Electronic textbooks are rubbish compared to paper textbooks. They win only on weight and ease of copying (they should win on price, but the electronic version is often more expensive than the paper version). I have many of my textbooks in both electronic and paper format and the electronic version is what I use when I'm away from my paper, as the "better than nothing" backup.

The usability of a paper textbook is far superior. Easier to add my own notes to (notes which, I might add, I can be sure will be there the next time I read it, and the next, and forever), easier to write and draw on, easier to add my own coloured sticky tabs, easier to have five or six open at once, easier to literally put my fingers in it and flick back and forth to compare, and a fixed format that I know will be usable five, ten, and fifty years from now. Also more pleasant to read (except for those grey market overseas editions which sometimes are not well printed and on bad paper, but at one-tenth the price it's a fair trade-off!).

I'd always go for the noisy flying machine of questionable safety myself. It sounds more fun and any accidents might just filter out some of the less quick-witted on campus, or at least those who fail to watch the skies. This is probably why I don't get to run a university.

I guess they view these as two separate problems: as long as we are using physical textbooks, their solution makes sense.

As for safety, I think it's good for pioneers to go ahead while making their best efforts in safety (they discuss safety in the article). Either the government bans them immediately, or they wait until things get bigger before introducing regulation. If everyone waited until the full set of safety regulations was in place, nothing would get done.

I wouldn't be surprised if the textbook was more of a proof of concept or maybe a stunt.

Australia is a big place, and it may cost less for a "pony express" to run predator drones across the country instead of trucks.

Yeah, not sure about the choice of products but I've no doubt this is going to be a very normal way to receive goods in the future.