Up until last month, Californians were not charged state tax by such popular online stores as Amazon, but as of Sept. 15, that changed along with some people’s shopping habits.

In a 21st century age of tablets, smartphones, smart cars and digital readers, the world of higher education still insists on using 500-page, printed textbooks for every course, each usually costing a pretty penny. It is time for college textbooks to catch up with the rest of the technology world.

Fifteen out of 20 University of La Verne students surveyed informally said that they buy their textbooks from various online sources – instead of the University of La Verne Bookstore.

Lately I have been contemplating buying a Kindle, the e-reader created by Amazon. But it has its perks and its disadvantages.