Google Isn't Everything

Digital Tools
Google Isn't Everything
Stephen Manes, 08.15.05, 12:00 AM ET


"In the mood for beach reading, an audiobook, homework help or stock research? Your public library offers them free via the Net right now."

"In the age of Google, when we wonder about stuff we want instant answers. I happened to wonder about the first recorded use of the term "personal computer," so I Googled around and ended up at Wikipedia, the hit-or-miss user-developed encyclopedia, whose "personal computer" entry declared authoritatively that "The earliest known use of the term was in New Scientist magazine in 1964, in a series of articles called ‘The World in 1984.'"

"I still don't know the answer to my question, but I do know--no thanks to Google--that Wikipedia got it wrong. That's because I found an earlier citation with the help of an even older purveyor of information: my public library. And I didn't have to move an inch to do it."


Rest of the Forbes.com Magazine Article...