Why Xerox's Erasable Paper Isn't On the Market (Yet) - BusinessWeek

read at BusinessWeek:
So it looks like Business Week is asking the same question I've been asking for about 2 weeks.

"Hoover told me that there have been internal debates--polite of course--on when to release the product, which looks and feels like regular paper but darkens when exposed to light, similar to eyeglass lenses that adjust with sunlight and shadows. Text and images temporarily appear on the paper, via a projected light source in the shapes of letters and forms. Then they fade over time (Xerox has said between 16-24 hours), and the paper can be re-used again."

Ok, so the erasable paper might eat into the supplies market. That is a real problem. But I'm sure that if the right people get in the room that can be figured out. Are we looking at another mouse, postscript or e paper?

The new rules, in my humble opinion, are not copyright protection. Internet rules are speed to market with a good enough product. Someone in India or China or Finland is already working on the competitive product. ( I bet, but don't know for sure.) It will be not as good. But it will be good enough and first to the party. Think BetaMax and VHS.

At least since 2006 or so, Xerox has heralded its invention of “erasable” paper, but it hasn’t yet hit the market. And the company hasn’t said when it will.
. . .
Why was there debate over when to release the eco-friendly paper, which has gotten a ton of buzz? The company is still working with its clients to assess their needs not only in terms of the paper itself, but also its pricing. Will offices and consumers alike pay more for paper that they can re-use, rather than much cheaper paper that they can simply stick in the recycling bin? This is the type of question that Xerox sales reps and marketing types are asking them before releasing it.
. . .
Hoover told me that Xerox just hired a market research firm to help conduct in-person focus groups, which the company still finds helpful even in the age of online crowdsourcing for customer opinions. Still, he said that Xerox is also paying attention to Web comments on its erasable paper project.

This is "Web comments on its erasable paper project."
Here's my comment: 2006? It's 2009. Google went from zero to now in ten years. C'mon team.