I was actually accused of being an iPad bore yesterday, by a dental team who follow me on Facebook and are getting a bit fed up with my ravings.
But its fantastic!
Have I mentioned that its fantastic?
The non-believers are beginning to get their act together though, after the initial shock of learning that sales are steady at a million a month.
“So its basically just a big iPhone then?”
“you don’t really need one do you?”
or, to quote my second son Alex…
“Apple have found another way of stealing your money then.”
(Cue pithy comment from John Clegg)
Just to show I’m not the only one, we held our clients’ monthly telephone conference call last night.
I know that the calls in June, July and August are less well attended – something to do with balmy evenings – but we normally talk all about the business end of the teeth and gum industry.
Not so last night.
“tell us all about your iPad Chris”
so I did.
Rather like the wise old man of a proverbial ancient village, I cruised up the M4/M5 from South Wales to Gloucestershire, recounting my stories of the wonderful apps discovered and downloaded.
Yes – its a big iPhone.
Yes – I have bought quite a few apps.
Yes – I’m enjoying the cooing and approval of clients (dentists are similarly fascinated), hotel guests and hotel staff wherever I go this week.
Actually – its a big electronic:
- Filofax/Dayplanner – prioritised to do lists, calendar, contact database, pipeline manager, CRM system, note taking, Evernote, project planner
- Entertainment Centre – music, film, TV series, games, comics, audi-books, photographs, home movies, Kindle (I’m reading my first ever on-line book)
- Information centre – newspapers, magazines, blog feeds
- Social networking centre – Facebook, Linkedin, forums, Twitter, WordPress blog
- Personal organisation centre – internet banking, password protected personal data, maps, weather forecast and tides
- Professional Office – word-processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drop box,
and possibly the coolest bit of kit I have ever owned.
My first prediction…
……the end of the hard drive.
In 5 years from now, personal computers with hard drives will be in museums.
We will all carry a tablet.
ALL of our date will be on servers, accessible from anywhere on the planet in real time.
No personal data storage any more.
Universal wifi.
Faster chips accessing on-line date – no need to mess around with mechanics any more – all electronics.
My second prediction – much sooner.
Treatment co-ordinators and clinicians with tablets to show digital x-rays, intra-oral shots and treatment plans.
Cad-cam treatment planning on the iPad and its cousins.
Patient records and appointment books on servers – no hard drives in practice.
Team members walking around with tablets and interacting with patients in real time
The end of the front desk – in fact, any desk – sell your shares in forestry.
