I finally bought an iPad 2 this week.

Plus an external keyboard a day later, when I realized that I could use the iPad 2 as a compact substitute for a laptop and write with a word processing app. I already have a list on its notetaking app of about a dozen writing projects of various lengths. I haven't owned a computer previously but used the company PC. Now I have some independence for my own purposes.

I can see why the iPad has generated so much enthusiasm. For one thing, it has leapt from the pages of science fiction novels, or off the screen from science fiction TV shows and films, if you prefer. For another, I can use it as an ebook reader, so now I have both my Nook and my Kindle accounts on it, along with Google's ebook reader. And for yet another thing, thinking further ahead, the iPad could provide a platform for telemedical uses, though I doubt it would give us a competitor for the Tricorder X Prize coming up soon; that will require some specialized technologies which Apple's engineers didn't have in mind for this product.