1.5 Net Books - What are they? How have they developed?

   An e-book is the epitome of the digital age; a e-book is simply an electronic version of a book, and are a way of distributing and selling books with very low costs, and can potentially be available to a much wider audience than a paper book. E-books are available in a variety of formats, each with its individual purpose, features and particular benefits. For many, a ideal e-book is one which resembles a paper book, the same size and weight, but contains a whole library of books. Some e-books include;
   Text e-books, which are the simplest form of e-book, have been used extensively for computer manuels in the past, gaining wide acceptance. Its simplicity is also its greatest strength, being very easy to search, edit and portable, being used extensively for computer manuels in the past. This would be the most useful for someone that wasnt an expert on e books, and only wanted it for simple purposes.
   Word e-books are created using simple word-processing software, usually stored in a single word processed document file that manages the content and layout using a file in the software. With this e-book it is possible to make hyperlinks within the document itself, which makes it possible to have multimedia content. However, when using a word e-book, the files can be large, particularly when using images. This is then more useful when everyone shares the same Microsoft Office software, and where a number of authors may be required to work on a project, but generally is not used as the finished format
  Adobe PDF e-books are a successful hit, with nearly all computers and software manuels now being published and distributed in this format. This will include websites which allow downloading of reports, newsletters and articles will almost always use PDF for such documents. To create the files needed, a specialised writer program, such as Adobe Acrobat, or one of a range of similar PDF creators, may be required. However, some operating systems and software now allow you to transfer documents straight into PDF; usually this file is created using Word, HTML or another similar document creation package, then it is 'printed' onto PDF. PDF is useful for a number of reasons; the file is designed to store the text and layout in a device-independent manner, so the original full-colour print layout for text and graphics is maintained regardless of the platform being used to view the file.