Let's flip the debate on its head.

Imagine an entirely computerised world where paper has not yet been invented. One day a bright lad stumbled on a stunning new invention, creating, from a piece of wood, something he calls paper. It is soft but very durable, and can be recycled easily and used to print cheaply in unlimited quantity. He tells a few mates, who initially laugh at him.

Then he offers them a copy of the Mirror in paper form.

"Hey this is good," they cry. No phones, no wires, no batteries, no dodgy screens, no slow systems. You don't need a £1000 machine to access it, and it only costs 32p. You can tear bits out, screw it into a ball, pass sections to others, even have your fish and chips out of it.

"I tell you what," one says, "this will really catch on. Computers will be dead in five years."

- Piers Morgan, editor of the Mirror (London, UK), 6 Dec 99, Manchester Guardian transcript