More thoughts on technology

I always buy a fresh notebook before starting on my holiday: the thin, iconic, Moleskin type being best suited to my needs. This trip that tradition was repeated, but, no sooner had I placed it on the ledge beside me (seat 3K) than I thought: that's daft - what do I need that for? I've an iPad now - what do I need that for? Time will tell no doubt over the next fortnight in Palm Springs.

I remember some years ago amazing myself with the ability of the Apple iPod to let me listen to music and write blogs … flying over the Atlantic - and last year I purchased perhaps rather too quickly, a BlackBerry PlayBook. Today, I feel as if things have finally come together. The iPad is the ideal size for my largish fingers and the notebook software removes the need for pen and paper to accompany me for scribbling my thoughts.

Artistically though, I doubt that the iPad or similar will ever trump or upstage the tactile and rounded feel of pen and paper when writing creatively. I play with Haiku and yet enjoy to turn pages of the same haiku in its various stages of creation as thoughts and emotions combine with words - only to be struck out and re-phrased.
In work I still take one of many Moleskin notebooks to meetings and am known for my fairly diligent note taking in dealings with colleagues. I like a record and to be able to quickly flick back through my scrawls for reference.

As something of a techno-phile I am still absolutely in awe of the iPad (3rd generation) and can only re-iterate my previously blogged thoughts on how technology has changed my world quite apart from anyone else's: in one very slim little machine (though it has no moving parts) I have a library of books, gallery of photographs, catalogue of music, ability to converse by email or other social media with people all over the world - instantly - and a host of other benefits.

Looking around the Concorde lounge in Terminal 5 this morning I was struck by just how many people were either using or had beside them an Apple iPad or similar.

I used to wonder where it would all end and the impact on people but now I just take for granted the fact that technology will continue to change and move on … benefiting many and confusing some (myself included). It is the new reality and if there is one fact worth observing from this blog, it is that children born today will not only grow up benefiting from this technology, but will themselves probably take it all for granted in the same way that my generation (as opposed to my grand-parents') have accepted aircraft travel.

How short a time ago it was that we considered a mobile phone to be cutting edge ...