The global launch of the Apple iPad on Friday was a major event. In Paris, early crowds to buy the iPad at the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center in the museum complex outnumbered the people waiting in line to see Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa. Observers reported that the attention-seeking iPads were preening before, and bowing to, an amazed and delighted audience of potential buyers.
Kindles, Amazon's electronic readers, were not amused. Instead, they were appalled by what they perceived as the tendency of iPads to push themselves forward without any consideration of those being displaced. "It's so unprofessional and it's all about THEM," Head Kindle Hedda complained, continuing, "it's not about serving customers at all."
For her part, Mona Lisa has come to terms with being overshadowed by the iPad. At first, she had considered trying to attract more attention by curling her hair and/or changing her enigmatic smile. But now she's just decided to take the whole thing in stride. "This, too, shall pass," she's told friends. "Technology comes and goes. I've been around since the year 1503 and don't plan on leaving anytime soon."
And she's cheered by the fact that her good friend, Nat King Cole, has gotten special permission to return to earth for a short time to record a 2010 rap version of "Mona Lisa" (by Evans and Livingston), his 1950 hit song. Advance word is that it's a show-stopping rendition that's sure to hit #1 on worldwide music charts.
