Udhay,
First of all, great post!
> A device that cost an order of magnitude less --- perhaps with
> text-to-speech --- would lower the effective cost to the non-laborer
> of reading ebooks by an order of magnitude.
Given that the highest costs are in the absorption of the content
itself (reading/listening/watching), it probably makes sense to
put a heavy emphasis on how to get stuff into your brain faster.
The "no pills or strenuous exercise" option for video/podcasts
comes in the form of programs like the VLC player on linux,
which lets you compress away most of the quiet time between words.
For non-artistic type content it's really amazing.
(e.g.: 150% of the normal rate is quite acceptable).
Cheers,
-Jon
