iDistract

Apple finally displayed its eagerly, fervently, feverishly awaited tablet computer. It's billed as a platform primarily for the distribution and utilization of ebooks and maybe other textual "content." Yet, it is loaded with distractions that will be quite irresistible to many users: "web surfing, email, games, presentation software and various other tricks" (according to the Guardian article covering the momentous product launch). And it will also have cell/mobile 3G connectivity. here is how it will work. You download a book on the spur of the moment - one you don't need and probably won't like. At some point you pull it up on your screen, and halfway through the first page you succumb to an urge to check an irrelevant fact on the web. Twenty-seven hyperlinks and 2.5 hours later you still haven't moved past p. 1. You never finish the book - but Apple has reshaped another media business. You would have shelled out the $11.99 on some other impulsive purchase anyway - and GDP has grown by another tiny bit.