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Can't Stop Progress

Entry 583, on 2007-08-04 at 16:25:51 (Rating 2, Computers)

A poll in the New Zealand Herald newspaper today showed about 70% of respondents were reading fewer magazines (over what time period and other details weren't specified). Computer magazines were particularly badly affected according to an associated article. This trend has been obvious for a while now as more people go on-line for news, information, and entertainment, so the results aren't really surprising.

The Internet is just a better medium for distributing information than printed newspapers and magazines. As laptops become more compact (flat foldable screens), connected (wireless Internet connections), and easy to use (multi-touch interfaces) we should expect the conventional newspaper and magazine to disappear completely. Surely these media don't have much life left in them, at least in more technologically advanced countries.

In another story from Britain, Elton John is recommending the Internet be closed down to rescue us from bad music. He claims that the Internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, and creating stuff.

Well for a start, I don't know if the general quality of music today is any worse than it has been in the past. Sure, there's a lot of rubbish, but there always has been. And I think the Internet has helped people collaborate in the creation of music and has helped even more in independent distribution. Even if it was responsible for lower standards there's nothing that could be done anyway because you just can't stop progress.

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