iThink iCan Resist the iPad

Just in case you've been stationed in Siberia, with access to nothing but the books in your backpack, Apple has invented this thing called the iPad. And it will be released in Apple Stores tomorrow, April 3, 2010.

Thus you will see scenes of people camping out in line as though they were buying Led Zeppelin tickets in 1977. Or Cubs World Series tickets in, um, I guess 1908.

But despite having read the Newsweek cover story about how the iPad will change everything I do (use computers, read books, watch TV, etc.), I think I'll be sleeping in tomorrow as the hordes gobble up the first batch. And while I may one day find some reason to acquire one--and the $500 needed to do so--at this point, I'm not really all that excited.

While I very much enjoy newfangled technology and what it has brought to my life, I have also found that the hype can turn out to be a bunch of hooey in terms of day-to-day consequence.

I have an xBox 360 I rarely play. iPods of two generations, with a combined 100gb of music on them, which largely collect dust. I have an iPhone, which I think is fantastic, but I've never upgraded to the 3G or 3Gs and of millions of available applications, I have downloaded about 15 and readily use about three (Scrabble, IMDB and PhoneFlicks, all of which simply duplicate what I can easily do on my desktop). I have access to over 500 TV channels and watch about seven. And of the billions of websites that exist, they could do away with all but about 500 for all I'd ever care, and there are only about 20 that are part of my weekly routine.

You can certainly call me an artifact at 41, but I still prefer physical books, newspapers, magazines, CDs and DVDs over their electronic equivalents. I have never owned a laptop computer and feel much more comfortable using a desktop. I have never been a business traveler, but took nearly 100 flights over the last decade--including at least a dozen of more than 6 hours--and found sleep, a paperback mystery and the airline-supplied movies to be more than sufficient time-passers. During the month of March, I sent a total of 7 texts and still communicated with everyone I wished. I've never owned a GPS and have gotten everywhere I needed to be--with some help from the wonderful Google Maps, but an atlas always worked just fine.

As I mentioned, I love my iPhone and like that I can check my email and Facebook page from anywhere at any time, but beyond not being truly essential in the first place, I certainly don't see why I would ever need to do so on the larger format iPad.

In the Newsweek article, Daniel Lyons writes about getting a sneak peak at the iPad and says, "Right away I could see how I would use it. I'd keep it in the living room to check e-mail and browse the Web. I'd take it to the kitchen and read The New York Times while I eat breakfast. I'd bring it with me on a plane to watch movies and read books." Are any one of these things he couldn't already do?

I understand the coolness factor. Apple has made not only some of the most useful products ever, but also several of the best-designed. So it's not like I would blame anyone for wanting an iPad or even getting one. For people with disposable incomes, $500 is relatively cheap for all the iPad can seemingly do.

But without wanting to sound like a grinch, I think as a society we've become detrimentally carried away with our impersonal technologies. And without dismissing the advantages all the advances have brought, I think it's vitally important to retain a balance.

I like the expediency of Facebook, texting or email, but it doesn't beat having a conversation with my best friend. I like the convenience of streaming movies on Netflix, but I also like going to my public library. I enjoy having infinite musical choices at my fingertips, but I miss the artwork of record albums or even the liner notes of CDs. I constantly look things up on Wikipedia, but still appreciate an 800-page thoroughly-researched biography. I enjoy the ease of my camera phone, but will never give up lugging around my SLR when I travel. I love watching concert videos on YouTube, but will always prefer to see artists perform live (and feel compelled to occasionally compensate those creating "free" content). And I love to share my opinions on my blogs and Yelp and the like, but I also enjoy reading the critiques of professionals employed by newspapers and magazines.

Unfortunately, I don't think those of younger generations have been given the wherewithal to appreciate both sides of the balance. And I certainly include myself when I say we have become a world of fat, lazy, asocial people.

So do I really need one more--no matter how much more sleek and sophisticated--excuse to not get out of bed even to check my email, or to not take a walk to and through Barnes & Noble, or to not speak to the person sitting next to me on a transatlantic flight? And with so many people out of work and struggling in America, let alone in Haiti and elsewhere--where the newfound ability to see YouTube wirelessly on a 9.7 inch screen probably isn't the most pressing concern--even if I could easily part with $500, is a shiny new toy really the best way to use it? Especially when it doesn't allow for anything I can't already do?

So despite an admiration for Steve Jobs, Apple and its industrial design wizards, iRefrain. At least for now. And iThink I'll be just fine.