Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!uceng!minerva!dmocsny From: dmocsny@minerva.che.uc.edu (Daniel Mocsny) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Costs of High-resolution graphical displays Message-ID: <6738@uceng.UC.EDU> Date: 18 Nov 90 06:38:06 GMT References: <16870003@hpfcdj.HP.COM> <6726@uceng.UC.EDU> <1990Nov16.234227.3246@cs.cmu.edu> Sender: news@uceng.UC.EDU Organization: University of Cincinnati, Cin'ti., OH Lines: 40 In article <1990Nov16.234227.3246@cs.cmu.edu> spot@WOOZLE.GRAPHICS.CS.CMU.EDU (Scott Draves) writes: >I think there is an additional, and more important, barrier to paper's >demise. copyright. If the ideal display were announced tomorrow, >paper would still exist because you can't get information from publishers >in digital/on-line form. This isn't being rectified as we speak, either. I imagine the appearance of reliable OCR will rectify it pretty fast. I do agree with your observation that paper is a necessary component in any commercial enterprise that relies on rationing information for its survival. Paper reduces the availability of information, making rationing practical. In very large quantities, information is cheaper on the computer. In small quantities it is cheaper on paper. On a plot of $/bit, the computer has a substantially high Y-intercept (because you have to buy at least one computer to read the first bit) and shallow slope. Paper has a Y-intercept of practically zero, but the slope is quite a bit higher, at least for text information. Photographics stomp the computer a little harder. >|> In audio technology, a $100 pair of headphones can >|> easily out-perform a $1000 pair of loudspeakers. > >only for the deaf. headphones don't reproduce low frequencies well. >Even good electrostatic ones. At the risk of ranging too far astray from the putative charter of comp.arch, I will note that the absence of low-frequencies is largely the result of the trend toward light, open air phones. The old Koss Pro-AA's had better bass than anything short of an 18" Cerwin-Vega... But they were uncomfortable, and the sealed cups (necessary for bass) made your ears sweat while you were riding your bike on rollers. -- Dan Mocsny Snail: Internet: dmocsny@minerva.che.uc.edu Dept. of Chemical Engng. M.L. 171 dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu University of Cincinnati 513/751-6824 (home) 513/556-2007 (lab) Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0171