Head Tale

Shea's jealous that I got to play around with this as she wants an iPad more than I do.  In reality, I've got mixed feelings about the device.  I love my iPhone and though it's not perfect a perfect analogy, the “a bigger iPhone” analogy makes sense in many ways.  But I also see many of the issues raised by folks like Cory Doctorow and others. 

I think the secret of allaying my reservations is telling myself that I'm not buying a computer, I'm buying a toaster.  It's just another appliance – only it's one that happens to go online and let you check e-mail and play games and stuff like that.   If that means there are two types of computers in the future – mom and grandma-friendly iPads and the usual hacker/creator friendly laptops/desktops – so be it.
 
The “iPad as appliance” idea is definitely how many people are viewing this transition  – although the iPad is an appliance that's changing people's lives in a way no toaster ever will. 

(Thanks to Julie M. for trusting me not to drop her new gizmo and also for the tip about that last story I linked to.)