With its ability to store numerous hefty encyclopaedias on one disk, the CD-ROM is one of them. Unlike a book, information can be quickly searched from any word in the whole text. With the added benefit of video and sound, the whole process of researching is less tiresome and more fun.
But overtaking these mediums in terms of a staggering amount of easily accessible information is the Internet. The Internet has the added advantage of containing content that's bang up to date. A long list of relevant information, from a variety of worldwide sources, can be collated in just a few minutes. Because information on the Internet is so freely available it has become almost indispensable - a world where the views of familiar authors are placed next to those of ordinary people and assumes equal importance. With Joe Public expressing their views and opinions the content can be enlightening, but also misleading, as it is unregulated for accuracy - a very different situation than Ray Bradbury's futuristic vision in Fahrenheit 451 where individual expression in books was considered detrimental to society and were duly burned.
It seems likely that the future of many books will be in a digital form as they have recently had a technological makeover in the shape of eBooks. These are digital files of books which can be downloaded to a portable computer devices such as the Microsoft Reader for Microsoft's Pocket PC. Functioning like a CD-ROM in many ways - it displays graphics and text, and features word searchable passages of text which you can copy and send by e-mail. Another major advantage is that it includes audio capabilities, enabling you to listen to audio books, newspapers or magazines. An entire library can be stored on it, which raises the important question - what will become of libraries? Surely, as they are, in essence, a source of information, it is only a matter of time before many of them go online?
A situation where devices, such as this, become a part of our everyday lives,as with mobile phones, will take a major shift in our reading habits. As the initial outlay of the machines make them prohibitive to many people, they are not easily qualified as being a 'must have'. Even so, the purchasing costs of eBooks are lower than printed versions because there's no printing involved and distribution is done via the internet.
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