The Internet - Isolating or Connecting People?

[Al B. Sure!]

I have found that libraries are far better for research. ever try to look up something a little less known on the internet? for example, if you wanted to know about world history in 700 AD, you won't find **** on the internet. maybe some vague summaries or a translation from some chronicle... go to the library, though, and you'll find whole books... massive tomes... written about this topic.

the internet (like an encyclopedia) is good for basic information which usually is all you'll ever need but if you want something in depth, you got to get a book.

[Carolus Rex]

For sure, books make better reading than right off the screen.

AS,

You may be right for now, but remember that the Net is a fairly new medium and the information it contains is growing by the second.

I prefer the real thing myself. I may look things up on the Net, but if I'm interested in something, then I want it the good old way. Books, music, films, computer games, whatever.

In time, all the knowledge of the human race will be accessible on the Net (possibly with a time lag) IMHO. How much could you find in books 9 years (ca) after they were fairly widespread among common people?

Carolus

[Al B. Sure!]

but who's going to type up all these books?

thats the amazing thing... that project gutenburg and all the sites with the full texts of dozens of books and even the bible... who types these things up?

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
but who's going to type up all these books?

You don't have to type them, Albert. There are plenty of programs that will do the job for you, using a scanner to turn each pair of pages into a PDF or even a word processor file (although often the latter has a few mistakes). It still takes a little time, but it's 100 times quicker than re-typing the whole darn book.

[Carolus Rex]

Yup, scanning is one way. There are also laser pens which read written texts when you move them across the pages. They transmit every character directly on-screen (into for example a Word document).

Check out the Swedish company Anoto Group (formerly C-Tech) for details. Yes, I owe some (almost worthless these days) stocks...

Carolus

[Al B. Sure!]

Swedish companies sell stocks? is there some kind of twist with that?

but thats some amazing technologies... i didn't know they existed. but are these things just image files of every page or are they like word documents?

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
Swedish companies sell stocks? is there some kind of twist with that?

???

but are these things just image files of every page or are they like word documents?

Both are possible.

[Eli]

Mostly word documents. Books in image files take way too much space. People scan them, then proof read and release to the net.

Due to a small quirk of mine, I have almost 700 megs of books(~4000 of them) stored on my PC and the number is growing.

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
Swedish companies sell stocks? is there some kind of twist with that?

Eh, no they sell laser/digital pens... Ok, I'll bite. Stocks are financial assets, traded at stock exchange markets.

http://www.anoto.com/

Choose "products", then choose "digital pens".

Carolus

[Al B. Sure!]

umm... see i know Sweden is very socialistic so i wouldn't expect Swedes to be partaking in capitalist corporate activities like stock ownership and trading

[MikeH]

[Carolus Rex]

Fairly balanced answers so far, but with a clear edge for connecting people... I guess asking the question in an on-line community forum should give rise to biased answers...

Carolus

[Q Classic]

i think a lot of it is a cultural thing. in korea, where they have internet-connected lan "pc bang"s, where over half the population has access to broadband and are used to the cutting edge in technology such as cell phones, the internet has actually helped many associate and connect people.

indeed, there was a couple which got married after they met over diablo 2... ... and many such pc bangs have wide seats that allow more than one person to sit in a spot, allowing couples to browse the internet together, if they so chose.

it's odd, really, to someone who's used to the american internet experience, which is more divisive in the local arena but more connective in the wide/distant level.

[Q Classic]

umm... see i know Sweden is very socialistic so i wouldn't expect Swedes to be partaking in capitalist corporate activities like stock ownership and trading

albert, all of western europe, including the scandinavian countries, are fully functioning liberal democracies with a capitalist economic system. their politics tend to be socialist, but their economies are very much capitalist and free market.
of course, with a socialist polity, you end up getting tax burdens upward of 50-60%.
sweden's stock indices isn't one of the biggest ones in europe (britain's ftse and germany's dax come to mind), but it has a fairly big one called stockholmsbörsen.

[Carolus Rex]

Ditto!

Carolus