Beth Callaghan

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Touch-Up: Apple’s iPad Improves Multitouch and Gesture Capabilities

Apple’s iPad, announced this morning, will definitely make waves in the e-reader market. Undoubtedly, much of its appeal will lie in its color display and ease of use. Much like other OS X applications, the user interface looks intuitive and appealing–very book-like. As seen on the big overhead screens at the presentation in Yerba Buena Center this morning, pages look as if they are written on paper.

“We use the e-pub format, the most popular open-book format in the world,” said Steve Jobs. “We think iPad is going to be a very popular e-reader not just for bestsellers, but for textbooks as well.”

Technology developed for the iPad’s e-reader application has already benefited other Apple programs. A new version of iWork, for example, was developed specifically for the iPad. Keynote, Pages and Numbers have all been optimized for multitouch. Numbers, in particular, has been souped-up; it now boasts a data-entry keyboard along with some 250 built-in functions. The software’s gesture capabilities put Excel to shame.

Apple is going to charge $9.99 for each program, and all three are compatible with their Mac versions.

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Just as the atom bomb was the weapon that was supposed to render war obsolete, the Internet seems like capitalism’s ultimate feat of self-destructive genius, an economic doomsday device rendering it impossible for anyone to ever make a profit off anything again. It’s especially hopeless for those whose work is easily digitized and accessed free of charge.

— Author Tim Kreider on not getting paid for one’s work