The Daily Flash -Eco, Space, Tech (4/02)

Why We Are Obsessed With the iPad

The iPad is the beginning of the end for computers as technology. Technology, after all, is stuff that doesn’t work yet, as Douglas Adams observed a decade ago. Once it starts working all the time — like chairs or electricity — you stop thinking about it as technology and start taking it for granted. On the iPad, websites look pretty much the same as they do on my computer display, with one important exception: They fill the screen. Instead of living inside a box with a URL bar and a bunch of buttons alongside other boxes and applications, content takes over the device. There’s almost no noticeable interface. On top of that, the screen is the most responsive touchscreen display I’ve ever had my hands on. Put your finger down on a page and wiggle it around, and the page follows your finger exactly, and instantly. Those two facts — the lack of interface and the instant responsiveness — lend a psychological concreteness to whatever you’re looking at.

Think City EV Heading to NYC Streets

Get ready, New Yorkers: Think's European-style hatchback EV is coming to a street near you. The highway-ready vehicle has been on sale in Europe for the past year, but New York metropolitan area residents will get first dibs in the U.S sometime in the coming months. The Think City EV isn't meant for speed demons--it has a top speed of 60 mph. But it gets big points for ease of use. The EV can charge from 0 to 80% capacity using a fast-charging 220 volt station, and the vehicle's battery system has a relatively impressive range of 112 miles to the charge. No word on exact pricing of the vehicle, but it will probably cost around $30,000 after a federal tax credit. Our thoughts: This is exactly what NYC doesn't need: more cars crowding the already gridlocked scene.