As regular readers of this sometimes neglected blog know, I'm a gadget guy. The newer the gadget, the more I want it. And for my gadget habit, Apple is often my dealer of choice: not only do they make some primo gizmos, but they do it with such style, such aplomb, it's hard to imagine any resistance. So, it's with some shock that I find myself strangely immune to today's launch of the latest Apple world-changer, the iPad . I can honestly say I simply don't get this one. For those that somehow have managed to avoid the hype machine, the iPad is pretty much a huge iPod Touch, about the size of a hardcover book and Apple-svelte. It's not a laptop, nor a game machine: it's a brand new category of...what? See, this is my issue: I don't understand what problem the iPad is trying to solve. The iPod solved the UI and synchronization issues that held MP3's from going mainstream. The iPhone made your phone a one-stop device, and finally launched smartphones fr
A Tretakoff view of the world.