Douglas Adams was a prophet!
In 1978 he introduced to the world,
the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
It was a fictional electronic guide book that was the repository for all knowledge and wisdom of the galactic civilization.
The Guide is described as resembling a small, thin, flexible laptop computer encased in a sturdy plastic cover with the words inscribed on it in large, friendly letters.
"Don't Panic"
Today we have the launch of the Apple iPad
British actor and friend of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry, remarked.
One melancholy thought occurs as my fingers glide and flow over the surface of this astonishing object: Douglas Adams is not alive to see the closest thing to his Hitchhiker's Guide that humankind has yet devised.
http://topics.npr.org/...
Stephen Fry gets his iPad.
And there it is, the Guide come to real-life. That's the hardware and the content would be the Internet and, of course, Google and Wikipedia.
So, I guess since Douglas Adams was right about this, the answer to life, the universe and everything is indeed 42 and never leave home without a towel.