In feature supplements, the technical development of computers and internet is equated with the ostensible end of the "culture of reading" etc. Based on the example of a facsimile edition of Franz Kafka's "Process" it is shown that the use of advanced technology and the development of CD-ROM can open new fields in this literary work (with demonstrations via projections of CD-ROM). At the same time, the development of new technologies creates new possibilities that appeared inconceivable earlier, especially for small projects. The editor at the personal computer and the specialised publishing house are able to face large company groups and their perennially similar products.
While in former times, problems of technical reproduction made it practically impossible for the reader to criticise the editor, scan technology and digitalised facsimiles now make it possible to review editorial decisions at any time. Thus, one could say that especially technical progress which is supposed to threaten the "culture of reading", supports, to some extent, a democratic discussion in regard of text and literary tradition, which go back to the alphabet and its content.
Institut für Informatik