Durblo

Thebubble.org.uk is the name of an online student magazine in Durham. Bubble refers to a specific feeling that is typically evoked if you stay for a long time in a small city. This metaphor makes a lot of sense, when speaking about the current last term of the academic year. During the third term, students begin to focus exclusively on revision for their final exams or on a dissertation.

Durham seems to get smaller than it already is. On busy days it measures the size of a library's desk, a room in a flat and the short distance between them. In the feverish moments caused by such a lifestyle you want nothing but the good old trimester back: 'Yes, yes, back then we attended seminars and lectures which provided such a wonderful spatial alternative to this librar... Glug, Glug, Glug!'



Usually it is a student, sitting next to you, who wakes you up from sweet day dreaming by drinking loudly out of his bottle, starting a whispering conversation with his buddy or by using one of thirty other well known simple ways to produce enough noise to distract other people from their work or mind relaxation. Luckily, some escapes into thoughts are not disrupted. Also this one would be spared when I started to search for a drug to combat the curriculum's rigid intention to make students stay inside the library in the summer season.

My mind ended its journey – in the best German tradition – attacking criticising myself mildly massively: 'Hmm... actually, why are you working all time in the uni library when there are other cities around offering beautiful libraries?' Somehow I was tempted to follow this absurd idea. So I searched for 'library + England' in Google maps and surprisingly there were some spots in the region that seemed to be 'interesting' and had public libraries that fulfilled two necessities – desks and good opening times. Two day trips later, time has come for a critical evaluation of this exotic travelling style.

And here it is, written with a touch of this very sterile language that intends to make an argument look 'more' objective and sound while greatly impairing readability: 'The library tourist is certainly successful in breaking out of daily routine by leaving his town for a full day. Staying at an unfamiliar and less busy library, the traveller is truly productive for some hours. Before travelling back, a small walk will allow him or her to discover one of the many lesser known cities in the country that provide a lovely library, despite never being recommended by a single travel guide worldwide.'

The iPad receives a simple update and the huge media response is as if a terminal illness was cured. Apple have posted online a video of their recent iPad 2-presentation. More exciting than the product is the audience - during the 75-minute long Super-Steve Show the press are laughing and clapping without break. Can anybody report neutrally after such a tour de force? A commentary on durblo.de

Whoever blamed the press a year ago for creating a hype around the newly launched iPad should be disproved in the future. The industry giant has sold in the first nine months of sales 15 million devices. In hindsight, this huge success seems to justify the massive coverage at the time. The media can claim for themselves that they recognised the potential of the device early on. Whether intensive reporting increased Apple iPad sales and saved the company billions of pounds on advertising costs remains to be seen.

The recently introduced Apple iPad 2 received once again great attention from the press. Yet the device is not an innovation and is very similar to the old model. The second generation is marketed with the slogan "thinner, lighter, faster". Who would have expected after a year of technical progress anything else? Should the device be expected to be slower and feel clunkier in the hand? The newly integrated video phone technology is unspectacular as well – it is several years old.

The newest model appears even more modest if one recognises that the teething troubles of the older generation remain. The iPad can't play the millions of videos available in the common flash format. The multitasking skill of its operating system Mac iOS is still rudimentary, a good example being that it doesn’t allow two windows open side by side. Many are also still missing a USB interface.

Even though the model does not differ much from the previous one, it may have been a wise move to put it on the market now. For the company's protégé it has been a necessary update after a twelve-month struggle on the new tablet market. "Thinner, lighter, faster" increases the distance between competing products from HP, Samsung, Dell, Motorola and LG, which are catching up.

This souped-up iPad actually should have only been worth a small column in the business section. The excessive media interest is undoubtedly a victory for Apple. Apple influenced it, instead of sending a simple press release, the Californian company organised a 'special event'. The company presented its latest creations in a pleasant conference room to a large group of invited journalists. Asking questions is not an option and so the reporting suffers as a result.

Whoever searches the news sites for iPad 2 products will find mostly iPad-friendly reports that summarize more or less the event itself. Journalists can’t quote critics as sceptical questions can't be asked. Reporters are also unable to call a neutral IT expert as they know nothing yet about the exclusively presented device. Finally, a balanced article becomes an ever more unrealistic prospect as immediately after the event a journalist have a race against time on their hands. They have to publish fresh iPad news as soon as possible to beat the competition.

Balanced articles don't appear in the news portals until many hours or days later. This analysis causes Apple no harm as an objective opinion won't only mention the iPad's deficiencies but will also attest its continuing superiority over its competitors. Apple's prestigious event is not only interesting because it is able to lure two articles from the media – a message and later an analysis.

The 75-minute show was recently uploaded onto the company's webpage. The video allows a deep insight into the heart of the iPad marketing. The atmosphere in the conference hall of the 'Yerba Buena Center for the Arts' in San Francisco is intimate and cheerful from the start. When you reach the end of the video it seems clear that every newspaper that accepted Apple's invitation led their reporter directly in a subjectivity trap.

The trap snaps for the first time as Steve Jobs emerges - nobody had been counting on him showing up. The IT legend retired from daily business in January due to illness. One tabloid even reported recently that he only had a few weeks to live. As Jobs steps out onto the stage with a friendly "Good morning" all the journalists get up from their seats and he’s already received a standing ovation!

The down-to-earth multi-billionaire then delivers a perfect show. Within a strong hour he makes the audience laugh and clap over 40 times. From time to time Jobs takes a break and a co-worker presents for a few minutes the latest iPad software in detail. The manager also disappears from the stage when he starts another short film.

These advertising clips have a special feel-good factor. Apple developers sing the praises of their little darling in front of a heavenly white background – occasionally glorious pictures of the device are displayed. The films are accompanied by friendly and cheerful background music. These audio-visual compositions work so well that in future one might want to soften a bad mood with a bit of iPad advertising.

Near the end of the event Jobs plays one more of these superb clips. It repeats and highlights all the new products presented (iPad, software and accessories) in the press representatives’ minds. After the clip it's time for a few intimate moments. Jobs asks the Apple employee in the hall to stand up. A dozen people in the front seats follow his appeal. The manager does not have to plead long for applause recognising his colleagues, who’ve worked so hard on the iPad.

A little while later and the audience can get back to their true calling. The media machine is in full swing and the first non-critical messages get released. A Google search for "iPad 2 thinner, lighter, faster" soon shows thousands of results. Whoever is upset by the slogan be advised: don't watch one of these relaxing Apple clips – guaranteed side effects!



The following pictures stem from news websites 15 hours after the event – the iPad 2 is everywhere