Steven Levy

Steven Levy, who wrote "Insanely Great", one of the best books about the Macintosh, said:
"Back in 1975, Ed Roberts's Altair cost $397, only a bit less than the iPad does today. But it had no screen, no web, no apps and you had to assemble it yourself. We've come a long way since then. And as of Saturday, we're a little way further."

I just had to quote this to mess with reader TTL, who is very tired of me making historical comparisons like that. "Yeah, so it gets a bit faster and at bit cheaper every year, so what, get used to it!" I'm trying, but it's hard.

And further: those people who are getting sick of hearing about the f***ing iPad have better skip this blog for a while, because I'm totally obsessed with it. This is an event I have been waiting for, for fifteen years. Perhaps most people view it as just another new gadget of little consequence, but I am not alone in seeing it as an important milestone in the history and development of publishing, education, and global communication. (Apple is not the huge hero here, admittedly; like the MP3-player this was a thing that was happening anyway, they just stepped in and took the limelight by doing something with more panache.)