However, there is a downside to this. As yet, there is no common, more efficient delivery method. Unlike books, which can be purchased and downloaded through either Apples’ iBooks app or Amazons’ Kindle, each magazine packages their own downloader — and those downloads can be huge. There are only so many 500Mb issues of Wired that you can fit even on the largest iPad.

We’re almost there, and this is definitely the device to take us there!

• Cost of the device – iPads are clearly prohibitively expensive for the majority of folks, limiting the market
• Only a handful of truly interactive Magazines, such as Wired
• Delivery format: current crop of interactive magazines are very large in size, filling up a lot of space on the iPad

It’s fascinating the community that has grown up around Twitter. I’ve met more interesting people in Edinburgh over the past month than I have in the past 10 years (however I’m not sure what that says about me other than ‘Get out more Shell!’). There is a thriving active community here of folks who meet up regularly: twice hooked up with twitter folks to see films at the Filmhouse cinema, not so long ago the grand scale charity even of EdTwestival.

It has also put me in contact with some of my heroes: I’ve tweeted with writers, artists, designers, even film stars, making me feel part of a strange virtual global community…

Most looking forwards to “How to become myself” and “Asyle”, both of which have interesting write-ups.

UPDATE:

TVBombs review of Non-ko here: http://www.tvbomb.co.uk/?p=1515

Films being shown:

• Non-ko Kaj tetsudai (Kazuyoshi Kumaakiri, Japan 2008) - March 10th
• Asyle Park and Love Hotel (Izuru Kumasaka, Japan 2007) - March 11th
• Kamome Diner Kamome Shokudo (Noako Ogigami, Japan 2006) - March 12th
• German plus Rain German +  Ame (Satoko Yokohama, Japan 2007) – March 13th
• How to Become Myself Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata (Jun Ichikawa, Japan 2007) - March 13th
• Fourteen Juyon-sai (Hiromasa Hirosue, Japan 2006) – March 14th

Coincidentally I’m reading a collection of his essays (“Starting Point: 1979-1996″) for BiteSizedJapan which charts many of his inspirations, influences, and thoughts on the animation process. It’s quite fascinating stuff, and certainly inspires me!

More over at the BiteSizedJapan blog…

PS: Nachos and IPA at the Filmhouse bar = love.

Over the next few weeks Sirin and I are following the Yasujiro Ozu season up at The Filmhouse Cinema. I have to confess I’d never seen any of this classic Japanese directors work, and we were pleasantly surprised by “Tokyo Story” last night. Unexpectedly accessible for a Japanese a movie of the 50s, with exceptional attension to details: the relationships between the depicted family members was almost painful to watch at times as our “hands” (as mere voyeurs) are tied and out vision fixed by the static knee-high camera work. It’s a great film, the characters believable and the story down to Earth, and as someone who studies Japanese culture this film really felt like a snapshot of “real life” in post-war Japan.

We’ve posted a review over at BiteSizedJapan.