> That's a fairly weak argument: you can browse an electronic document in a non-...

ur-whale · on Sept 21, 2018

I was specifically addressing the "non-linear" part, and none of the things you list have anything to do with that.

However, to nevertheless address your points:

>How do I make handwritten side notes

There is a number of applications to do this (e.g. xournal), and when combined with a touchscreen on a decent hirez modern device, we're getting close to what paper can do. I'll grant you: this is still the weak point of computers as compared to pen and paper (especially for scribbling diagrams), but it won't be for long.

>How can I create a bookmark for a specific page

I'm not sure if you're trolling here, all e-book readers I've used have this feature.

>How can I view multiple non-contiguous pages next to each other?

Multiple windows ? CTRL+N ?

>How can I reference a specific part in an electronic text (in non-electronic text "3rd paragraph on page 11") and send it to a collaborator?

Cut and paste?

Or ... sending him an email with ""3rd paragraph on page 11"" in the body?

gspetr · on Sept 21, 2018

I think if you reframe the problem it can be much easier (if not trivial) to find solutions.

If you present a 100 page book as a folder of 100 image files instead, most of these become image manipulation problems:

>How do I make handwritten side notes?

The same way you'd edit an image.

> How can I create a bookmark for a specific page?

Create a subdirectory with the page or a link to the page.

> How can I reference a specific part in an electronic text (in non-electronic text "3rd paragraph on page 11")

Cut and paste the excerpt into a new image file.

> and send it to a collaborator?

File sharing is a solved problem. Hell, you can even share it on Instagram if you so choose.