Meanland extract – A Gutenberg moment?


The arrival of the iPad in Australia has been greeted with everything from quasi-religious reverence to cynicism. The Steve Jobs camp has largely been focused on the language of revolution – a savvy if slightly hubristic move from the Apple marketing department. ‘It’s already a revolution and it’s only just begun,’ the voiceover in the commercials declared, with Jobs himself calling the iPad ‘a truly magical and revolutionary product’ at the launch earlier this year. If ‘revolutionary’ has become Apple’s key selling point for the masses, then drawing parallels with the invention of the Gutenberg press comes a close second, especially for winning over aficionados of print. Even Jonathan Green of ABC’s Drum admitted ‘This could be something of a Gutenberg moment, a technical innovation that will revolutionise how we communicate and distribute ideas.’

A Gutenberg moment

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