Thing 2

So here's the deal ... I read only part of the blog post (my eyes totally glazed over, sorry to say) but I found the video clip interesting ... tho that constant "commentary" was annoying.

All the above leads me to say the following : if I, at the age of 40 and raised in a pre-tech world, could not stand to read all that text online, doesn't that say something about the future of alternative learning venues for future generations? I'm sure you've all heard that kids growing up nowadays are growing up in a society dominated by images and pictures (less text - more photos, please!) and that we as librarians need to know this so we can better serve them. I truly believe all this. My 5-year-old learned pretty much on his own how to use the tracking pad on our laptop at home (although he still "punches" it to try and make it go faster, which really annoys me as both a mom and the owner of said laptop) and we are far from a fully-tech household (we're just debating whether or not to spend $10.75 a month to get basic cable ... just so PBS won't wig out and we can record Lost without worrying whether we'll understand Locke when he has his grand moment).

On the other hand ... I think it'll be a cold and freezing day in hell before "they" manage to develop an e-book that I can read in the bathtub without fear of electrocution (or short-out) should I happen to drop it in the water. Nuff said on that subject. Books (and print media) are here to stay. I also love, love, love, love my morning newspaper. And I would hate for my kids not to be exposed to things like newspapers, weekly magazines or wall calendars with tear-off pages. Print must continue to exist with technology, not in place of (or visa versa). Bill Gates and his peers keep trying to persuade us to give up our clunky old print media (datebooks, calendars, magazines, etc.) by introducing all sorts of fun new gadgets to take their place. But when I work on a computer all day long (here I am, folks!) the LAST THING I want to do is go home and look at my mail, my news, my entertainment on another g-d computer. My eyes hurt already, just thinking about it ...

And for those of you who'd like a bit of computer humor, here is something my brother sent me ages ago ... I think it's funny and still has merit today ...
http://web.archive.org/web/20010801144357/http:/rita.thegourmet.com/computers.html