What's interesting is how, if Apple successfully launches a tablet that creates a new standard in manner similar to the iPhone, the paradigm will shift dramatically in the journalism landscape. Infotainment will reign supreme, and "pics or it didn't happen" will be more than a meme - it will be mantra.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'd rather have a hard news headline punched up with an interactive graphic to garner more readers than seeing the hard news diluted with countless human interest stories like we do now.
And as a designer, I can't help but be excited by the prospect of seeing what new and innovative ways a story can be told through an interactive medium such as this.
Will this save brick and mortar journalism? Too soon to tell. But the proof of concept now exists. If it's not Apple, it will be someone else.
Love the crappy techno... Seriously, I'll probably buy the Jesus Tablet, or some other incarnation of it that appears. It seems like there's going to be a glut of these coming out next year (real or imagined), there will be plenty of competition and options.
I've gotta say, at this point in time I really hope that Apple decides not to release a tablet. There has been such an incredible amount of hype it's going to be near impossible to live up to any sort of expectations.
Apple has experimented with something that could have failed with the iPhone. They came through with a big win. That arguably helped launch them into another level of brand identity.
If, after all of this hype, they come out with something as failure-ridden as the Cube, or first generational as the first iPod, or as un-focused as the AppleTV, they could walk away with egg on their face that they can't clean off.
I guess really this whole game is about rolling the dice, so if they do go for it, I hope they do it right. But... I wouldn't mind seeing them put this on the back burner for another couple of years.
I hope these publishing companies realize that while Apple may save them from their doom, it also means that the company has them by the balls. If anything, they really do need to get a competitor out there to make sure that Apple doesn't abuse this relationship (plus, I'm sure monopoly bells will be ringing soon enough.)
I don't understand why they totally close magazines, if they still have a readership, moving them digital does save lots of money and does not have as much overhead as printed magazines so you would think before they close them, they would move them digital first and see if they can stay afloat there. I read all of my magazines digitally now and don't mind paying for them because I can get them earlier, don't waste the paper (which I have to recycle later) and have the digital copies forever without taking up space (harddrive space is cheap and easy to have around).
I just have to chime in: Gourmet isn't my favorite food magazine (Saveur is) but I will still miss it. I don't think I am cut out for Conde Nast's remaining food mag, Bon Apetit. (Cuz I keep laughing at its name. You know, "ape tit." Heh. It's like an ape with boobs.)
Great. More throw-away circuitry to end up in landfills or in 3rd world countries where everything has to be pulled apart by poor children for recycling.
I'd much rather see energy focused on better e-ink technology so we can ultimately end up with reusable flexible displays like in Minority Report.
If they are going to display 40mins of video on a magazine, what about the accompanying audio? I don't want to watch EW in Mute or do these things come with headphone jacks?
@John Herrman: Now don't you go getting your dander up.
There's no sense in running around with a burr in your britches. If you keep being ornery, I reckon that nary a fellow will be wanting to be your chum. Now be a decent chap and make apologies to the good sir.
I think you'll see that you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
@GitEmSteveDave_TryinToTakeItBa...: Ahh. That takes me back. I remember watching showings of "The Simpsons" in my youth. It would cost me a tuppence at the nickelodeon, but for a threepenny, you got a doubled-feature.
I remember waiting in anticipation for each Saturday's matinee showing. I scrimped and saved, sometimes helping about the home. If I helped grand-mere darn the stockings, I could usually rely on getting a shiny wheatpenny as a reward. I had once (when I was a bit older, nearing adolescense) offered to help shoe the carriage horses. Papa said that that was servant work and if Josiah (the Scot who was in our indenture) did not finish that and scrubbing the brougham by week's end, he get quite the thrashing.
Then, came boarding school with stolen kisses from Viola Duchamp who would meet me once a fortnight under the old elm tree.
And Helena and Deidre perished of influenza. Miriam, sadly, was done in when her whalebone corset broke in twain, puncturing her lung with one of the ribs. Her alabaster skin offered scant protection from the Great Fish's revenge.
Malcolm never returned from Crimea and Johnathan was crushed by a wayward coach.
11/21/09
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'd rather have a hard news headline punched up with an interactive graphic to garner more readers than seeing the hard news diluted with countless human interest stories like we do now.
And as a designer, I can't help but be excited by the prospect of seeing what new and innovative ways a story can be told through an interactive medium such as this.
Will this save brick and mortar journalism? Too soon to tell. But the proof of concept now exists. If it's not Apple, it will be someone else.
11/21/09
From what I've heard, the Apple Tablet will be a mechanical device, a kind of nostalgic appliance stuffed with pistons, rotors, and gears.
The sound you hear is not a musical soundtrack. It's the sound of the Tablet working.
11/21/09
11/21/09
Apple has experimented with something that could have failed with the iPhone. They came through with a big win. That arguably helped launch them into another level of brand identity.
If, after all of this hype, they come out with something as failure-ridden as the Cube, or first generational as the first iPod, or as un-focused as the AppleTV, they could walk away with egg on their face that they can't clean off.
I guess really this whole game is about rolling the dice, so if they do go for it, I hope they do it right. But... I wouldn't mind seeing them put this on the back burner for another couple of years.
11/21/09
11/21/09
It would have been nice if they didn't take a chance with that music..
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
08/19/09
I'd much rather see energy focused on better e-ink technology so we can ultimately end up with reusable flexible displays like in Minority Report.
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
sure, you leave those out on your coffee table, but we all know what you hide under your mattress.
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
08/19/09
There's no sense in running around with a burr in your britches. If you keep being ornery, I reckon that nary a fellow will be wanting to be your chum. Now be a decent chap and make apologies to the good sir.
I think you'll see that you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
08/19/09
@John Herrman: Now see here you unkempt youngster!
08/19/09
I remember waiting in anticipation for each Saturday's matinee showing. I scrimped and saved, sometimes helping about the home. If I helped grand-mere darn the stockings, I could usually rely on getting a shiny wheatpenny as a reward. I had once (when I was a bit older, nearing adolescense) offered to help shoe the carriage horses. Papa said that that was servant work and if Josiah (the Scot who was in our indenture) did not finish that and scrubbing the brougham by week's end, he get quite the thrashing.
Then, came boarding school with stolen kisses from Viola Duchamp who would meet me once a fortnight under the old elm tree.
08/19/09
I guess life was easier once all your siblings died from poison potatoes.
08/19/09
And Helena and Deidre perished of influenza. Miriam, sadly, was done in when her whalebone corset broke in twain, puncturing her lung with one of the ribs. Her alabaster skin offered scant protection from the Great Fish's revenge.
Malcolm never returned from Crimea and Johnathan was crushed by a wayward coach.
12/27/08
12/27/08
I'm also planning on getting the Massive Black book.