Method, system, apparatus, and computer program product for controlling and browsing a virtual book

• US 7,386,804 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sino Star Global Ltd.
• Original Assignee: E-BOOK SYSTEMS PTE. LTD.
• Inventors: Ho, Seng Beng, Liang, Chee Cheng Jeffrey, Austin, Jason Bradley
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US10/661,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20040164975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/739, 715/776, 345/901, 345/473
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display

Abstract

A hardware and software system including a controller that can be operatively combined with several methods of display on a display screen under software and hardware control for the purpose of browsing through data stored in a memory device. The browsing of the data stored in a memory device is facilitated in such a way that it allows a rapid view of what contents are present and the organization of the material in the data, as well as rapid access to the items in the data involved. The controllers in the system have specialized functions for effecting various actions on the data displayed on the display screen in such a way that users can rapidly browse through the data involved. The methods of display may include interaction with CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, a portable optical large volume storage disk, a portable large volume non-optical storage medium, a TV, and an HDTV.

Claims

1. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in a first direction;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

stopping the flipping of some of the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping; and

displaying said stopped some of the plurality of pages flipping in an opposite direction from said first direction while displaying a remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said first direction.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying one of a page-bookmark, an annotation bookmark, a finger bookmark, and a keyword bookmark; and

displaying an Internet Universal Resource Locator field.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

jumping to a selected page by one of selecting said page-bookmark, selecting said annotation bookmark, selecting said finger bookmark, selecting said keyword bookmark and activating one of a left and a right jump cursor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said displaying the plurality of pages comprises:

displaying a first collection of pages flipping between a current page and a jumped-to-page, a thickness of said first collection of pages being proportional to a number of pages between the current page and the jumped-to-page.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying one of a left and a right jump cursor.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

displaying a page number, said page number corresponding to a page selected by said one of a left and a right jump cursor.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

controlling said displaying information, said displaying the left and the right side book thickness, and said displaying a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping with the wireless remote control device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said wireless remote control device comprises at least one of:

a computer;

a keyboard;

a pointing device; and

a remote control device having buttons on a first side and on an opposing side and having at least one pressure sensitive thumb pad.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

controlling said virtual flipping through said electronic book with another control device;

selecting a menu for display with said another control device;

selecting an item displayed on said menu with said another control device; and

one of ejecting a tangible memory medium from a memory device or deleting information from said memory device with said another control device.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying a menu.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

one of

viewing contents of a memory card,

viewing contents of a CD or DVD,

viewing contents of one or more storage medium,

copying contents from the memory card to the CD or DVD,

copying contents from the CD or DVD to the memory card,

copying contents from a first storage medium to a second storage medium,

copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD,

copying contents from one of the memory card, one or more storage medium, CD or DVD to the control device, and

applying optional features to one of an image, text, an audio object, a video object, a multimedia object, a page, and the virtual book.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

viewing said contents of the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD as thumbnails, as a slide show, or as a flipping book.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

selecting a folder to be previewed.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

copying said contents of one of the memory card, the CD or DVD, or the one or more storage medium into a writable medium, said writable medium connected to said control device directly or via a network.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

copying one of images, text, audio files, video files, and multimedia objects from at least one of the Internet and an intranet.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein said applying comprises:

selecting one of a sound effect, an album music, an album theme, a memory card, a compact disc, and an autoplay interval.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

applying visual effects to an image.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

one of deleting, rotating, and editing an image on a page.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

one of applying sound effects and applying music to one of an image and a page.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

copying an entire virtual book to a writable medium, said writable medium connected to said control device directly or via a network.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of said steps of viewing contents of a memory card, viewing contents of one or more storage medium, viewing contents of a CD or DVD, copying contents from the memory card to the CD or DVD, copying contents from the CD or DVD to the memory card, copying contents from a first storage medium to a second storage medium, copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD, copying said contents from the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD to the control device, and applying optional features to an image, text, an audio object, a video object, a multimedia object, a page, or the virtual book comprises:

one-button operations.

22. The method of claim 11, said step of copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD comprises:

installing viewing software on the respective memory card, one or more storage medium, CD or DVD from said control device.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying the plurality of pages comprises:

displaying a plurality of pages flipping, individually or in tandem, to a selected page; and

adjusting the left and right side thickness to correspond to a jump to said selected page.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

freezing one or more flipping pages in a partially flipped position.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

controllably flipping a frozen one or more pages.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

unfreezing some or all pages frozen by said freezing.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting a speed of displayed movement through said electronic book; and

displaying an increased number of pages flipped, said increased number corresponding to the adjusted speed.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

displaying one of a coarse and fine thickness indication.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a stationary left and right page while displaying the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping across from a first side to a second side, said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping being located between said stationary left and right page.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

adjusting a book browsing speed;

displaying more or less pages simultaneously flipping in correspondence to said adjusted book browsing speed; and

adjusting the left and right side thickness in proportion to the direction of page flipping and said book browsing speed.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

stopping a subset of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping; and

displaying said subset flipping in said first direction while displaying a remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said opposite direction.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

stopping a flipping of a subset of said remainder of said plurality of pages; and

displaying said stopped subset of said remainder of said plurality of pages flipping in said first direction while displaying a remainder of said remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said opposite direction.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling comprises:

using at least one of a zoom button, a flipping direction button, a bookmark button, and a flip-to button on the wireless remote control device.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deleting information from said memory device with said wireless remote control device.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ejecting the removable memory medium from the memory and control device based upon a signal from said wireless remote control device.

36. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying a plurality of pages flipping, individually or in tandem, across said electronic book to a selected page;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

adjusting the left and right side book thickness to correspond to a jump to said selected page;

freezing one or more flipping pages in a partially flipped position;

unfreezing some or all pages frozen by said freezing;

displaying unfrozen pages flipping in a direction equal to a pre-freezing flipping direction;

displaying unfrozen pages flipping in a direction opposite to a pre-freezing flipping direction; and

displaying a first subset of unfrozen pages flipping in a direction equal to the pre-freezing flipping direction while displaying a second subset of unfrozen pages flipping in a direction opposite to the pre-freezing flipping direction.

37. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying one or more pages flipping, individually or in tandem, across said electronic book;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

displaying one of a page-bookmark, an annotation bookmark, a finger bookmark, and a keyword bookmark;

displaying an Internet Universal Resource Locator field;

jumping to a selected page by one of selecting said page-bookmark, selecting said annotation bookmark, selecting said finger bookmark, selecting said keyword bookmark and activating one of a left and a fight jump cursor;

jumping to a second selected page by one of selecting another one of said page-bookmark, said annotation bookmark, said finger bookmark, and said keyword bookmark and activating one of said left and a right jump cursor; and

displaying a second collection of pages flipping between a current page and a second jumped-to-page, a thickness of said second collection of pages being proportional to a number of pages between a trailing edge page and the second jumped-to-page,

wherein said jumping to a second selected page occurring while displaying a first collection of pages flipping between a current page and jumped-to-page.

38. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying one or more pages flipping, individually or in tandem, across said electronic book;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

controlling said displaying information, said displaying the left and the right side book thickness, and said displaying one or more pages flipping simultaneously with the wireless remote control device;

holding said one or more flipping pages stationary on a display; and

moving said held one or more pages across the display by controlling a position control component of the wireless remote control device.

39. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying one or more pages flipping, individually or in tandem, across said electronic book;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

controlling said displaying information, said displaying the left and the right side book thickness, and said displaying one or more pages flipping simultaneously with the wireless remote control device;

picking up a first page or a first collection of pages from one of said right side book thickness and said left side book thickness;

collecting onto the picked-up first page or the picked-up first collection of pages a collection of additional pages into a first book subsection; and

holding or flipping said first book subsection.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

dropping at least one page from said first book subsection.

41. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

picking up a second single page or a second collection of pages with said control device to form a second book subsection; and

forming a sub-book with said first and second book subsections.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising:

dropping at least one page from at least one of said first and second collection of pages.

43. A method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying one or more pages flipping, individually or in tandem, across said electronic book;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

controlling said displaying information, said displaying the left and the right side book thickness, and said displaying one or more pages flipping simultaneously with the wireless remote control device;

picking up a first collection of one of one page and more than one page from one of said right side book thickness and said left side book thickness;

holding or flipping said first collection of pages.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

dropping at least one page from said first collection of pages.

45. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

displaying one of a page-bookmark, an annotation bookmark, a finger bookmark, and a keyword bookmark; and

displaying an Internet Universal Resource Locator field.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

jumping to a selected page by one of selecting said page-bookmark, selecting said annotation bookmark, selecting said finger bookmark, selecting said keyword bookmark and activating one of a left and a right jump cursor.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein said displaying the plurality of pages comprises:

displaying a first collection of pages flipping between a current page and a jumped-to-page, a thickness of said first collection of pages being proportional to a number of pages between the current page and the jumped-to-page.

48. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

displaying one of a left and a right jump cursor.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

displaying a page number, said page number corresponding to a page selected by said one of a left and a right jump cursor.

50. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

controlling said displaying information, said displaying the left and the right side book thickness, and said displaying a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping with the wireless remote control device.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein said wireless remote control device comprises at least one of:

a computer;

a keyboard;

a pointing device; and

a remote control device having buttons on a first side and on an opposing side and having at least one pressure sensitive thumb pad.

52. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

displaying a menu.

53. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

one of

viewing contents of a memory card,

viewing contents of a CD or DVD,

viewing contents of one or more storage medium,

copying contents from the memory card to the CD or DVD,

copying contents from the CD or DVD to the memory card,

copying contents from a first storage medium to a second storage medium,

copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD,

copying contents from one of the memory card, one or more storage medium, CD or DVD to the control device, and

applying optional features to one of an image, text, an audio object, a video object, a multimedia object, a page, and the virtual book.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

viewing said contents of the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD as thumbnails, as a slide show, or as a flipping book.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

selecting a folder to be previewed.

56. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

copying said contents of one of the memory card, the CD or DVD, or the one or more storage medium into a writable medium, said writable medium connected to said control device directly or via a network.

57. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

copying one of images, text, audio files, video files, and multimedia objects from at least one of the Internet and an intranet.

58. The method of claim 53, wherein said-applying comprises:

selecting one of a sound effect, an album music, an album theme, a memory card, a compact disc, and an autoplay interval.

59. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

applying visual effects to an image.

60. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

one of deleting, rotating, and editing an image on a page.

61. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

one of applying sound effects and applying music to one of an image and a page.

62. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

copying an entire virtual book to a writable medium, said writable medium connected to said control device directly or via a network.

63. The method of claim 53, wherein at least one of said steps of viewing contents of a memory card, viewing contents of one or more storage medium, viewing contents of a CD or DVD, copying contents from the memory card to the CD or DVD, copying contents from the CD or DVD to the memory card, copying contents from a first storage medium to a second storage medium, copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD, copying said contents from the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD to the control device, and applying optional features to an image, text, an audio object, a video object, a multimedia object, a page, or the virtual book comprises:

one-button operations.

64. The method of claim 53, said step of copying contents from the control device to the memory card, the one or more storage medium, or the CD or DVD comprises:

installing viewing software on the respective memory card, one or more storage medium, CD or DVD from said control device.

65. The method of claim 43, wherein said displaying the plurality of pages comprises:

displaying a plurality of pages flipping, individually or in tandem, to a selected page; and

adjusting the left and right side thickness to correspond to a jump to said selected page.

66. The method of claim 65, further comprising:

freezing one or more flipping pages in a partially flipped position.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

controllably flipping a frozen one or more pages.

68. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

unfreezing some or all page frozen by said freezing.

69. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

adjusting a speed of displayed movement through said electronic book; and

displaying an increased number of pages flipped, said increased number corresponding to the adjusted speed.

70. The method of claim 43, further comprising;

displaying one of a coarse and fine thickness indication.

71. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

displaying a stationary left and right page while displaying the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping across from a first side to a second, said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping being located between said stationary left and right page.

72. The method of claim 43, further comprising;

adjusting a book browsing speed;

displaying more or less pages simultaneously flipping in correspondence to said adjusted book browsing speed; and

adjusting the left and right side thickness in proportion to the direction of page flipping and said book browsing speed.

73. A system for displaying and editing an electronic book, comprising;

a display screen;

a memory and control device;

a controller physically separated from said memory and control device, and configured to

one of access information relating to the electronic book from a removable memory medium and access information relating to the electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet,

access said information via said memory and control device,

display information on two pages of said electronic book,

display a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information,

display a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in a first direction,

control a virtual flipping through said electronic book,

stop the flipping of some of the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping, and

display said stopped some of the plurality of pages flipping in an opposite direction from said first direction while displaying a remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said first direction.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein said display screen comprises one of:

a computer screen, and

a TV screen.

75. The system of claim 73, wherein said TV screen comprises one of a:

an analog display screen;

a digital display screen;

a wide-aspect display screen;

a non-wide-aspect display screen;

an NTSC display screen; and

a PAL display screen or any other kind of display screen.

76. The system of claim 73, wherein the controller comprises one of:

a pointing device;

a keyboard,

a wireless remote controller, and

a remote controller having buttons on a first side and on an opposing side, and having at least one pressure sensitive thumb pad.

77. The system of claim 73, wherein at least one of said controller and said memory and control device comprises at least one of:

a STANDBY button;

a CLOSE button;

a ZOOM-LEFT button;

a ZOOM-RIGHT button

an UP button;

a DOWN button;

an OK button;

a LEFT button;

a RIGHT button;

a LEFT THICKNESS button;

a RIGHT THICKNESS button;

a BOOKMARK button;

a MENU button;

an AUTOFLIP button;

a FLIPTO button;

a COPY button;

an EJECT button; and

a DELETE button.

78. The system of claim 77, wherein at least one of said controller and said memory and control device includes a button that operates in concert with a displayed menu.

79. The system of claim 73, wherein at least one of said controller and said memory and control device is configured to initiate a command that includes at least one of

a direction of movement command;

a speed of movement command;

a select-to-jump-to-a-specified-point-in-a-document command;

a jump-to-a-specified-point-in-a-document command;

a permanent-bookmarking command;

a finger-bookmarking command;

a launch-a-single-flipping-page command;

a-launch-multiple-flipping-pages-at-a-specific-interval command;

a reverse-direction-of-a-single-last-trailing-page command;

a reverse-direction-of-multiple-last-trailing-pages command;

a reverse-direction-of-a-selected-group-of-flipping-pages command;

a freeze-at-least-one-flipping-pages-in-mid-flip command;

an-unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-pages-continue-to-flip-in-directions-prior to-freezing command;

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-pages-all-flip-in-a-same-direction command;

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-some-pages-flip-to-a-left-side-and-some-to-a-right-side-of-book command;

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-a-subgroup-of-pages-flip-in-different-directions command;

a jump-and-make-a-thick-collection-of-pages-flip-together command;

a launch-flipping-pages-while-a-thick-collection-of-pages-is-flipping command;

a launch-at-least-one-other-thick-collections-of-pages-while-other-pages-are-flipping command;

a select-to-hold-a-page command;

a move-a-held-single-page-in-a-selected-direction-at-a-selected-speed command;

a select-to-hold-a-thick-collection-of-pages command;

a move-a-held-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in-a-selected-direction-and-at-a-selected-speed command;

a select-to-hold-at-least-one-of-at-least-two-pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages command;

a move-at-least-one-of-a-held-pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-a-selected-direction-and-at-a-selected-speed command;

a hold-a-single-page-in-mid-flip-and-collect-other-pages-that-flip-onto-the-single-page-in-mid-flip command;

a hold-a-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-collect-other-pages-that-flip-onto-the-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in -mid-flip command;

a hold-at-least-one-of-a-single-page-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and -execute-at-least-one-of-the-set-of-page-flipping-commands-between-the-at-least-one-of-a -single-page-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-a-thickness-of-a-side-of-a-book-command; and

a hold-at-least-one-of-two-pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and -execute-at-least-one-of-the-set-of-page-flipping-commands-between-the-at-least-one-of-two -pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip command.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein said command is executed via a menu.

81. The system of claim 73, wherein said memory and control device comprises:

a computer.

82. The system of claim 73, wherein said memory and control device comprises at least one of:

a memory integrated with said computer;

a portable memory module;

a memory card;

a memory stick; and

a compact disk.

83. The system of claim 73, further comprising one of:

a CD-R;

a CD-RW;

a DVD;

a portable optical large volume storage disk;

a portable large volume non-optical storage medium; and

a storage medium resident in said memory and control device or connected to the memory and control device through a wired or wireless connection or through the Internet.

84. The system of claim 73, wherein said controller is further configured to delete information from said memory and control device.

85. An apparatus configured to control an electronic book, comprising:

a controller configured to

one of access information relating to the electronic book from a removable memory medium and access information relating to the electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet,

access said information,

display information on two pages of said electronic book,

display a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information,

display a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in a first direction,

control a virtual flipping through said electronic book,

stop the flipping of some of the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping, and

display said stopped some of the plurality of pages flipping in an opposite direction from said first direction while displaying a remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said first direction.

86. A computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions, which when executed by processor causes the processor to implement a method for controlling and browsing a virtual book, comprising:

one of accessing information relating to an electronic book from a removable memory medium and accessing information relating to an electronic book through one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and Internet;

accessing said information via a memory and control device;

displaying information on two pages of said electronic book;

displaying a left and a right side book thickness, said left and right side book thicknesses corresponding to a respective amount of information within said electronic book before and after said displayed information;

displaying a plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in a first direction;

controlling a virtual flipping through said electronic book with a wireless remote control device and said memory and control device, said wireless remote control device physically separate from and in communication with the memory and control device;

stopping the flipping of some of the plurality of pages simultaneously flipping; and

displaying said stopped some of the plurality of pages flipping in an opposite direction from said first direction while displaying a remainder of said plurality of pages simultaneously flipping in said first direction.