Just FYI, here's a set of links to many aspects of media theory and how texts change in different media. Just stumbled onto it!

Checking this later, I find that a lot of links are broken. The Michael Joyce article is there, however: very dense, almost telegraphic, but interesting, as usual.

http://palinurus.english.ucsb.edu/BIBLIO-it-and-academy+historical.html

Monday in class, thisismycheese and I were looking at a passage on 57 & 58 in McLuhan where he talked about being "able to store and to translate everything; and as for speed, that is no problem. No further acceleration is possible this side of the light barrier." He also talks about automation and "putting our physical bodies inside our extended nervous systems." We spent a lot of time puzzling over what technology/ies was he trying to warn everyone about in 1964. We though perhaps early computers, or robots on assembly lines.

This isn't necessarily an answer, but this article in PC World provides an interesting history on a technology that is so commonplace to us a mere 50 years down the road. Might not be new news to everyone, but the evolution of the technology is kinda fascinating.

Two stories briefly managed in class:

Apple sues Bloggers
Long Tail Economics and Scoble's take on it (you know, Scoble)

Also, don't forget to check out odeo.