Hi, all.

Concerning this quote from the preceding message:

However, as a physical form for the presentation of man's ideas, textbooks and workbooks in the school have two overwhelming advantages over other forms of information presentation media: a) they are exceptionally portable, truly allowing information anywhere anytime, and b) they cater to the lowest common economic denominator, allowing knowledge to be distributed across the widest range of economic classes."

It may be true that perhaps one or two textbooks or workbooks are more portable than a notebook computer or similar device, but it can't be said that books are more portable when you consider how many books and workbooks can be contained on even the smallest of today's harddrives and CD's, not to mention DVD's.

Even comparing the media economically, 25 textbooks, workbooks, and the supplemental materials would cost as much as and probably more than many laptops today.

In the long run, printed materials simply cannot compete in making education more widely available through portability and economy, especially when educational materials are presented through the Internet.

Look for the the "Webpad" and other Internet browser devices to truly revolutionize education and training.

Thanks for indulging my comments.

Rick Faircloth

• Re: Are you kidding? William L. Rukeyser, February 16, 1999 (0)