Open Content
Written by Michael Ridley

The feeding frenzy over Apple’s new iPad has become almost unbearable. While it won’t be available in Canada until later this month, it hit the streets in the U.S. this week and the media is saturated with chatter about it.
The reviews have been mostly positive. And surprisingly positive from some of the usually jaded tech writers. However, this isn’t really a review. I have never used an iPad. Like you, I’ve just read about it and watched the videos. But there is something about it that intrigues me.
First, true confessions: I am a bit of an Apple fanboy. And I am seriously distracted by bright, shiny objects. I am very excited about the iPad. However, that’s not what I want to talk about. This isn’t a review about the iPad; it’s a review about what the iPad means.
The extraordinary hype around the iPad started long before we knew anything about it. We wanted it to be something to change our world, our lives. So what’s that all about? What needed changing so badly?
Whether the luddites like it or not, advanced and emerging technologies tend to make things better. PC. Internet. iPod. The wheel. Fire. For some, the iPad will determine their future: wild success or serious crash and burn.
Think newspapers. Print newspapers are gasping for air everywhere. Readership has tanked and the free versions on the web (while popular) are not bringing in the revenue. Are newspapers dead? Definitely. Well, sort of. Maybe. No.
The publishing industry is hoping that the iPad will monetize digital newspapers (and magazines, and books) in the same way that iTunes and the iPod did for music. The popularity of the Kindle, despite its limitations, suggests they are on to something. So the iPad is really the payPad for publishers. Their future existence is tied very tightly to its success. This is probably a good thing. I’m by no means a fan of Rupert Murdoch and the mega publishing empires, but we do need a means to fairly compensate writers, editors, and other creators.
What is the iPad? A laptop, a netbook, or just 4 iPod Touch duct taped together? Hence the chatter about this device as a “new category.” Neither fish nor fowl; something we will buy in addition to other devices. For the marketing types, introducing a “new category” makes their hearts beat faster. For us? Meh.
However, there is something just plain different about it that makes you think we are going into new territory. Doug Horne, one of the UG librarians, noted in his blog recently that the iPad was likely the first computer his mother would buy. It will happily sit in her kitchen and get used all the time. It may be the first real “information appliance.” Oven. Toaster. Fridge. iPad.
It’s also an appliance in the sense that this is a device to encourage consumption, not a tool to further creation. The touch interface and the lack of other stuff makes it more amendable to the consumer experience. Too bad. Maybe future versions and enhancements will change that. For now, getting an iPad means viewing, reading, listening … not so much creating and contributing.

In a meager attempt to deflect attention away from Apple, Microsoft leaked pictures of its Courier device recently. This is a dual screen computer that folds together into a paperback book sized object. Quite fascinating. Already it’s being dubbed the “iPad killer.” Perhaps. Bring it on. We need diversity in marketplace as much as we need standards around the digital objects we use.
The hype meter is on extreme at the moment. This too will pass. We are always so eager to see in new tools some sort of salvation or redemption from our current condition. The device will set us free. And sometimes it has. In the case of the iPad, it’s carrying the hopes and dreams of many of the digitally challenged industries. It’s a bridge to the future for them. And it has arrived just in time.
And, yes, I’m going to pre-order one for myself online. Can’t wait.

Michael Ridley is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Librarian at the University of Guelph. Contact him at mridley@uoguelph.ca or www.uoguelph.ca/cio.

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