Re: Paperless

["Robert W. Jones" <shaka -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

I think that one must consider the cost/benefit analysis argument of
paper vs electronic. Paper nor electronic media can not be and should not
be all things to all people under all conditions. Standards and yes even
language is subject to change (Latin was the standard language of the
Middle Ages for the Western world). Hardware and software is subject to
change and the cost of retiring old systems is often costly, the cost of
conversion is out of sight for some. I am sure that the Libary of
Congress would  love to convert their stock of print material and
recordings to CD-ROM but the tax payer would scream, Newt would scream
and so would Bob Dole because of the cost of conversion. So a lot of
books, computer tapes/disks, magazines and yes art work is being lost
because of the cost of conversion and the lack of compatible systems. A
lot of folks think that English will be around for another 2,000 to
5,000 years. Is it possible that it could be just another dead lanaguage.
We should keep in mind this Time (the life cycle of the product and or
media) and
not eternity and the cost/benefit of the media for our application.

On Mon, 30 Jan 1995 mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM
wrote:

> Timothy Schablin writes:

> >Paper has been around before electricity. So energy isn't necessarily
> >needed to make paper. Why do so many people want a paperless world and a
> >100% energy depedant world?

> So banks should go back to ledger books and doing calculations by hand?
> Remind me to inform your payroll department.

> This isn't an arbitrary push.  Information in electronic form has distinct
> advantages over paper.  It also has disadvantages, but with the existing
> and increasing prevalence of computers and networks, these disadvantages
> become less important, while the advantages become more so.

> >( Think about the pyramids. What would it take to build one today. The
> >Egyptions built them with no energy. )

> All it takes is a mad dictator with absolute power of life and death over a
> large population.  That's all it took then, that's all it would take today.
> Not sure what this has to do with electronic information, though.

> Michael Priestley
> mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
> Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.