Electronic Paper (Terra Futura)

Electronic paper was a display technology that mimiced the appearance of ordinary paper. Like ordinary paper, electronic paper could reflect light making it easier to read. Electronic paper also had a wider viewing angle than conventional displays. Electronic paper would make ordinary paper obsolete.

Background
Paper was one of the numerous innovations that came out of China during the Han dynasty. Early papermaking processes were cumbersome, but in the 2nd century AD, a court eunuch named Cai Lun improved and standardized the papermaking process to what we know today. By the 3rd century AD, paper was the most common written medium in China. By the 7th century, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were using paper. In 751, following the Battle of Talas River, paper spread to the Abbasid Caliphate of the Muslims. It was through them that paper arrived in Europe during the Crusades. Paper became the main writing medium for the majority of civilizations in the Old World. It resulted in the Scholastic Age and, later, the Renaissance. In 1453, Johannes Gutenberg invented his printing press. Books became far cheaper, and the Roman Catholic Church could no longer control the spread of ideas. This led to the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and, later, the Enlightenment. In the 19th century, steam-driven papermaking machines made paper even cheaper. Printing also became industrialized. This made books even more available. The advent of computer printing made books much more in the 20th century. It was thought that the invention of computers would lead to a paperless office. However, that would not happen until electronic paper became commonplace.

Description
Tech Level: 10

Organic Light Emitting Diodes are like ordinary LEDs with a twist. They are based on organic compounds in a polymer. Displays that used these OLEDs were flexible. This allowed for wall screens that could be put onto a wall like wallpaper, thus making teleconferencing easier. Electronic paper technology merged the laptop, the tablet, and the cell phone into one device that was flexible enough to change into either. With this, the desktop computer became completely obsolete. PC screens even became transparent. They were built into windows which if you waved your arm could turn into any image you desire to see. This, of course, required sensors that either detected electrical signals or tapped directly to the brain. Later on, flexible electronic paper would replaced with implantable brain-computer interfaces.