Most of the world entered the information some decades ago. The greatest leap forward has been the advent of the internet. I need not elaborate on how quickly one can get information on almost any topic at their workstation via the internet.
Sadly, the world of standards is stuck in the 1950's. Months or years go by to get consensus on new versions. Those who need them most must place "orders" for precious hard copies of new standards at exhorbitant prices. I can see why commercial books will always cost something, as they represent creative intellectual property that are made available by the the author/ publisher for profit. However, why would international standards bodies, which are not for profit, make it so difficult and expensive to acquire documents that make products safer for everyone? Imagine a world where...... - Every user of standards had a PC workstation - There was a world-wide internet to distribute information - International standards bodies maintained a website of standards - All standards contained hyper-links to related standards - Subscription to access these standards was free - Or, each subscriber (manufacturer) paid a modest fee per year for access Well, we are part way there...... George Alspaugh Lexmark International Inc. --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
