"Appy New Year"

I remember a time, and not so long ago, that a discussion about "apps" had to do with whether or not you wanted to share the potato skins or the mozzarella sticks. Naturally, this was long before appetizers like kobe beef on toast, and California rolls became de riguer.

In today's vernacular, apps have taken on a whole new meaning. Thanks to the proliferation of Apple's I-phone and I-touch, thousands of developers have created these app-lications that enable users to play games, get directions, buy stock, order dinner, play blackjack, listen to radio stations and much more. As the commercial says, there truly is an app for just about everything.

But are apps for everyone?

I didn't think so at first. The earliest adopters just wanted to be the new kids on the block. Soon after, these groupies gave way to a more mainstream demographic who viewed apps on their mobile devices as pieces from a living toy box with I-tunes itself being Toys R Us on crack.

It wasn't until I bought my 9-year old daughter her first I-touch that I truly realized the awe inducing power of the app. She navigated through the App Store as if she had been born inside, quickly moving from game to game and downloading her favorites. In a matter of minutes, she had collected 20 apps and had her eye on several more. How could something so new to her be so natural? Simplicity. Even a caveman can do it.

These applications are more than just mere child's play. They may be the second coming of the internet boom. In the 90's, every brick and mortar entity had to have a website. High speed internet was dawning, and those who didn't have a web extension would be left for dead. But the sexy, new arrival in town is the mobile device and now every website has to have an app. In fact, these applications may soon be the primary portals to the internet itself.

One day, my daughter will ask me why I ever owned a stationary computer and about the wire that was attached to it.