If you have been watching late night news in the past few days, you no doubt will have encountered some type of coverage of Apple’s latest device, the iPad. Naming problems aside (I am reminded here of Mad TV’s skit involving an iRaq, a shelf, and an iRan, a shoe) the question is will this sleek looking apple technology out compete existing technologies, and will it revolutionize the way consumers read and digest written information?
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Additionally, while the web has always promised to have a positive environmental affect, web and information technologies have not necessarily replaced humanity’s reliance on hard copy, but rather, added to its use through increased access to printing and the necessity of duplicating hardcopy with e-copy. Environmental rant aside (and we have not yet touched on resource extraction in creating such a devise), time will tell if the iPad does to reading and publishing what the iPod has done to listening and the music industry. And for those interested in publishing, will it provide an efficient iTunes like network for small, independent and self publishers?
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Time will certainly tell. Critiques aside, these are exciting times. And for those of you around long enough to have seen original episodes of Star Trek on air, the future is here.
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