taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (03/01/87)
Gordon from Boston University writes: > These children may not be on USENET, but they do have keyboards in front > of them. I was in high school when the first PC's were hitting the market, > there are now fourth graders with access to Mac's... But just as it was difficult to foresee schools equipped with Macs, it is probably difficult to foresee what the next generation will have. Is acquiring keyboard skills going to be all that essential, if voice input takes off? This leads me on to the need to distinguish between the advantages of messaging (recipient does not need to be there, is not interrupted until wants to receive etc) and the advantages of text. Suppose USENET could actually mail voice or text with diagrams, and that all could choose which medium to use. Leaving aside transmission of scripts, code etc, which would you choose? I suppose it would depend on what you were sending. This present posting would proably be better sent as voice, but I anticipate that there would be some things for which written words (or diagrams) were the preferred medium. What would you need to send in text form?