I handled an iPad today.

And I found it pretty damn cool, and definitely science-fictional. Its touch screen reminded me of Robert Heinlein's imaginary technology of "parastatics" in Orphans of the Sky, which he applied not just to the controls of a multi-generational starship, but also to the important machinery as a whole:



I can't think of a personal use for an iPad, however. I'd like to buy a laptop of my own, but I don't want to spend the money on it just yet. But I have it on the agenda because I have some writing projects in mind that I'd like to keep separate from the company's computers.