This article originally appeared in TidBITS on 1993-11-22 at 12:00 p.m.
The permanent URL for this article is: http://db.tidbits.com/article/2329
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Martin Fenner

by Adam C. Engst

Martin Fenner <mfenner@aol.com> writes:

I have both the book and disk versions of PowerBook: The Digital Nomad's Guide (discussed in TidBITS #201). The disk version is based on Voyager's Expanded Book concept, about which many people have mixed feelings. The Expanded Book idea is useful for a technical Macintosh book in comparison to a novel, because here the hypertext links make more sense (you can click on most everything, especially the index). I also like the idea of having a reference book online. The big drawback is that these books are based on HyperCard, so The Digital Nomad's Guide consumes close to 2 MB of disk space and needs a lot of RAM. Even worse, the hard disk spins constantly, drawing battery power and making noise. [Some might argue with the statement about hypertext links not making as much sense in fiction; it's nice to see mass-market technical books joining the increasing number of hypertext fictions from Eastgate Systems. -Adam]