This is absolutely crazy. I can’t believe this is what people thought about computers in 1981 (the year I was born). Actually, I can’t believe newspapers used to cost only 20 cents, but that just goes to show you how much things have changed in the past 28 years.
Computers are everywhere these days, and every business, from the coffee shop to the newspapers and television industry, depends on them to function. The print industry knew its future way back in 1981, yet still fights it to this day. Given how forward thinking the San Francisco papers were then, it’s no wonder the Chronicle still has one of the better websites in online newspaperdom.
As it turns out, “a few years” turned out to be, oh, 20 or so. I still get a newspaper delivered daily, but only because I like the coupons and the comics, as well as the portability. As for the actual content, I’ll usually end up reading it online even though I already have the wooden version in front of me. Some days I don’t read it at all. No wonder newspapers (and journalists) are getting a bit upset.
Tags: newspapers, new media, 1981 news report on the internet, newspapers online, retro futurism, io9