chair in the OeBF PubStruct Working Group. He writes, "I view OpenReader as the next-generation digital publishing system, addressing the need for a universal open distribution standard and the needs of a wider range of types of digital publications. It embraces what's been learned, and new standards developed, since OEBPS was first authored in 1999."

I think Noring and co. pretty much have their hands on the magic formula that will equally please readers, publishers, and hardware manufacturers.

• Readers should be pleased because they can tug and refashion the material to fit their needs with links, can share links with friends, and--above all--can feel assured that they will continue to have access to content whatever happens to their current hardware manufacturer.

• Publishers should be pleased because they can offer the carefully branded look they've worked so hard to achieve, are not locked in to proprietary formats that come laden with expensive costs and ultimately, disappear, and can develop formats and format converters at relatively low costs because of standards.

• Hardware manufacturers should be pleased because they no longer have to develop their own rendering software, and because they can expect a huge amount of content to become available for their devices.

That's a tough proposition, and it's no wonder that it's taken so long. The ebooks movement is almost universally regarded as a failure, because of the myriad of incompatible, low-quality, proprietary formats in existence. It's time for a whole different approach such as this one, based on a careful technical foundation and a welcoming approach to stakeholders.

Andy Oram is an editor for O'Reilly Media, specializing in Linux and free software books, and a member of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. His web site is www.praxagora.com/andyo.

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