Re: filmscanners: Re: paperless office

["IronWorks" <ironworks@ameritech.net>]

I don't think we'll ever be even mostly paperless.  Paper has 2 values I
can't see computers replacing despite technology improvements in ways we
can't even imagine now.

Ease of use in all too many instances - flipping back and forth between
pages of a book, or a filmscanner review, or often even a catalog though
computers have paper beat there for ease of search and find.  And written
material needs but one object - the paper.  Your own eyes read it.  Written
material in computer code needs three - the data on some medium, the
computer to read and translate it to discernible text, and the monitor.
For this reason also, not everyone will be able to afford a computer despite
drastically reduced costs - we are still dealing with buying 3 items (disk,
computer and monitor) rather than 1 (paper).

Archival and security - as many have mentioned, platforms change but paper
doesn't.  Computers crash and storage media deteriorate - much more likely
than a fire or earthquake, and even there provisions can be made to store
the paper in environmentally safe vaults onsite and/or off.

Maris.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Entlich" <artistic@ampsc.com>
To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 3:46 AM
Subject: filmscanners: Re: paperless office

| Laurie Solomon wrote:

[snip]
| It is still easier
| > for people to printout and read a hard copy version of a 100 page report
| > than to read it online or off the monitor - and often more convenient as
| > well.

| We either have to evolve at a faster
| rate, or transform our digital/electronic media into something than more
| resembles what we have grown used to as a culture, something that
| resembles paper.  I won't get into the many values paper has, but I
| think smaller, lightweight, easily readable screen which can accept
| input, or electronic paper., which can be erased after use, are more
| likely to succeed where heavy, CRT laden computers cannot.