Smart Documents Timely Information Access For All
T. V. Raman · 1996
Immediate and timely access to up-to-date information is likely to prove critical for the success of both individuals and societies in the coming century. As the flood of information increases, the half-life of up-to-date information diminishes correspondingly. Thus, where a weekly news journal once sufficed to keep people "well informed", the information age is characterized by constantly updating sources of information. Success or failure in this age will ultimately be determined by the level of access that one has to the latest and most reliable sources of information. Where access to the latest information is a strong advantage, users deprived of such information suffer from a correspondingly serious handicap. The most visible manifestation of this is in the case of ready information access by the visually impaired. Until now, information interchange has been mediated by a passive intermediary ---printed paper. Ideas expressed on paper therefore remain dead until perused by a hum...