Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
No need to worry.
On Star Trek Next Generation they had that kind of document carrier.
(Andromeda, too.)
They were erasable and reusable.
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Yes, PADDs, or Personal Access Display Devices.
In the Star Wars books they are called "datapads."
I posted a photo around here somewhere of Captain Picard at a desk covered in PADDs of various sizes.
Still, remember that ST:TNG is a post-scarcity economy, and those PADDs could be instantly replicated out of cheap energy and raw materials, and recycled back the same way with complete efficiency, so it didn't matter how many were made or whether they break, or lay around unused.
For the nearer-future, I'd prefer to see consumers eventually start demanding that their "primary device" be a durable good designed to serve for years, not a disposable fashion accessory that they replace every season.
Not that I want to hold back progress, or stop people from upgrading, I'd just like to see the fundamental philosophy shift from "This is a disposable device I will replace next year, so who cares if I can't change the battery or repair it, or if it never gets a firmware update" to "I expect this device to serve me for a long time, and I only feel the desire to upgrade or replace it if there is compelling reason to to do so. I'd prefer to keep and maintain this one."
ApK