Tips from the Windows Pros: Finding and Using PDF Documents on the World Wide Web

Perhaps you saw the photograph on the cover of Time magazine a few years ago of Bill Gates in a forest, sitting atop a tree-sized stack of papers while holding a single compact disk in his hand, suggesting that digital information storage could save trees. It can, but it isn’t easy.

The problem with digital documents is that, even with the best available technology, they are still not as easy to read as a paper book. Computer monitors put considerably more strain on your eyes, and even laptop PCs can be too bulky or clumsy to carry with you to a comfortable reading location. Furthermore, current digital storage technologies have a shorter shelf life than paper. Most CDs begin to deteriorate and lose their data after 10 to 20 years, but properly stored paper can last for centuries.