Riding the wave of the future Published Dec. 15, 2006 By Senior Airman Tim Beckham 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- It wasn't long ago when computers were considered foreign. Many people probably remember the first one they purchased. Now many households have two or even three computers. Can you even imagine how you would live without a computer? How would you make travel arrangements, buy gifts for people or find out what's going on in the world? The bottom line is people want their information immediately. Why write a letter to someone when you can simply e-mail them, why call a hotel when you can make reservations online, why read the newspaper when you can go to millions of sites where the news is posted instantly? Whether you are old fashioned or a member of generation X, one thing is for sure, the Internet is here to stay. With that said, the 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs office has decided to jump on the information super highway, placing your stories and your news a fingertip away. This is good news for you. The Incirlik Insider tabloid-sized bilingual newspaper was first published in January of 1957. The paper transitioned to the Incirlik News newsletter in 1972, before becoming the Looking Glass, a magazine format, in 1974. It was renamed the Tip of the Sword in 1991. The 12-page magazine, which expanded to 16 pages in March 2006, cost $3,040 to print each month and public affairs Airmen spent about 30 man-hours laying out and designing the magazine. After looking inside the first issue, I found that we are providing much of the same information as we did back then. Award stories, news briefs, base happenings and even Ask Mehmet were there. So what does the man who has been here through it all think of the change from hard-copy newspaper to online news? "The Tip of the Sword served it's purpose of getting news out to the base members," said Mehmet Birbiri, 39th Air Base Wing host nation advisor. "Now the news will be current and available to anyone around the world. Besides people can still 'Ask Mehmet' questions online by going to Incirlik Now and clicking on my picture." The Tip of the Sword is getting a facelift and will now be Incirlik Now and a four-page newsletter with the base essentials called the Incirlik Express. Incirlik Express will cost $760 a month and take about 10 man-hours a week to lay out and design. This change will allow users the opportunity to get information as soon as it happens, streamlining the way people get their news. The last Tip of the Sword issue may not fetch a pretty penny on E-Bay, but it has served the community well and for that we thank you!