I chose a commentary blog post from an author who wrote a book that discusses the "Memex" as a universal library scheme, titled "Libraries and the Enlightenment." He describes the "Memex" as a precursor to the personal computer or a way for all information to be accessible for humans. I completely agree because the "Memex" is simply defined as plans for a machine that functions similar to a computer. Vannever Bush came up with the idea of the internet fifty years before it was even created. I believe in 1945 Bush hoped that information could be accessible to all those who went out and looked for it.
The writer of the commentary blog advocates less restrictions on information. He predicts that eventually even the economic and legal barriers to scholarly information will cease to exist. I believe it is an admirable prediction to hope for, although I believe copy-right laws are in place for companies to make a profit and people will always need to make a profit. Therefore, I don't agree with the prediction of unrestricted access to scholarly information. However, I do believe information seekers outside academia should be allowed to obtain any information desired. In conclusion, I do not believe a middle ground between commercial publishers and universal access to scholarly information will occur like the "Memex" and commentary blogger believe is possible.
I like how you found an article that discusses unrestricted access to information, it really ties into the discussion of copyright laws last week. I agree that because of copyright laws, unrestricted access is an unlikely concept, yet I do believe there may be a middle ground. With the amount of information people illegally download. More information may be unrestricted in the future than it is today.
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