The Age is reporting today that Samsung claims Stanley Kubrick, not Apple, invented the iPad.

Apparently a scene in Kubrick’s film adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001 a Space Odyssey, shows people using something very similar to the iPad.

Indeed the article quotes a description of the device from Clarke’s book:

“When he tired of official reports and memoranda and minutes, he would plug in his foolscap-size newspad into the ship’s information circuit and scan the latest reports from Earth. One by one he would conjure up the world’s major electronic papers…Switching to the display unit’s short-term memory, he would hold the front page while he quickly searched the headlines and noted the items that interested him. Each had its own two-digit reference; when he punched that, the postage-stamp-size rectangle would expand until it neatly filled the screen and he could read it with comfort.”

It sure sounds like an iPad, but a description seems a long way from an invention. I wonder if it could possibly hold water as a legal defense in Apple’s patent battle.

The Age reports that Mark Summerfield, a senior associate with Melbourne intellectual property law firm Watermark, believes Samsung may have a case. Fascinating.

If Samsung is able to argue that the iPad is the product of Clarke/Kubrick’s imagination would Apple and Samsung then need to pay royalties on the idea?

If so, I think writing Sci-fi just become a preferred career choice for millions around the globe.

I’ve found that when you have a Google account (eg. Gmail or blogger) you can then create a free Google profile for yourself. It will be interesting to see if this profile gets indexed in the search results, it could be just another way to display your contact details.

• Matthew van Hasselt Google profile

I recently found an interesting site, which appears to be a simple social media aggregator. it has a very easy interface and let’s you set-up a page with your own brand, and link to all of your online profiles.

So for example I set up a flavours page called Matthew van Hasselt, and then on it I’ve linked to my facebook profile and Linkedin profile etc.

http://flavors.me/matthewvanhasselt

Sure it’s nothing special but it’s a simple way of linking all of your online social media profiles together and having a single page in the search engines that ranks for you name and adds another easy way for people to find you online.

Matthew van Hasselt is also the SLV Website News Editor, as part of his role as the State Library of Victoria Media Coordinator. So for a handy reference page to all the recent press releases from the Library, you can find links to them on Matthew’s author page on the State Library of Victoria main website blog.

This page is handy because it is titled “Matthew van Hasselt (News Ed)“, so in essence it’s a collection of all the State Library news articles that Matthew writes.

I had an older site that was located here.

Hopefully if you’ve come from there you’ve now found this updated blog

As the State Library of Victoria’s Media Relations Coordinator, Matthew van Hasselt is responsible for the Library’s press releases.

The State Library of Victoria have recently launched a new website, featuring a Media Centre to provide the latest information and Library news to the media.

You can visit the State Library of Victoria Media page to access the latest media releases from the Library and details of how to contact Matthew van Hasselt regarding interviews or photo opportunities with State Library of Victoria staff members.

If you’re looking to contact Matthew or connect with him via Linkedin you can view Matt’s profile and professional history here:

• Matthew van Hasselt Linkedin profile

Matthew van Hasselt has launched a new blog.

You can read more about Matthew here.

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