Yeah! And don't even get me started on movies that have color and sound! Screw you and the horseless carriage that you rode in on!

Sad, really. Bradbury was once a visionary. Now he's a senile old codger without a handle on the present, much less the future.

Although I can understand not dealing with Yahoo. They can't afford to give him 6 figures for his old works, and there's no way in Hell he'll ever write anything saleable again.

Interesting opinion from a man who wrote his books in the basement of a "University" Library.

Oh - and what about the Universities that published the books that he read at the public libraries.

And Universities that pay for and keep prices low for the books, videos etc. and high profile databases so that Public Libraries can afford them.

And the Public libraries that rely on the internet to provide access to print and online materials . . .

Oh yes, without Universities and the Internet even Public Libraries would not be very good libraries at all.

I'm just interested in what he's trying to do with his hands! Hmmm...

What's kind of ironic (or at least coincidental) is Fahrenheit 451 was about book burnings and why they are wrong, however the same man who understands the importance of maintaining books is basically saying say burn the internet.

I think perhaps he just doesn't understand the significance of what he is saying. But a man who mocks the burning of knowledge and then turns around and advocates it seems a little messed up.

I agree with Ray on the definite need of libraries. The internet is fine as far as current events and some entertainment, but a local library does not require you to buy anything to sit and read both classic masterpieces and current bestsellers.

I grew up with a library being the only means of seeing what was out in the world and can relate to those who do not have access to a computer at home. I know libraries have computers available now, but why reduce books to pixels on a screen when they sit all around you?

Another thing that wasn't mentioned is how easily the internet cherry picks what you see when you go to the major sites. MSN have their own preferred stories, as do AOL and, well, all others.

Until online books become as free as your local library, I can't see closing libraries down as anything but a tragedy. Other countries struggle to have any form of information that can be shared as freely.

One of the last places still worthy of respect is the library where we hold the gift of knowledge at our fingertips.

What a thing of ignorance it is to say that no one will read Bradbury's books anymore if they are not online! His books are readily available at most any book store you go to - if you even bother to step away from the computer and enter a physical place anymore.

This man prefers his art to be displayed on the medium of his choice, paper and ink. You maybe upset because you can't use your e-reader with this, but pick up the book. There is something inherently different and special about reading from a book and not from the lights on your screen.

Same reason you would go to a concert instead of listening to an MP3, or go see a religious relic instead of viewing a picture online, or even go to a museum to look at the art or physically preserved history - it is real, you can touch it, breath it, you can experience it without the disconnected feeling of cyberspace.

I love the internet, but it will never replace life, or life that a physical book has imbued into it.

P.S. Ray Bradbury is a guy that warned in his writing about a disconnected society made possible through technology and the destruction of books - why should we be surprised by this development?

Wow! Ray Bradbury predicted that the Age of Aquarius would follow the Age of Pisces?! Pretty astounding stuff there. I guess that 2,000 years from now, a visionary of the Aquarian Gage will speak out against the division of people as we move from purely a cloud society to a halfway bioware society. shocking development. Simply shocking.

I'm with Mr. Bradbury. A large amount of data online vanishes from the public eye because of bias and attempts at manipulation of the masses.

I've seen countless posts objecting to our president's grab for power suddenly vanish, leaving only the "party line" comments.

Once real books and libraries become digitized, what's to stop anyone from altering them or deleting anything that is "objectionable material"?

Book burning was a tool used to supress information in the past. The future may simply use the "delete" key to accomplish the same thing.

Ray Bradbury has it right.

What you have to understand is that Bradbury is and has been legally blind for many years. He has been here for the computer revolution, but has never taken part in it.

He's never found a need for it and despite having been known for his scifi stories, most of his works still revolve around the characters and have little to do with the advancements in technology over the years.

In a way, that's better for book writing, since no matter what you put down as "advanced technology" can only be read with wonder until the technology becomes real.

I'm sure people once laughed at the depiction of a handheld device on the original Star Trek used to communicate with a ship in orbit.

He may not like the internet, but few creative types like their works reduced to something less than it started with.

Artwork can be viewed with a screen, but it doesn't compare to seeing the actual painting or sculpture. Bradbury held books in his hand and appreciated them as they have always been.

Taking that medium away is understandably a reason for contention.

"Get of my damned lawn, you lousy kids!!!"

Ray Bradbury is 89 years old?
Well, that's better than dead, which is what I assumed he was.

Good for him, though. The Internet needs rattling.
It's become a tool for powerful left to control the ignorant sheeple.

I wasnt able to read the full story (my job blocks many sites), so forgive me if I am not fully informed...
But how did his request from Yahoo become associated with burning books?
Who said that once Yahoo got it online that they would stop printing it??
Its his choice, but he really does sound like an old coot complaining about the new fangled hickity-doo-dads and new fangled ham-frame-steens.