Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader- what is the point? As a writer and avid reader I understand the appeal of carrying and accessing any books you want, wherever you want. If this was 1999 I’d think these things were very cool just like I thought my cell phone was cool, my Palm Pilot Pro was cool and my orange iMac was cool. Today, however, the era of the dedicated device is over. I don’t want to carry a pile of hardware around with me. One device that does everything is the new cool. That’s why I think that the Apple tablet rumors are probably accurate and that the Google Chrome OS (totally browser-based access to online applications) is also a likely contender. Because these devices utilize operating systems that rely on built-in connectivity, they are universal tools. That’s where its going folks.