6 ms·
I still don't understand the tablet form factor. I concluded that it's not for me some time ago, but am waiting for the general population to come around to one
by bitsoda 14y ago
I still don't understand the tablet form factor. I concluded that it's not for me some time ago, but am waiting for the general population to come around to one glaring flaw: you have to hold it. For me, it doesn't matter how light a tablet is. A five pound laptop will always feel lighter since it will effectively weigh nothing because it's always on some kind of platform during use, either my lap or a flat desk/table surface. The tablet holds your hands and/or your legs hostage as you need to get into that special tablet-viewing position to prop the thing up on your thighs. I don't mean to come across as a cranky person who bemoans tablet use, I just feel the process is cumbersome not being able to have your hands free and wonder if people really think this is the form factor to usher in the "post-pc" era, whatever that is.
- firefoxman1 14y agoRight now they're pretty useless, I agree. But watch a couple clips for me: http://youtu.be/Jx7VNP5UO2k?t=5m9s http://youtu.be/Jx7VNP5UO2k?t=5m9s (at 5:09) http://youtu.be/5jzAAPccBaU?t=2m27s http://youtu.be/5jzAAPccBaU?t=2m27s (at 2:27) That's the future. That's when the tablet becomes extremely useful. Productive-yet-portable in a way a laptop can't be. What I think the Microsoft guys really nailed is that the tablet is ultimately just another tool. The "post-pc" era still has plenty of PC's in it; they just work alongside tablets and phones.
- bitsoda 14y agoI'll have a look at the videos once I get home. (Stuffy corporate stooge job)
- riffraff 14y agoI'm not sure what is supposed to be noticed in the second video, but the first one is basically already possible with current tablets, other than the "everything is transparent". I mean, there is no deep conceptual difference between something like leafsnap and what is shown there. But even looking at that, it still doesn't show why a tablet form factor (thinking >9" diagonal) is better for this things than something sized like a larger phone, or a foldable thingy like the (sadly dead) MS Courier.
- firefoxman1 14y agoThe main difference I was getting at is thickness/weight. Tablets now are too heavy to carry around like a legal pad for long periods of time. When they become paper thin and aerogel-light, they'll be killer. Other than that, it's not so much the form factor that's different from now, it's the software. As awesome as Ubuntu Tablet is, I think all of our tablet OSes carry too many PC relics with them. The OS in those videos looks nothing like software now.
- kunai 14y ago> just another tool. The "post-pc" era still has plenty of PC's in it Exactly. When people cry about PC sales diminishing, I am in no way alarmed, because for some things PCs will always be required, such as CAD, programming, etc... As for the video, I don't think that sort of future is anywhere near us, especially not as soon as 2019. When you look how far technology has come since 2007, it hasn't really come THAT long of a way. Sure, smartphones have gotten bigger and all-touch, and tablets have increased in popularity and usability, but the general usage of technology is still the same. Especially when businesses are still using 90s technology like fax machines, I don't see it happening soon. 2030, perhaps, but 2019 is too soon.
- naner 14y agoone glaring flaw: you have to hold it This isn't really a flaw, tablets aren't going to replace computers they are just another computer that is used differently. They are better for reading and passing around. Products like the Surface Pro I think are overselling the form factor.
- pekk 14y agoI'm not sure why Microsoft deserves special criticism here. Why isn't iPad overselling the form factor?
- gph 14y agoI'm fairly certain it's because the Surface has the keyboard-kickstand thing. Ipad doesn't. A few Asus models do, and perhaps some others I'm not aware of, but given all the advertising of it the Surface is the most notable.
- naner 14y agoI apologize for not being clear. It is my understanding that the Surface Pro is marketed as a tablet that is also a laptop replacement. I am arguing that current tablets cannot satisfactorily replicate the functionality of laptops. The iPad, Nexus, etc. are marketed as supplemental devices, not laptop replacements.
- rayiner 14y agoThe iPad and its ilk acknowledge the form factor's weaknesses while playing to its strengths: it's portable and tangible for looking at content. Thinner, lighter, longer battery life are consistent with these strengths. Microsoft is going in the opposite direction with Surface Pro: thicker, heavier, and shorter battery life. This direction slightly helps tasks which are a weakness of the form factor (content creation), while undermining tasks which play to the strengths of the form factor.
- freehunter 14y ago>you have to hold it The general population already has a solution for this. It's rare that I see an iPad without some sort of cover that also can act as a stand. While you're sitting on the couch, this isn't as big of a problem because you can rest your arm(s) on your lap. But stand/cases are the answer people have come up with.
- aerique 14y agoTablets are devices to consume content and for that I find them ideal. They are also good enough for writing short replies on forums or to e-mails. At this moment I'm consuming HN sitting on the couch with an iPad on my thigh and using one finger.
- Thrymr 14y ago> one glaring flaw: you have to hold it. That could also be said to be a flaw in books, but that's an interface that had some staying power. And most people probably use a tablet, like a book, setting on a surface or propped up on something.
- bitsoda 14y agoPaperback books are generally lighter and more grippy. You can also plant your thumb right in the middle of the spine for a balanced feel. Most tablets can't be held this way since their bezel is too thin to be held by only a thumb. Sure, you could attempt it, but you're going to obstruct the view.
- jasonkostempski 14y agoThey solved that problem with stands, I think on the same day they thought up tablets.
- SCdF 14y agoFor me holding it is the point! It's the only way to get the angle exactly right for all 2^32 different slouch positions I move between as I read on the couch. I do admit there needs to be some work on the ergonomics-- thinner does not mean better-- but the general 'holding it' concept works great, for me at least.
- forgottenpaswrd 14y agoI still don't understand the laptop factor. You are supposed to stay in the same place because the computer can't move, you can't either. Because the computer can't jump, you can't jump. I use to go outside and work on the go on the field or lab, standing up, with a laptop you must sit down for working, non sense for me(we are bipeds, we designed for standing up a big part of the time, when we sit our bodies metabolism change, we become less active). I can talk with other people and show things on my tablet just moving my hand, or the tablet where the person is. With a laptop the computer does not move so I HAVE TO MOVE THE OTHER PERSON! I use arms for holding my tablet in the car, in the lab, and a gorilla one for the field that I could attach to anything(a tree, any structure), and a backpack when I don't use it. I just need one tablet which I could do real work, run UNIX programs, and add a pixel qi display for working under the sun, and I will have my dream machine.
- forgottenpaswrd 14y agoPD:When I say that a laptop does not move I mean 95% of the time the table surface of the person I am talking with is already filled with things, is highly inconvenient so I do not ask unless it is very important and we make a mess.
- vacri 14y agowe are bipeds, we designed for standing up a big part of the time Do you eschew clothes, eat only raw foods, sleep outside, and run to work (on bare feet) each day?
- Zigurd 14y ago"I still don't understand the tablet form factor. I concluded that it's not for me some time ago, but am waiting for the general population to come around to one glaring flaw: you have to hold it." What you have obliquely hit upon is what makes tablets destined to be the center of workplace computing. You CAN hold it, like a notebook or sheaf of paper. You can walk around with. You can also lay it on a table and type on it, or use a keyboard with it for sustained typing for most office tasks. The deskbound will be left behind when everyone else is walking around, and will suffer tribulations.
- hga 14y agoWe may suffer tribulations, but I'm awfully fond of my 24 inch NEC WUXGA (1920×1200) monitor, it's hard to get enough screen space when programming. I have difficulty imagining a "tablet" form factor with a physically big enough screen for me that I'd be willing to tote around., and in an aging population this is not going to be a minor detail, e.g. to do his basic day to day online tasks my father needs a screen at least that big and not too far below IPS quality, plus of course a browser that's good at Ctrl-+. Since I'm fond of parity/ECC, I'll continue to build my own machines out of server/workstation class components with fast SCSI/SAS disks, the later until we get good enough with SSD lifespan and all that (I can remember Ted T'so, I think it was, being horrified to learn that Firefox wrote 1.8MB of data for every page it loaded...). In my experience since 1995 this class of systems don't die before I take them out of service 5+ years later, so the investment works out pretty well depending on how I account for the opportunity cost to research, procure and build them. I like building things, so there's intangible value to that as well, and it makes it easier maintain my parents' computers.
- Zigurd 14y agoWhat percentage of the workforce do you expect shares your requirements, or the rough equivalent? Probably about the same as need to build a machine for their requirements. People like you used to be the whole PC market. Now you are less than 5%. I would argue that 95% of the PC market constitutes a kind of "overshoot" of success, since, until recently, there were no alternatives that could overcome the manufacturing efficiencies of PCs. 95% of the PC market is made of users who don't need PCs (meaning Computers they Personally control), and their PCs are locked-down and use trailing-edge versions of Windows.
- moistgorilla 14y agoI use it as my newspaper/video player/planner.
- lukifer 14y agoI like to refer to my iPad as the "Codex of Infinite Pages". I interact with it more like a large book, rather than treating it like a computer. That said, I think people trying to use tablets like baby laptops are a little nuts, but to each their own. :)