Ereaders are here to stay

Not only can you read an ebook in Star Trek, you can write it on a PADD too.

Ereaders and ezines and ebooks are here to stay. I know that it is true. After all, Star Trek wouldn't be wrong about this, would they? The first time I encountered the idea of an ebook was Star Trek. I am not sure what episode. I am fairly sure that I remember seeing Scotty reading technical manuals in ebook (ereader) form in the episode Trouble With Tribbles...but I could be wrong...for the life of me, I cannot find a picture of it on the internet.

But seriously, ebooks and ereaders are here to stay. And engineers will be using them. And we do not need Star Trek to tell us this. The US Air Force is telling us this.

The USAF is currently looking to obtain 63 to 18,000 "iPad 2, Brand Name or Equal devices." And for what? To replace the bulky technical manuals and flight charts that the crews of the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster cargo airplanes are currently using. Let's be honest---if the military is adapting these devices, they are sure to be around for decades. And while weight is a consideration in their decisions here on Earth, one knows that when we finally kick the dust of this planet from our heels and slip off into space, weight will be a major reason why there will not be any paper books being shipped to Mars.