Are the new CCH ebooks a help or a hinderance?

摘要

CCH now publishes the portable electronic versions of several of its most popular paper reference works in partnership with Tart Systems. They have sensibly opted for a format that will work with the widest range of handheld computing devices or "personal digital assistants" (PDAs). The free Mobipocket ebook reader software runs on most Palm and Pocket PC devices, the latest Microsoft Smartphones, Symbian devices such as the Nokia Communicator and Psion organizers plus a few other devices. Ebooks have the advantage of being small and light, replacing kilos of paper equivalent. Unlike CD-ROMs, they are 'instant on' - no waiting for a laptop or PC to start up.They are also low cost and low maintenance, compared to CD-ROM versions, while offering similar search and lookup facilities.