MacNotables host Chuck Joiner has been confused about how EPUB and PDF compare, so Adam and Tonya tried to explain the pros and cons of each format in this MacNotables podcast. Adam also summarized the new features in Safari 5, and Chuck called upon listeners to vote in a poll to decide whether Adam or Tonya should get the new iPhone 4.

It seemed like all the other TidBITS staffers were getting them, so Joe Kissell and his wife wanted one too. On May 20, more than three weeks ahead of schedule, their long-awaited new product was delivered in Paris. Featuring a multi-touch surface, high-resolution video input, a fingerprint-resistant anti-glare finish, a 3D position sensor, wireless networking, and a (somewhat unreliable) sleep mode, this hardware-software combo has been providing them hours of entertainment and education. Frustratingly, it came without any documentation, and they've been unable to locate a mute button, but the developer promised that future upgrades will include face recognition, speech synthesis, and a power source that can last more than two hours between charges. The user interface will also be localized in French and English!

Our own Glenn Fleishman was quoted by Australia's Senator Stephen Conroy, the minister for broadband, communications, and the digital economy, in a recent speech. The quote came from an article Glenn wrote for the Northwest news site PubliCola, about electricity being the killer app of 1900, in the way that broadband is the killer app today. Australia plans an ambitious fiber and wireless infrastructure buildout to ensure near universal high-speed access, with 90 percent of residents having fiber to the home.

In what was perhaps the largest podcast we've ever participated in, nearly the entire TidBITS staff joined MacJury host Chuck Joiner to talk about the iPad. Topics ranged widely, including how it will be shared, the need for a guest mode, how we'll interact with it as an object, and where it will fit into our digital lives. But the real reason to listen is to hear Tonya compare using the iPad to "eating pudding with your fingers," an image that left many of us briefly speechless.