What an ironic thing: both Steve Jobs and President Obama will be giving major addresses this Wednesday. How much do you want to bet that Jobs' speech is the one we'll all be talking about the following day?
I am preparing myself to be disappointed with the Apple Tablet (which I really hope they do not call the "iPad.") It's a way for me to better measure what it will actually do, rather than living up to unrealistic expectations. Of course, I will have to steer myself clear and wide of the Apple-haters who undoubtedly can't wait to dimiss it, call it a toy or say, "I told you so! It's nothing!"
But for me, I will allow myself to hope that its potential exceeds that of what I wanted for my Kindle. I am not looking to replace physical books, but I would love to replace magazine stacks. But most importantly, I want to be able to order magazines and newspapers in foreign languages. I can do that to some extent with my Kindle, and sure, I can merely surf the Web to any foreign language site I want (which the Apple Tablet will be able to do not only with its presumed browser but also apps) but the idea of truly available content isn't being realized.
What is stopping me from ordering Spanish-language books rather than waiting for the English translation? How about a roster of Mexican musical artists that only has a limited scope on iTunes right now? If globalization really means anything, then why are we waiting months for "El Pais" to make it to the Kindle, or relying on a well-done but truncated iPhone app to access everything?
The lines are starting to blur now, thanks to iPhone apps. I have El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde, La Repubblica and other newspapers that I don't need to subscribe to (unfortunately, wait for that to change). But these feel like baby steps to real content. I am hoping that the Apple Tablet will push beyond what the Kindle has to offer and even the iPhone. Yeah, it may all be on the Web, but why not download foreign language movies without resorting to BitTorrent (which I refuse to do?) Why not access to the French version of Hulu? Okay, I know it's all about the licensing and power arrangements with "content providers," but it's still all being stifled right now. And I'm hoping that the Apple Tablet will be able to make all that a reality.
Otherwise, I'm fairly indifferent to what Steve Jobs and his company do.
