First, we heard rumors about the hardware. But you can only have so many rumors about hardware, so after a while everything we heard about Apple's mythical Tablet merely resulted in one huge pile of colorful images, with little real substance.
The rumors about publishers who already have big plans for the device, however, are galore. The latest on the list? Condé Nast, which - according to All Things Digital - claims it's preparing a digital version of Wired magazine for the Apple Tablet by the middle of next year, followed by its other 18 titles.
The interesting thing about this news is the fact that Condé Nast claims they haven't talked to Apple, and they don't even know the company has plans for such a device.
While this is very hard to believe, if it's true, it would mean that Apple has attained a new, truly outwordly level of influence: companies are making plans and spending money based on what Apple might do.
Imagine the power: all the major news publishers bend to your will even before your product has materialized. You can simply wait until the demand is big enough, and then come down from your pedestal and deliver the goods (earning a huge heap of money in the process).