Two Thumbs Up For Apple's iPad

The Media Device for the Rest of Us
Admittedly, I am a huge Apple fan and have been ever since the first Macintosh rolled off of the assembly line in Fremont California and established the graphical user interface standard for personal computers. At the time Apple's advertising slogan for the new Mac was "The Computer for the Rest of Us." Fast forward about 26 years and we are again at the apex of another revolutionary product from Apple, the iPad.
iPad-My First PC?
The remarkable iPad wins on two fronts. Not only is it a fabulous media playback device for videos and recorded music but it can also bring the Internet, texting, and e-mail to the heretofore computer shy person. Even if you consider yourself an unsophisticated computer user, there are still large numbers of people who can't wrap their mind around a traditional PC with its keyboard, mouse, and graphical user interface. And until the iPad, these people were relegated to continue sitting out the Internet revolution. 

Vertical Markets As Far As the Eye Can See
 
It's hard to imagine how the iPad isn't the new solution for a vast number of vertical applications such as healthcare, sales automation, and shipping receiving to name a few. In many vertical markets the iPad has the potential of being a game changing technology. Even the US military has spent time at Apple headquarters exploring the possibility of using this technology for military applications. Link: US Army leaders visit Apple campus to discuss future mobile devices.

The Beginning of the End of Plastic Discs for Enjoying Music and Video
When I got my hands on the new iPad and promptly loaded it with almost 3000 of my CD audio tracks and a few movies from my iTunes collection, I quickly realized that the CD and DVD will very soon be gone. These plastic discs are already going obsolete. Nothing can compare to calling up your music library (complete with album art) on the iPad and just tapping the album cover to start the music playing. I loved that experience on the iPhone and now it's several times better on the iPad.
Back to the Future
I'm really delighted that Apple is back as a company, as an innovator, and as a cultural force. It wasn't that long ago that Steve Jobs stepped onto the stage of our Apple resellers meeting to introduce us to his new "Think Different" ad campaign. As a "Macintosh faithful" back then I was confident that Apple would rise again someday. I only wish I had held onto the stock. The "computer for the rest of us" turned out to be so sublime.