(9-Jan-10) Gadget pundits like to use biblical references when talking about Apple chief Steve Jobs, so when reports surfaced this week that the computing giant is preparing to release a new tablet device, talk of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai was inevitable.
Rumoured to have an iPhone-like touch screen and Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity to the Internet, Apple Inc.'s highly anticipated tablet computer will certainly be slimmer, lighter and more sophisticated than the ones Moses carried.
But in the high-tech world, Jobs is no less prophetic than the famous Israelite. His ability to foresee the "Next Big Thing" in consumer technology – from iMac and MacBook to iPod and iTunes – arguably accounts for the nearly 7,000 per cent rise in Apple's stock since Jobs rejoined the money-losing company in 1997.