You've probably noticed the amount of free press Apple got this week. I'm certainly no Apple fanboy, but I am a gadget lover. However, if I can't easily blog on their shiny new tech toy, and I can't play the Sims, and I can't carry the jumbo thing in my purse, and if I can buy a netbook for cheaper, and I can multitask but the iPad cannot, then please tell me what's the point? Other than to look hip? Maybe I'm not cool enough to appreciate this thing? Maybe everybody else is feigning enthusiasm?
One of my brothers was over for a visit today, and he wasn't understanding the hype either. My parents reminded us -- in one of those stories that starts out "back when I was a kid..." -- that they weren't allowed to use ballpoint pens in school. The "tech" was considered unreliable and prone to skipping. I'm sure they thought fountain pens were here to stay.
My brother and I, of course, laughed at the old people. But then my brother asked me when was the last time I had even seen a television ad for a ballpoint pen. I had to think and think. I finally came up with the kind of funny Pilot Pen baby commercial from just a few years ago. But certainly, you don't see pen commercials like you did in the 70's and 80's. Here's a good one from the 1950's:
(YouTube video)
They certainly presented it as a finely crafted instrument, but I wonder if anybody lined up overnight to buy one?
Oh, and if anybody would like to buy me an iPad, please disregard my criticisms, and put it in the mail. There's always a chance I can be converted.
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