Information is available at a minimal cost. Since microcomputers are used in so many other personal, professional, business, and entertainment applications, they are already available for information retrieval. The information provider does not incur any printing costs. Color images can be integrated into publications at no additional cost, and the quality of the information in many cases is much higher as a result. The ability to use color is an especially important consideration in horticultural applications.
Information is widely available.
It is available throughout the world to anyone who can connect to the Internet via modem or Ethernet connection. The interactive features of Web browsers provide an exceptional benefit to their use in contrast to the file transfer, text transfer, and electronic mail utilities typically associated with the Internet. HTML documents can have forms embedded into them so that the client is prompted to type information into special active areas, or forms, on his or her computer. When information is typed into these forms, they are transmitted via the Web to the serving computer. This feature is largely responsible for a rapidly increasing application of the Web, that is the buying and selling of products directly from one's computer.