Via the excellent On Purpose comes word that the OED is going to be an Internet based dictionary after its third printing:

Biggest development? The third edition of the 20-volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary will also be its last! After publication of “the first comprehensive and up-to-date edition of the OED in one alphabetical sequence since the original edition of 1928?, the OED will (figuratively) close all 20 of its covers and move on to a bigger and brighter future as an internet-only text.

A few years ago I linked to a Susan Sontag interview in The Atlantic Monthly where she praised the idea of having the OED on a CD (which is funny considering she bashed electronic literature in a speech before her death). The CD is quickly becoming an archaic, out of date, method for distribution. I am glad the OED realizes this and has begun the transition to publishing on the Internet only. The more accessible it becomes, the better. I only wish a subscription came without such a steep price.