Essay 1

Introduction 

Reading Hyperfiction is a modern technology. This experience could not have been possible if not for the exponential rate at which the number of Internet users have grown over the past 3 years. This is especially so for developed countries such as Singapore where the usage of computer is highly encouraged by the government who wants to promote Singapore as a knowledge-based economy. In tertiary institution such as the National University of Singapore, computers have become an indispensable tool for transmission of information across its large student population around the campus. It is used for word processing, Electronic mail, programming, Web page design, just to name a few functions.

With so many Internet users utilizing the Internet, either for general or academic purposes, a new trend in the way people read has evolved. The easy access of a gargantuan amount of information in the form of hypertext has prompted scholars to debate about the demise of the book. With newspapers, magazines, academic essays and even classic works going on-line, this speculation seemed highly possible. Although the world without books may appear incredulous at this stage, it would not be so in future, especially with the current speed of technological advancements. We have witness the fate of the by the compact disk as well as the Laser disk being replaced by the Video CDs, all within the period of just 1 decade.

My thoughts

In this discussion, I have assumed the definition of hypertext to be which is 

"Text composed of blocks of words, images, or sounds linked electronically by multiple paths in an open-ended system."

 Being quite new to the information technology, I have encountered some difficulties while trying to access the links to the Hyperfiction from my lecturer's page. I've realized that as I was using Netscape navigator as my browser, all I got was an empty page. However, if I were to change a browser such as the Internet explorer, there will not be such problem. Thus, I think that it is important for the author to ascertain the compatibility between the Web authoring tool and the browser before putting up his/her web page. This will allow readers with different browsers to view their text and not disadvantaged some that will either see some portions of the web page or none. 

Advantages  

Hypertext allows the reader to do amazing things to the text they could only visualize in the past. They can personalize the settings such as the font size as well colors to their fancy. They author themselves can have animation added to them such as a cartoon character dancing in the background and audio files playing music which makes reading more interesting. By just surfing through hypertext in 1 minute, you can find a myriad of colours, images and information on any topic! At the same time, in just one article dealing with a single topic, links are provided to give you quick access to other similar web sites. With just a click of the mouse, it can bring you to articles which you might have to take months to find, searching frantically for the hard copy, just to find it out of print!With the pop out window function, you can also compare 2 articles side by side, which make comparison easier to see.

With hypertext, the role of the reader has also changed radically. He or she is no longer a passive reader. Instead, the reader is an active one who has the autonomy to choose what he or she wants to read. With hyperlinks to different chapters placed side by side on the web, the reader can choose to read the text in the order they desire, or even "skip" one chapter to go on to the next. With links to words in the article, the reader has the option to check out further information .He or she can also bookmark the site like a book and go back to it at their own leisure time. The best deal out of it is that the retrieval is only a matter of seconds. (Also dependent on the speed of connection.) Collaborative writing has never been easier than ever. Each author can write a piece and through the cut and paste function, produce a hypertext.
 
Disadvantages 

Reading hypertext is however, not bed of roses. Before you can access anything, you need to know the basic operations of the computer. You also need a modem and to subscribe to an Internet server in order to connect to this information highway. You have no control over when you can read if your computer happened to fail you at the particular moment, which you want to read. To read a hypertext, you definitely need the screen, thus you have limitations in the locations in which you can read. You cannot read in the MRT (unless you have a laptop), neither can you read in the bathtub. With the massive amount of information available, one may even suffer from information overload. The links that brings the reader from page to page disorientate the reader train of thoughts due to the fast pace at which information is received. Thus, the reader will also tend to read less carefully, and instead scan through the text. 

Conclusion

For any changes to take place there will be a period of adaptation. Hypertext has its pros and cons, but it needs time for readers to get accustom to it.