The New Yorker: Online Only

In Silicon Valley, people talk about how the Internet allows companies to stay in intimate contact with their suppliers: keeping inventories low and information flowing. But wait a minute—that's just-in-time manufacturing, which was pioneered by Toyota back in the nineteen-seventies. The Internet boosters will also tell you that it allows for seamless connections between retailers and consumers: one click and you've bought a book on Amazon. I went along with this idea for a long time, and I bought my airline tickets on Expedia.com. But recently I conducted a test, to figure out how calling my travel agent, or the airline directly, compared time-wise to online buying. It's about the same, and my travel agent often has better information on fares.