James Harkin: The iPad is a badge, not a product - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent

An Apple reality check via All Things Digital; a quote from Fake Steve’s book follows below

Whoever said religion was dying never saw the queues that snake round Apple's stores when a new product arrives. On Friday night thousands of Britons, some having queued for three days, gathered to pay homage to the second coming of the iPad.

Many emerged holding their products aloft and punching the air. Never mind that iPad 2 was a modest and slightly disappointing upgrade on iPad 1, and that the uninitiated would scarcely be able to tell the difference. The rapturous way it was received had all the air of a revivalist meeting.

From Fake Steve’s Options (p. 187), with a young (fake) Steve Jobs seeking wisdom from a guru:

"America is all about commerce. That's what America is good at. Someone is going to figure out a way to create material things and to imbue them with a sense of religious significance. I don't know how this will happen. But it will happen, because it needs to happen." He held up his hands. "God on the one hand," he said, "and products on the other." He brought his hands together, and interlaced his fingers. "Whoever weaves these together will become more powerful than you can imagine."

James Harkin: The iPad is a badge, not a product - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent