Within moments of watching the unveiling of the iPad 2, the twittersphere was buzzing the hashtag #ipad2. As Steve Jobs put it, 2011 is the year of the iPad 2.

Before jumping into the excitement of all that is this next generation iPad, let me first begin with the new Macbook Pro.

In late February the new Macbook Pro was unveiled boasting three core changes; Intel processors, better graphics and thunderbolt, a new input/output technology.

The Intel processors, available in all three models, are reportedly twice as fast as they used to be. New graphics come to life with an integrated Intel HD graphics 3000 processor. The new graphics processor is also supposed to last longer while watching movies or playing games.

Finally, the thunderbolt is, according to Apple, the fastest and most versatile input/output in a notebook. The thunderbolt is 20 times faster than USB 2.0

Now onto the most exciting news of the week, the new iPad 2!

Steve Jobs appeared on stage to proudly show off the next generation iPad making tech geeks squeal almost as loudly as teenage girls at a Justin Bieber concert. Here is a recap of all the new fancy schmancy features.

Jobs announced that the iPad will be available in black and white along with smart covers in polyurethane (space suit material!) and leather. The smart cover folds up for easy viewing and is held in place by magnets. As soon as the smart cover goes on the iPad it automatically goes into sleep mode, once it is re-opened the iPad wakes up; no need to press buttons.

Apple has always boasted that their products are educational, and this speaks true with new apps available like iMovie and Garageband to the iPad 2. Creating your own music video has never been easier!

Many schools are incorporating the use of the iPad into their curriculum. One university in Arkansas will be providing the latest iPad to 60 incoming students in fall 2011. They are not the first as several other colleges and universities have provided their students with the gadget. Stanford Medical School purchased 100 iPads last year for an incoming class while Oklahoma State University was reportedly providing students with the tablet through a pilot program for communications and business school students.

The iPad 2 will be available in black and white on both Verizon and AT&T networks faster than you think. You can jump on the Apple bandwagon as soon as…wait for it…March 11^th. On March 25^th the second generation iPad will be available in over a dozen other countries as well.