I think yes, much greater, much worldwide and immediate. I think we can't even consider the endless benefits it already brings and will bring. It's like a youth dream coming true: worldwide knowledge at hand. I'm old enough to have know the time in France when it was necessary 3 copies of an hand-written and hand-signed forms and 2 weeks waiting just to consult a one-page document in any library.
No but it is certainly on a par. The invention of the Gutenberg press was the first act of liberation spreading ideas and education.
That’s like asking if we prefer pens or pencils. Both are equally great.
Without Printing (Guttenberg's invention) there would be no Internet
Let me remind you something. What books printed this Luther's friend? Only Bible. It was for sure a great religious improvement, as far Catholics prohibited people to read the Holy text by themselves. Some priest had to read them. But was it a cultural improvement? Chinese knew printing since the 6th C and Guttenberg never wanted to print anything else than Holy text. Much more owes Humanity to Aldus Manutius the Elder, from Venice, the real true inventor of edition and editorial committee, that gave a new birth to antique texts, such as Aristotle's Politikos (1496), with the help of his friend employee, Erasmus of Rotterdam. Both invented the "Parallel Bible", with parallelous greek and latin versions, that allowed a deeper understanding of the text. Aldus Manutius the Elder invented too the pocket book, because he wanted each one to be a "brave little soldier to fight ignorance". He changes the way of thinking and imagining in Europe, nowadays almost forgotten in Europe but not in united States. Nevertheless, we daily use some of his inventions, the Italic character or the pocket book already mentioned and much more. His work can be compared to Internet. As a matter of a fact, his nephew, Antonio Manutius, was the first author in the world to use in a book the arobase sign in the sense we give it today @=at.
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