azurelunatic: "I've got A.D.D. and magic markers. Oh, the thrills I will have." Pile of uncapped bright markers.  (attention span)
Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 ([personal profile] azurelunatic) wrote2013-12-28 02:35 am
Entry tags:

One unquestioned benefit of books, and the hardware to solve it

@ajaromano: Disadvantages of reading things on tablets: when the book sucks you can't angrily throw it across the room!

I agreed with that sentiment. I retweeted that sentiment. Then I started plotting ways in which to make that sentiment possibly obsoleet. Obsolete. Whichever.

The e-reader would have to be well hardened, with few enough moving parts that it could not be damaged by a good hefty throw. You'd need to make it to exceed even a very strong human's throwing capacity at a hard surface.

It would also have to be soft enough to not actually damage the wall, or floor, that it was thrown at. It shouldn't be thrown at people on purpose, but it would be good if it wouldn't be dangerous if someone should walk into its path by accident.

And what good is a good old-fashioned wall-thumping expression of your fury at a book without being shared? Obviously there is the time and the place to keep one's reaction discreet, but for those other times -- ! Clearly it would need an onboard accelerometer to measure the freefall, and then the sudden stop at the end.

There would be an app on the reader that would sync up to the user's preferred review site, and post the book's information and the vigor of the review, with optional commentary which could be added (user settings would either post immediately but could be edited, or queue for comment before posting).

This was a sad thump of a page non-turner. 3 N.
This infuriating shitsack should have never left the slushpile. 72 N.

The Wallbanger would be the best e-reader & app combo ever.
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[personal profile] siliconshaman 2013-12-28 11:59 am (UTC)(link)
Or one could do it virtually, sort of an angry birds style app, where you could aim the book file at various things like acid lakes, fire pits etc...
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[personal profile] pauamma 2013-12-28 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
"This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. 144N"
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[personal profile] silveradept 2013-12-28 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I very much like this idea. For tablets, it would be easier, since they often have accelerometers installed.

"This novel would perhaps be better suited as target practice. Pull! 75N."
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone is playing music, even though it is held in a rest position (Default)

[personal profile] silveradept 2014-01-02 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
Definitely. Something that would be crack and shatter resistant so that a proper opinion could be determined. Also, if one does actually strike something, how would that be registered?
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone is playing music, even though it is held in a rest position (Default)

[personal profile] silveradept 2014-01-02 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
Fair enough. I worry about interrupted throws, I guess. One could always re-toss, I suppose...

"So bad, I threw it again. 60N, 85N."
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[personal profile] silveradept 2014-01-02 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
With nicely rendered graphs and charts that allow for a reconstruction of what happened. Started in bed, traversed the room rotating and accelerating, thumped the wall at peak velocity, rebounded a bit and came to rest. Classic wall toss.
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[personal profile] vass 2013-12-28 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey cat, I was reading that! Give it back! 5N."
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[personal profile] vass 2014-01-02 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
The acceleration profile of Laurel & Hardy is fascinating!
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[personal profile] ephemera 2013-12-28 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
THis is an *amazing* idea!
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[personal profile] ravan 2013-12-29 08:18 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think you should de-weaponize it. A thrown hardbound is a nifty weapon in a pinch. But an accelerometer reader would be cool.
stormerider: (Wes - So Many Books / So Little Time)

[personal profile] stormerider 2013-12-29 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I never wall banged books in the first place, so never missed that "feature"
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[personal profile] kaberett 2013-12-30 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
BEAUTIFUL.
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[personal profile] siderea 2013-12-30 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
I really like the idea of book reviews in newtons.
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[personal profile] siderea 2014-01-02 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
It occurs to me the force measure also works for positive reviews. "I couldn't put it down" could be operationalized as "with how much force did the book need to be pulled out of the reader's hands to get them to give it up."