As you start to listen to this presentation you'll find yourself thinking that the possibility of merging the analog and digital worlds of books is far off in the future. But as you continue to listen, you'll find yourself quickly changing your opinion and you'll start to wonder, where can I get one of these things?

In this keynote presentation from the 2007 O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference, Manolis Kelaidis introduces and demonstrates bookLink (bLink), which illustrates his elegant ideas for next-generation books. Follow along as Kelaidis explains how he came to investigate the intersection of traditional book publishing and the new world of digital media. The challenge? While digital media offer new possibilities for interaction, the traditional book still has many advantages, perhaps most important of which is the comfort, convenience, and familiarity of the printed page. How can the benefits of both be combined?

Within this presentation Kelaidis connects his background to his unique perspective on publishing that resulted in the creation of bLink. Through his research Keladis discovered that the basic design of books has not changed in over 2,000 years, yet he successfully took on the challenge of developing a new, more interactive interface.

Throughout the presentation Kelaidis explains the different potential uses for the bLink, including the controversial topic of including advertising in books. In addition, he covers the general design of the bLink and what would be the most likely way to manufacture bLink. His ultimate vision is to discover an invisible, paper based solution that would allow mass production of bLink books.