iPod inspires the 'iPad'

By: Anne Dujmovic
Topics: Media

The "iPad." It brings to mind the home of an urban hipster/tech geek whose plasma TV, DVR, laptop, et al--along with the lighting scheme in his loft--can all be controlled by a single click wheel.

If only it were so.

So, what is the "iPad"? Think big. No, bigger. The "iPad," inspired by Apple's ubiquitous media player, is a skyscraper. Or rather, a building project in Dubai, according to a report in Wednesday's Guardian.

Scheduled to open in 2009, the 23-story tower "will be perched on top of a docking station, and will ape the iPod by sitting at an angle of six degrees," reports the Guardian.

James Law Cybertecture, an architecture firm based in Hong Kong, is designing the project, while Omniyat Properties is the developer behind it. The tower will reportedly include more than 200 homes and offices.

Anne Dujmovic is an associate editor at CNET News. After working more than a dozen years in newspapers, including a seven-year stint at the San Jose Mercury News, Anne migrated north to Portland, Ore. There, she honed her pastry-making skills as an apprentice. Although she's returned to journalism, she still misses the free pastries. E-mail Anne.

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by markj2 January 27, 2010 8:08 PM EST: Gee I wonder if this will work as well as AMTRAK has worked ? His buddy Charlie Crist is down in the polls so he needs to squander some more of the Tax Payers money for a High Speed Rail system between Orlando & Tampa. Gee even Alan Greyson can tout his helping bring this boondongal to the Idiot voters who elected Alan. I hope and pray that the fine people of Greyson's district don't make the same mistake twice. I say that because I grew up in Orlando, well the outskirts in a Subdivision called Azelea Park, went to elementary and high school there, before joining the Navy and serving MY COUNTRY for 23 yrs. Then settled in Jacksonville,Fl after I retired from the Navy.; Reply to this comment


by NinthSt78 January 27, 2010 6:50 PM EST: Great idea, more scenic, and comparable timewise to air travel for 500 miles and under. Many job opportunities there, more hi-jack resistant, and proven to work well in other parts of the world. Many folks who haven't taken buses for city to city travel are not aware of how packed the buses usually are.; Reply to this comment


by travsmom1 January 27, 2010 3:31 PM EST: Another segment the government (sorry, Mr. Obama) can take over. I'd be far more impressed if the president would admit the problems his administration has had in misinformation about the stimulus supposedly already spent and work to correct those problems (i.e., the money sent to phantom districts and projects). I'd like to know where the money already allocated has gone before more is spent. I'd also like to know who makes the decision of what is worthy and what is going to stimulate the economy. At 10.2 with no end in sight for unemployment, not much is working so far.; Reply to this comment


by 48boomer January 27, 2010 2:58 PM EST: What a load of crap! Regular rail costs about $1 million per mile to put in. With engineering, right of way acquisitions, environmental impact studies, etc - it will take at least 15 years before this becomes reality. Has anybody in Washington EVER run a business??? Not to say don't do it - it's just not a right now jobs bill. Don't even try to sell (spin) it as one.; Reply to this comment


by FerdFerkle January 27, 2010 2:18 PM EST: Rail jobs are only temporary jobs.; Reply to this comment

by stormerF2 January 27, 2010 1:30 PM EST

Another vast waste of money,AMtrak,has never made a profit,never,it has to have government subdies every year to stay afloat. A high speed train works when their are enough people jamed together in small areas. France has 64 million people in an area the size of Texas and 62 million of them live in metropolitian areas.When the money is Pi$$ed away to build this money pit of a fast train, who is going to pay to keep this train maintained and operating ? If it can not pay for its self why are we even discussing this pork project?

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by asamiller January 27, 2010 2:43 PM EST: Rail will produce lots of jobs way beyond the immediate investment because it will increase efficiency throughout the entire economy. It has long been neglected while less efficient and more expensive highway, truck, car and plane transportation have been supported with cheap oil, regulation and government subsidy. The US should import the technology if necessary, build the products in the US and learn how to do this ourselves, the same way the Japanese and Chinese have been biting off US technological achievements for the past 50 years.

by rykatspop January 27, 2010 1:03 PM EST

Great concept; have always loved the notion. Only the rich will be able to afford to use it. California has Metrolink. It's not high tech enough, but it's very expensive, and subsidized. Yep, business will want the right of way on this, too. That's why Amtrack stinks! They have to pullover for freight all the time. Then you have to get counties and cities to go along with solving NIMBY issues and intersecting "commuter" public transit links. Then you have the whole issue of environmentalists protesting that the system runs over fruit fly habitat, spotted squirrels, flying frogs. After all that, we just need to have 200 hearings from 1500 agencies involved, public notices, resolve lawsuits by property owners urban and rural, buy the land to build, then engineer, prototype, test and build it. Hmmm, if there are no major glitches, we could have this thing up and running in about 40 years.

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by eddom949 January 27, 2010 3:17 PM EST: That's funny, I've taken two trips on the Southwest Chief, one round, and pulled over maybe once for freight on a 2800 mile one-way trip...


by rykatspop January 27, 2010 3:24 PM EST: Yeah, well my 80 year old mother who hates to fly, took the train from Santa Ana, CA, to Portland, OR, a few years ago (several days before the holiday peak) and the 1000 mile trip up took over 24 hours. I can drive it in less time on the I-5. But, hey, I was trying to make it easy on a senior citizen. I was trying to be a bit more greener, too. By the way, she told me "Never again." She was stressed out and exhausted. It won't be as easy as you might think. It won't be user friendly if it isn't done right. That will take a lot of money, planning and time.

by retm-w January 27, 2010 12:06 PM EST

Don't we already have a high speed rail project on the books. I thought Pelosi and Reids high speed rail from Las Vegas to Disneyland was part of the stimulas package. What happened to that, you don't hear anything about that anymore.

What about Amtrak, the Government rail service. Never hear much about that. I believe that's another Government program running in the red, subsidized by taxpayer money.

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by retiredgustav January 27, 2010 3:11 PM EST: Airlines with the exception of Southwest have not turned a profit for years They also receive government subsidies such as the air traffic control system and airport construction from our government ( the fuel tax and airport use taxes don?t even come close to paying their way. Investment into a high speed rail system can help us become more energy independent.

by bajajohn1 January 27, 2010 11:49 AM EST

Where are the Mexican, Irish and Chinese laborers going to come from to lay the track?

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by doctor_know January 27, 2010 12:00 PM EST: You missed the point you arrogant ******.... Americans who need jobs will do it.

by indiethink January 27, 2010 11:13 AM EST

OK, I've read the article three times now, I must be missing something. So many folks assume this is going to be a government railroad. We've had railroad comapnies for 150+ years. If the feds will fund the infrastructure, why do so many people assume these same railroad companies won't step up and offer service? The fed funded airport infrastructure, the airlines stepped up. The fed funded highway construction, car manufacturers and oil companies stepped up.

It sounds like the folks in Florida are gun-ho for an Orland/Tampa rail corridor. The hotels/motels won't shuttle us, our kids, and all our stuff from a rail station like they currently do from airports? Tampa and Orlando won't get rail tourists to the beach or the theme parks like they do air travel tourists? The car rental companies won't accomodate rail travel like they do air travel?

What am I missing?

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by doctor_know January 27, 2010 11:32 AM EST: You aren't missing anything.


by eddom949 January 27, 2010 7:42 PM EST: Maybe walking. Look, you can take a trip anywhere - how you design it is up to you. You don't need a credit card for rail. If you have one, you can situate a Hertz car pretty easily. You can mix them all for different legs of the journey. Personally, the Southwest Chief or similar with bedrooms is ideal. You can sleep in a car, or if you're on a budget, try finding a hostel. You can walk all the way from L.A. to San Francisco. Try arranging different legs of the journey by budget, etc. Keep extra money if you find something you like. Be flexible.