The Apple iPad

There's already been a lot of positive and negative comments made toward the iPad. If anyone cares, here's my opinion:

I think the iPad could be the beginning of some great things for self-publishers and 'Indie' creators (like myself).

It would be so great to have my books embedded in an app. So many possibilities with extra content that just isn't out there right now. With an app there is the possibility to push a button and see the rough sketches of a page, push a button and see the final linework, push a button and see a video of the artists drawing that particular page that you're on, push a button and hear some audio of the author and/or illustrator talking about a particular page, push a button and go to the author/illustrator's website, and so forth. I'm getting geeked out just thinking about this stuff.

So, before you dismiss this as just "a big ipod", think of the publishing possibilities that can come for "the little guys" with the apps and the distribution of the app store.

Now, I do need to give credit where credit is due. I didn't think of these ideas. I'm paraphrasing from a podcast called Art & Story. Jerzy Drozd and Mark Rudolph go into depth with the ideas I'm talking about, so give it a listen and get juiced about this thing and it's possibilities as a publisher.