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PRODUCT

                                           (late 80s)
Inching toward the Grand Hypertext:        
The jump from libraries on paper to
libraries on electronic media seems
hugely expensive.  We don't even
have really good electronic indexing
of the stuff on paper.  My solution:
Start with some research libraries
(at Stanford?), equip each one with
a scanner and "worm" drive.  Then,
as you research a topic, you can
copy information onto disk instead
of xeroxing it.  Later you can
develop your own webs of hypertext
links as you study the material.  If
you meet someone working on a
related topic, you might offer each
other copies of your disks, so you
can merge the two different webs.
Eventually, the library might offer
to collect the information on all
the existing disks, and later start           "Products are better than
scanning in more information on it's          systems." -- John McCarthy
own.  So we get to start small and
grow towards a grand hypertext...

       The way it seems to be happening, as of 10/94:
       Computer literate scientists (notably
       physicists) have been using the internet
       to trade new papers as they are written.
       They designed the World Wide Web to
       assist this process, and in the last year
       it's become extremely popular for all sorts
       of information.


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