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When will hardware makers realize that you can't half-ass (or in this case, 1/8 to 1/16th-ass) the software stack for a new usage paradigm? Assembled parts doe

When will hardware makers realize that you can't half-ass (or in this case, 1/8 to 1/16th-ass) the software stack for a new usage paradigm? Assembled parts does not a system make. Tablet PCs have sucked for years for the simple reason that they just wanted to sell touch-screen, keyboardless laptops. They're completely different systems from the user's point of view, and just shoving an onscreen keyboard and handwriting recognizer doesn't cut it. Proper tablet computing is 10 years of user interface and systems research that hasn't (afaik) been done. Notice how apple started with an appliance (an ipod touch) and scaled it up to just be a larger appliance. They recognized the problem and (not-very-cleverly) avoided it. Sadly, we're going to see more bad ideas like this for a while; there are too many hardware vendors who simply don't understand the whole system stack. It's no coincidence that the only vendor to do a tablet that wasn't a desktop OS bolted-with-crap is Apple, a full-system vendor.

alextgordon 17y ago
I think part of the problem is that nobody knows quite what a tablet is supposed to do. Is it just for web browsing (CrunchPad)? Is it for basic web, email and office (iPad)? Is it for everything that a laptop does (Windows tablets)? Once you have a scope/audience, then you can design a suitable UI. Apple is attempting to take the lead here, defining what a tablet should and should not do. If it works out, then I suspect other tablet manufacturers will follow suit and create devices with similar scope to the iPad. If it doesn't then it's back to the drawing board.
- elblanco 17y ago
  Web, e-books, virtual paper, annotations on top of existing media....after that I'm pretty much done.
- Groxx 17y ago
  I've seen even the currently-crappy tablets in heavy use in the medical field, I'd bet largely for signatures (I've signed on 5 separate tablet PCs at different locations, over several years). They're also capable of being carried around and used while walking. That said, they are still crappy, and most require a powered pen (won't anybody learn from Wacom? Or did they somehow gain a ubiquitous patent, which the patent office isn't supposed to allow?). At the end of the day, though, they're just Windows with a couple marginally-intelligent tablet-oriented applications (ie, big buttons). Certainly not optimal.

alextgordon 17y ago

I think part of the problem is that nobody knows quite what a tablet is supposed to do. Is it just for web browsing (CrunchPad)? Is it for basic web, email and office (iPad)? Is it for everything that a laptop does (Windows tablets)? Once you have a scope/audience, then you can design a suitable UI. Apple is attempting to take the lead here, defining what a tablet should and should not do. If it works out, then I suspect other tablet manufacturers will follow suit and create devices with similar scope to the iPad. If it doesn't then it's back to the drawing board.

elblanco 17y ago
Web, e-books, virtual paper, annotations on top of existing media....after that I'm pretty much done.
Groxx 17y ago
I've seen even the currently-crappy tablets in heavy use in the medical field, I'd bet largely for signatures (I've signed on 5 separate tablet PCs at different locations, over several years). They're also capable of being carried around and used while walking. That said, they are still crappy, and most require a powered pen (won't anybody learn from Wacom? Or did they somehow gain a ubiquitous patent, which the patent office isn't supposed to allow?). At the end of the day, though, they're just Windows with a couple marginally-intelligent tablet-oriented applications (ie, big buttons). Certainly not optimal.