Even though the World Wide Web is about 20 years old, and Web-browsing software for things like Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer is under 15 years old, the impact has been considerable. And traditional media have probably been hit the hardest. In the same way that computer folks initially found Web browsers useful because they incorporated other Internet services (such as e-mail, Usenet, and file transfers), the public has learned how to get all the video, audio, and text anyone could ever need through that same interface. So let's see how a certain old media format is adjusting.

The oldest mass-media form is the printed word, with a full five centuries of history. By and large, it has adapted pretty well. Electronic books still haven't really arrived, partly due to publishing-industry reticence, but mostly because none of the electronic reading devices brought to market over the years has won over a significant number of consumers. Besides, anyone who really wants to pack a thousand books on vacation with them can always carry a laptop (or even a smartphone) filled with public-domain texts from Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org/), among other sources.

Newspapers are also a big part of the printed-word industry and, after suffering a number of early missteps, finally seem to have come to terms with publishing on-line. Newspapers that charge subscription fees generally keep them low–take the New York Times's US$50 fee for a year of TimesSelect service, which includes all areas of the paper plus retrieval of 100 articles a month from the archives, which go back to 1851.

Now that advertising dollars are migrating to the Web, there seems to be more content being offered for free, and according to a recent assessment by Nielsen NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America, on-line readership is not only up but is drawing in readers who don't typically buy newspapers. One reason may be that about 25 percent of the nearly three billion page views per month of newspaper Web sites are thought to come from search-engine queries, indicating that newspapers have become much better at weaving themselves into the fabric of the Web and are thereby reestablishing their reputations as information sources.

As for magazines, well, that transition seems to have been tougher.

Some magazines charge fees for viewing on-line content, but most don't. Some publish full editions (even Net-enhanced ones) on-line, while others just tell you that the magazine exists and give you subscription information or an outline of the articles in the latest issue. Meanwhile, retail sales are tough to maintain and, for every readership group or subculture that a magazine caters to, there are hundreds of Web sites covering that same topic, sometimes with such devoted participants/readers/writers that establishing credibility can be tough.

Maybe one of the problems is that magazines are traditionally a more slow-paced medium than newspapers. Like the Web, newspapers are designed to distribute information quickly, while magazines offer the chance for more detailed opinions that are carefully considered over time before publication. That time lag, plus people's reluctance to read long articles on-screen, doesn't help. The best solution so far seems to be the subscription approach offered by companies like Zinio (www.zinio.com/), a sort of electronic newsstand that offers high-quality digital versions of several hundred print magazines. At least you feel like you're reading a proper magazine (instead of a Web page) when you click through them.

Finally, throughout history the printing press has been used as a method of personal expression, with leaflets, pamphlets, posters, handbills, and proclamations all preaching to the masses. Whether the goal is overthrowing the government, finding a lost cat, or making sure all the hippies know where the love-in will take place, few things have proven more efficient at communicating with people.

There have been many times when governments have tried to control access to such equipment. The ease of publishing on-line (it can be done by anyone with access to a computer) and the existence of search engines that index everything they find means that anyone with something to say can pretty much go ahead and say it. State control of the Internet, such as in China, can be pretty successful at blocking forbidden topics, but the true effectiveness of that control won't be known until some sort of major social or political upheaval gets a few million people riled up and wanting to discuss something. Also, one assumes that a certain amount of covert communication is going on even now.

And if you need a paper copy, well, ye olde printing press has transformed into a $150 printer/scanner/copier that probably came free with your last computer. The magazine world is running in every direction trying to figure out what to do. (Hang in until your advertisers catch up, I'd say.) The newspaper world seems to be figuring things out, however, often embracing the potential of this new medium by using multimedia or Web-only features. Meanwhile over on the bookshelf, electronic texts will remain on the fringes until a good reading-tablet platform comes along. Eventually someone will build the perfect reading device, complete with Web browsing, wireless newspaper and magazine downloads, and a screen that's easy to read from. I know I'll want one.