The kitchen as family information center. Technology is only as good as the human needs it fulfills. A detailed look at how real people actually use their kitchens reveals why an iPad is such a great addition. The kitchen is the one room in the house where every family member is likely to find themselves every day. So it’s very common to use the refrigerator door as a message center, art gallery and reference library. What’s on your fridge door right now? There’s nothing paper and magnets can do that the iPad can’t do much better. Digital photos can display in a revolving slideshow. The iPad can photograph finger-painted words or anything else for the picture gallery. Notes and notifications are easily shared. The iPad supports pen input, and styli of every description are available. (Plus, a finger works fine too.) Best of all, apps like Penultimate will let you write notes to family members and email them at the same time. You can even use the iPad, plus an iPhone, as a kind of baby monitor to watch the kids while you’re in the kitchen. There are many apps available that do this, but a free set called Camera-A for the iPad and Camera-B for the iPhone let you set up an instant video monitor. Having an iPad in the kitchen makes it that much easier.