TECH INCH: In 1967, American consumers were introduced to the new, must have item for their kitchens: the microwave oven. This device, manufactured mainly by defense contractors such as Raytheon due to their expertise with magnetron, the device that generates microwaves in a radar system or microwave oven, was now supposed to be a fixture in every home, restaurant, and more. It could heat food faster, use less energy, and be less likely to burn your house down than a traditional oven. And it cost just under $500. What more could you ask? Actually, there was a lot customers could ask. First, why in the world do you need yet another way to heat food? Kitchens already have an oven and range, plus perhaps a toaster, waffle iron, or a grill on the back porch. And the coffee pot can keep coffee hot anyhow. Do you really need another oven? Plus, surely it won’t work quite like an oven, or quite like a stove. It’s like something in the middle. How could we need that? Looking just at the specs, a microwave didn’t make sense to many.[…] But, wonder of all wonders, people started buying microwaves and using them regularly. In the store, a microwave didn’t seem like a must-have item to many, but once you incorporated it into your daily life, it was irreplaceable. MORE

[via BUZZFEED]

NEW YORK TIMES: Even before the dust has settled after this weekend’s iPad bonanza, Apple is ready to announce a new iPhone operating system. Technology journalists received an e-mail message from Apple on Monday morning inviting them to “a sneak peek of the next generation of iPhone OS software.” The event is set for Thursday at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. MORE

WIRED: Before all the iPad buzz has even had a chance to fizzle, Apple this morning sent e-mails inviting press to a sneak preview of the next-generation iPhone operating system. The event is scheduled for Thursday, 10 a.m. PT at Apple headquarters. Apple has not officially disclosed any details about its next iPhone OS, but a few rumors suggest it will introduce enhanced multitasking. The current iPhone OS (3.0) only allows a few core apps, such as iPod and Mail, to run in the background while another app is active. MORE

PREVIOUSLY: Lines stretched for a few blocks in the morning hours at Apple stores in New York and San Francisco. Blue-shirted Apple employees passed out free snacks in the chilly early air. At 9 a.m., they greeted each buyer entering stores with an applause and fanfare normally reserved for athletes winning medals or championships. “It’s beyond technology. It’s a culture. It’s a community,” said Rey Gutierrez, a die-hard loyalist with a tattoo of the Apple logo on his left hand, who had waited outside the San Francisco Apple store since 4 a.m. “No other company can drop a device and generate this much energy. Every big brand is envious of what Apple can do.” Many of the people waiting for the iPad had a vague sense that they were involved in yet another big Apple moment, although they could not precisely say how they would use the tablet computer, which shares features of both laptops and mobile phones. “I have no idea what he’ll do with it,” said Jessica Panzica, 30, waiting in line at the Apple store in downtown San Francisco for her husband, who could not pick up his iPad because he had a ham-radio class. “I’m sure he’ll use it a lot, whatever it is. He told me I’m not allowed to open it.” MORE

REUTERS: Publishers are placing big bets that Apple Inc’s iPad will kick-start a commercially viable transition to digital magazines and newspapers — even though few executives have laid hands on the tablet ahead of launch. In fact, many publishers likely will not announce their iPad applications until after the tablet hits U.S. stores on Saturday, due to the many constraints that Apple has placed on allowing its partners access to the device. While media content is critical to the success of the iPad — a 9.7-inch tablet that looks like a large iPhone and aims to bridge the gap between a smartphone and a laptop — Apple has been typically secretive about its plans. Media executives say they have had to test out the iPad in situ at Apple’s Cupertino, California office, or agree to extremely restrictive security measures to get one off-site. “We were offered the opportunity to have an iPad in the building but the security implications were so high, it wasn’t worth it,” said one publisher who did not want to be identified ahead of the iPad launch. Only a lucky few received a personal visit from Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who was in New York earlier this year to show off the iPad to a few publishers including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Despite the restrictions, the iPad’s full color touchscreen is seen as a game changer for media companies that have long struggled to make money off digital content, which most consumers expect to get for free or at a very low cost. Book publishers see a new chance to get their electronic offering right — and win more bargaining power if the iPad emerges as a viable rival to Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle. “We have all struggled in this industry to find an online model that works successfully in terms of content and the consumer’s propensity to pay,” Penguin Books Chief Executive John Makinson told a recent media conference in London. MORE