Stephen Hawking in a Public Essay

They revolutionized personal listening devices with the iPod and changed the music industry forever with the launching of iTunes. Touch technology made the iPhone an instant sensation and effectively made every other cell phone, including the once-cutting edge Blackberry, seem almost old-fashioned. Likewise, the iPad has changed the face of personal computing, with thousands of fun and useful apps that consumers can only access as iPad users. The iPad has taken personal computing to a new level, and for that reason I would choose it to represent modern society.

Before the iPad, there were a variety of laptop and netbook computers, portable music players, portable DVD players, cell phones and handheld gaming devices. The iPad has brought together the functionality of these devices with a highly intuitive, user-friendly interface. It is much more than a high-tech toy, although as a toy its possibilities are nearly endless. It is a machine that can be used in personal life, in business, in health care, and in education.New apps are available daily that cover a broad spectrum of consumer wants and needs.

When personal computers first started to become more commonplace in businesses and in the home, people were unsure of the future of these machines. Some even thought personal computers were a gimmick, though the same was said of television in the 1950s and one can only laugh at such short-sightedness today!

Conclusion

To me, the iPad makes anything seem possible in the realm of technology. We can now easily accept that there will be inventions and discoveries beyond what our current imagination can fathom. I believe the iPad symbolizes the limitless future of technology in human life. It connects us to earlier technology but opens the door to so much more. It is a fitting symbol of life on Earth in the twenty-first century......