>> Zoyous said: "I also don't think there's been any reduction in paper use. I think computers might have actually sped things up so that we can use more paper. Those were the big two promises I remember… computers would eliminate paper, and we'd get so much more work done we'd only have to work a few hours a day. Oh yeah, and flying cars. "
I feel like the "paperless office" was a promise that went unfulfilled for a long time because computers, networks, and lightweight computerized reading devices weren't ubiquitous enough to eliminate the need to print a piece of paper and hand it to someone else. And yes, computers, for a long time, helped explode the amount of data that could be printed and passed around.
So sure, printing still happens all the time, but not as often as the pre-2000s now that one can easily email anything to just about anybody, publish stuff on the web easily, and read the computer-generated info on portable laptops, relatively lightweight tablets (like the iPad) and on smartphones that many people carry in their pockets.
I'm sure companies will still use paper for decades, especially when it is engrained in company policy (and they need hard records for legal reasons, etc.), but I do think that paper use will diminish over time.
