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Email has been around (in some form) since 1965. However, I think it's a bit too early to say that we're living in a "post-mail era". Will such a thing every

by j_baker 15y ago

Email has been around (in some form) since 1965. However, I think it's a bit too early to say that we're living in a "post-mail era". Will such a thing every truly happen? I don't see that happening until we invent teleporters for all the physical items we need shipped. By that same token, are we truly in a post-PC era, or is it simply an era where tablet use is on the rise and PC use is on the fall? Nifty charts and screen resolutions aside, I don't see any evidence that we're past the age of the PC. My parents still haven't replaced their computer with an iPad. Neither have any of my old friends from school. I use my tablet for more and more, but I just still can't avoid using my laptop for certain things. And I most certainly don't have a tablet or phone hooked up to my television. And how many offices have you seen where all the PCs have been replaced by mobile devices? In short, while I see things moving more towards tablets and mobile devices, I'll be convinced that we're in a post-PC era when I see it. Until then, it's all arbitrary speculation.

stcredzero 15y ago
However, I think it's a bit too early to say that we're living in a "post-mail era". Will such a thing every truly happen? I don't see that happening until we invent teleporters for all the physical items we need shipped. Well, we are definitely past the start of the post document-mail era. As for the rest, it's just a matter of implementation: is the advanced fabrication tech in your living room, across town, or across the ocean? So long as you get your product in a timely fashion, what's the difference? (Answer: manufacturing and supply-chain costs and how these impact profits and the consumer.)
- j_baker 15y ago
  True, fewer and fewer documents get mailed. But I think it's still a bit early to say that we're in a post-mailed-document era. I still get documents mailed to me every day! There are still some uses of physical mail that haven't been replaced by email.
  - stcredzero 15y ago
    There are still some uses of physical mail that haven't been replaced by email. Yes, but it's clearly just a matter of time. There's no infrastructure or technology we need to wait on. There's no document transmission function that email couldn't fulfill for more than 90% of the populace, no barriers to that becoming a norm. Cars didn't cause 100% abandonment of horses instantaneously. Before the development of the largest trucks and most capable offroad vehicles, there were certain uses only draft animals could fulfill for quite awhile. Still I think the post horse-carriage era did begin with the first commercially sold cars.

by j_baker 15y ago

stcredzero 15y ago

However, I think it's a bit too early to say that we're living in a "post-mail era". Will such a thing every truly happen? I don't see that happening until we invent teleporters for all the physical items we need shipped. Well, we are definitely past the start of the post document-mail era. As for the rest, it's just a matter of implementation: is the advanced fabrication tech in your living room, across town, or across the ocean? So long as you get your product in a timely fashion, what's the difference? (Answer: manufacturing and supply-chain costs and how these impact profits and the consumer.)

j_baker 15y ago
True, fewer and fewer documents get mailed. But I think it's still a bit early to say that we're in a post-mailed-document era. I still get documents mailed to me every day! There are still some uses of physical mail that haven't been replaced by email.
- stcredzero 15y ago
  There are still some uses of physical mail that haven't been replaced by email. Yes, but it's clearly just a matter of time. There's no infrastructure or technology we need to wait on. There's no document transmission function that email couldn't fulfill for more than 90% of the populace, no barriers to that becoming a norm. Cars didn't cause 100% abandonment of horses instantaneously. Before the development of the largest trucks and most capable offroad vehicles, there were certain uses only draft animals could fulfill for quite awhile. Still I think the post horse-carriage era did begin with the first commercially sold cars.