America, Fuck Ya

Americans have recently been questioning themselves deeply on subjects like imperialism, religion, taxation, and prohibition.

All the while, oil is gushing, but in all the wrong places.  Perhaps it’s addictive, or something (don’t look at me, smarts the likes of a world leader are needed to figure these things out).

At the same time of the iPad’s “revolutionary” and “magic” release, the country is “holding fort” in a couple of large overseas military operations which seemingly have goals of global historical consequence.

The dirty secret of international relations is that people will learn to deal with other people as long as they can prevent themselves from wanting to kill and control them.  Violence begets violence, there’s no arguing that.  Even our supremely intelligent “war presidents” must realize it.

The whole organism of Earth is now dealing with tragic earthquakes, an impressive, protracted volcano event, unusual solar patterns, and, well I don’t have to say –

– the iPad launch.

Putting aside the impact (no pun intended) of the dramatic suicides at the factory-town churning-out the product in state-controlled China, the iPad launch probably won’t be recorded in history as a globe-changing event.

Some important questions still must be asked:  Will this new gadget come to represent America?  Will the phrase “we don’t need it, but we want it” become a nation’s mantra?

Today in the developed world most of us don’t need for much of anything, really.  Food, a job, and good health are almost a guarantee to Canadian residents.  All we ask is you try to contribute in some helpful way, and get neck-deep in debt.

Don’t worry, our leaders do it all the time on our behalf, so it must be fine.

Although based on the iPhone OS, the iPad really is a new computing platform.

Home computers weren’t “needed” in 1981 to 1985 either, though as years pass these dates this becomes increasingly difficult to argue.

Many people are employed today because they “played” with the home computer(s) back in the 80s.  If the iPad can provide a new “a-ha” computing moment for some, as well as an innovative tech experience for the jaded computer veterans, then it seems it shouldn’t be called a bad thing for society, after all.

Image: Dolphin being taught to respond using an iPad

So the iPad is good, but it is far from perfect.  The closed system design and reliance on iTunes basically says “fuck off” to computing in the purest sense.  The fact that every computing device doesn’t have its own software development system — a built-in BASIC language for instance — well, perhaps this expresses our missed potential as a thinking, learning society.

The iPad really is for consuming.  Not creating.  There’s no escaping that.

Open systems are coming soon.  The WebOS system under HP will likely flourish (at least for a while) and Android-based tablets of the future completely open the door for casual development.

No matter how you look at it, the tablet PC truly presents a (nearly) complete computing platform as a “consuming appliance” and there’s really nothing wrong with that.

There’s already plenty of shit out there.

Introducing technology that removes technology from the internet, rendering it into what it is — the instantly searchable global human knowledge library — can’t be bad for anyone.

Or anything.

Elderly and dolphins rejoice, your input device is now under 500 bucks, and can be waterproofed.