Papertech

Today's NYTimes.com heralds a forthcoming "tech-savvy" Esquire cover complete with battery pack and lit cover.

I have to admire Esquire for their attempts at marketing and survival. My initial reaction was to wonder how in the world they think something like this could possibly herald a different type of magazine experience. The Kindle, sure. Everyone knows that "the future of print" means the demise of most individual print products in favor of hyperlinked, interactive product online.

Then I thought--wait a minute. This is a society that gives away calculators in $12.99 purses. I know that it isn't exactly the same thing, but "adding machines" were still the size and heft of large bricks 30 years ago. What's to say that a "disposable" paper-like medium, hopefully run on flexible solar panels, won't hold the 500+ page content of the August 2023 Vogue, complete with scent-clouds to annoy your seat mate on the train?