Reasons why newspapers are better than reading it online with a laptop

A reply to Newspapers – The Terminal UI Problem by Mark Cahill

Yes, newspapers are going the way of the dinosaur, and I get my news almost entirely from the Internet, but there are still some advantages that the traditional newspaper holds over using a laptop to access the newspaper’s web site:

  1. If you drop your newspaper, you’ll still be able to read it when you pick it up again.
  2. The traditional newspaper doesn’t make your lap sweaty. (Although, I guess there are certain types of newspapers that could…)
  3. Newspapers’ batteries don’t die; nor do they explode or catch on fire.
  4. When the news really pisses you off and you need a cathartic release, ripping up a newspaper is much easier and less expensive than doing the same with a laptop.
  5. If the power goes out or the network connection goes down, the newspaper still can be read.
  6. The news in the newspaper doesn’t change; the web site keeps updating (OK, that can be both a pro and a con).
  7. Silly Putty does not work on LCD’s.