John Clark ([log in to unmask]) had a wonderfully lucid posting regarding the inevitable trends in the dissemination of knowledge and opinions. I'll let you read his original posting in its entirety. For now, I just want to add my comments on one of his comments: >As more and more professionals turn to lists, news groups and the Web, >more and more print journals are going to suffer. I don't know whether >this is good or bad. I guess in itself it isn't either, just melancholy >for those of us still involved with the printed word. I'm heavily involved with the printed word myself, and I love visiting my printer's shop (particularly, watching the six-stage printer spitting out gorgeous posters... I can't afford printing them, but I can certainly appreciate the tight integration of art, technology, and dedication of the many individuals involved in the process). Printing is, I believe, one of the most refined among the highest achievements of humankind. I don't believe in the disappearance of printed material (it's called "collateral" by the "in" crowd). For instance, I print a lot of the material I gather via the Internet (be it web pages, ftp files, news, or whatever) on my trusty duplex LaserJet4M+ with Nekoosa paper. This feels as good (if not better) than regular books and/or magazines. But what I print is only a selection (MY selection) of the zillions of pages out there! So, I'm not burdened by lots of chaff: I just enjoy the wheat. And, if I missed some wheat, I just plug in again (even on an airliner, nowadays) and collect the missing items. Don't take me wrong: The quality of this "personal" printing can't even come close to the quality of professional printers producing professional publications (such as Connie Wright's Interact Magazine). I do have lots of Interact Magazines on my coffee table (discreetly turned upside down, so my visitors can see the Adager ads on the fourth covers :-) and I would not dare put any of my LaserJet-produced pages near them. I guess things just evolve and adapt. (Or adapt and evolve? Wirt? We need an evolutionary biologist here... :-) With kind adaptive/evolutionary regards, +---------------+ | | | r | Alfredo [log in to unmask] | e | http://www.adager.com | g | F. Alfredo Rego Tel 208 726-9100 | a | Manager, Theoretical Group Fax 208 726-2822 | d | Adager Corporation | A | Sun Valley, Idaho 83353-3000 U.S.A. | | +---------------+