Something tells me this is a prelude of things to come. Quite frankly, it’s about time for it. While I don’t particularly want to see any newspapers go down the drain, it’s time to rethink the whole dead-tree concept and move towards electronic media. Using the Kindle to deliver content you would normally have paid for to have printed on paper is actually a very good idea. As newspapers begin to focus on their online presence, they’ll need to decide if they want to charge for premium content, make any free content available whatsoever, or if they want to find a balance between the two. I believe, however, that traditional newspapers will go the way of the Dodo sooner than later and offering customers who enjoy “holding the news in their hands” an option like the Kindle is a happy compromise.

Books, in my opinion, are another story. We can sustain printing a finite number of books for a while longer, (preferably on recycled paper to cut down on that whole slash-and-burn nonsense,) but I see e-books taking hold more firmly than in the past. Ask any Kindle owner who is also an avid reader and they’ll tell you they love the thing. If nothing else, making a move like the one in the comic above would force the potential for technologies like the Kindle, (aalong with other handheld displays like phones and PDAs,) to advance more quickly than they have so far.

Here’s to hoping for tricorders and LCARS message pads before too long, engage.