Andy Ihnatko on the iPad 2:

Many of you were around for the transition from text to graphical user interfaces. Some of you were even around when the world shifted from mainframes to personal computers. Well, congratulations: you’ve lived to see your third revolution in computing.

Interesting that Apple’s been instrumental in all three of these revolutions:

  • The Apple II was one of the first personal computers, boasting then-rare built-in features, such as colour graphics, sound and a keyboard.
  • Mac OS popularised the graphical user interface, in a time when people were staring glumly at command lines.
  • And now iOS has kickstarted a touchscreen revolution that every other major player in the industry is clamouring to join.

It’ll also be interesting to see what the fourth revolution will be—and whether Apple will be a part of it.