Yesterday, in his “New York Times” article, “The Apple iPad: First Impressions,” tech writer David Pogue gave us some food for thought about how Apple’s iPad might indeed find a useful place between laptops and smart phones. However, more than anything, Pogue took the opportunity to warn us about snapping to judgement about new technology — whether we are celebrating it or castigating it.
Pogue softly rebukes iPad “bashing by the bloggers who’ve never even tried it,” writing:
“My main message to fanboys is this: it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Apple hasn’t given the thing to any reviewers yet, there are no iPad-only apps yet (there will be), the e-bookstore hasn’t gone online yet, and so on. So hyperventilating is not yet the appropriate reaction.”
Pogue wraps up his thoughts on the iPad with a message that seems important to those of us wrapped up in the world of constant advances in photographic technology:
“Like the iPhone, the iPad is really a vessel, a tool, a 1.5-pound sack of potential. It may become many things. It may change an industry or two, or it may not. It may introduce a new category — something between phone and laptop — or it may not. And anyone who claims to know what will happen will wind up looking like a fool.”
“A vessel.” A “sack of potential.” I love these phrases — especially the “sack of potential.” It relates to every new photographic imaging purchase I have made since I started doing so with gusto in high school. (The Nikon F3 was my drooling dream for years.) Continue reading “Photographic Technology is a Sack of Potential”