I was at Barns & Noble today.  I wanted to buy Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed.  But I couldn't, I couldn't justify buying a 50 dollar book that is already out of date.  I suppose I am some what spoiled with my whole library access to Safari Tech Books Online.  But there is so much more power in this format, its highly portable, simple to copy a code snippet.  It just like a book except its stuck on the screen.  Which means for ever in the office or listening to the hum of my laptop.  But still a much better cost proposition then buying a printed book.  Its more like a lease and in the Tech book market with the rapid pace of change, a lease is so much more compelling.  So while prose may not be dead printed Tech books will soon become a thing of the past a  relic of college life.  In our future books will be defined as

published work: a published work of literature, science, or reference, or a work intended for publication(encarta.com)

No more paper.