Print is dead

The Apple iPad was launched today, and I saw a posting on Twitter that said, “Print is dead. Say goodbye to all your magazines, books and newspapers.”

Well for starters, I can’t wait to take an iPad on the beach this summer so I can read a steamy romance novel while watching the kids frolic in the water. Right after I slather them in sunscreen and wipe the Doritos cheese off of my fingers and the sand out of the back of my shorts.

Or maybe I could take it to the bathroom with me to catch up on whether Farvre is actually going to retire after the worst pass in post-season history. Here, would you like to use mine.

I can't help but think, that sometimes people are going to want to shut down. Spend some time with a book. A real book, or a real magazine. Something they can line the bird cage with or beat the dog with when he gets into the trash.

I had a college professor that told me that print was dead in 1995. The internet and laptops were going to assure that. 15 years later there are still an awful lot of trees being cut down. Certainly the industry has changed, but not dead. And I'm not sure that an oversized iPhone is going to change much that hasn't already. When it comes down to it, the iPad is really the next generation of laptops and will be used just like one.

Beautiful? Yes. Brilliant? Yes. Print killer? Probably not.