Hello Ipad, Goodbye Gutenberg

Almost everyone still knows these days that Johannes Gutenberg is the person credited with first using movable type, thus creating the first technological revolution in printing (and putting some Irish monks out of the business of copying). And while movable type is no longer used in the printing process today, mechanical printing presses are still the primary means of obtaining written material (books and newspapers) in the world today. 


Those days may finally be numbered however, with the introduction of Ipad. For those of you who have been living in a cave in the wilderness for the last couple of weeks, Ipad is the latest in a string of technology innovations from Cupertino, CA based Apple. Ipad is certainly not the first electronic reading device. We already have a Sony version, the Barnes and Noble 'nook', and of course the Amazon 'Kindle' to name just a few. In addition, we have the ability today to download written material to computers and cell phones. Apple however, looks to take this to the next level. 


Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple have taken this unit beyond being a simple reading device and turned it into a communication device. They bring to the table a size, ease of operation and wireless ability that may finally put the printed page into the realm of the dodo bird. In addition, the device is certainly capable of taking the place of the Ipod for music downloads, and with high resolution and wireless capabilities could easily someday fulfill the functions of the current generation of web-surfing phones as well. Purchasing books for this unit will continue to be easy enough (and much less expensive), and the Ipad should also be able to easily download a daily newspaper. 


Its 8-1/2 x 11" size should make it even easier to read for commuters than the traditional tabloid and broadsheet products, and it will likewise be easier than the Berliner format (a much smaller broadsheet size) that the newspaper industry has been investing in for the last couple of years. 


For those of us whose careers have been tied to the printed page, it appears that the predictions of our imminent demise are finally beginning to come true. As time goes on and costs go down (something that always happens in technology), it appears likely that paper and ink have finally met their match. And while the printing press will certainly not disappear overnight, the increasing pace of the march of technology is certainly beginning to tell us that we must finally say "hello to Ipad, and goodbye to Mr Gutenberg".