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Getting Touchy-Feely With Tablet PCs
donnacha writes "Yahoo News are currently running a story, Tablet PCs gaining momentum, describing a renewed enthusiam among computer manufacturers for Tablet PCs, in the face of skeptics who are, apparently, abounding. The skeptics insist, between bounds, that Joe Public just won't pay the extra $150 that touch screens add. Having spent much time lusting over Wacom's
$3,500 Cintiq 18sx, a combined graphics tablet / 18" LCD screen and one of the few pieces of hardware that I would consider starting a family with, I beg to differ. Combined Graphic Tablets/LCD screens are a dream come true for artists and the rise of the Tablet PC might be exactly what's needed to drag that magical match down to reasonable, commodity-level pricing. Question is, will the screens used come anywhere near the Cintiq's 512 levels of pressure sensitivity?"
I'd like a tablet pc, or that groovy Wacom thing, but then again, I like to draw. For real work I still use a keyboard. Why? Because a semi trained typist is going to be able to type faster than they can write. One button per letter, versus a few strokes for a letter. Typing 25 words per minute is nothing, now write 25 words a minute. Just thinking about it makes my hand cramp. I have to side with the skeptics on this one.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
If an executive doesn't want to learn to type they hire secretaries. Then they get this gadget for the cool factor. If they are really pretentious, they get one for the secretary, too. What does that say about your status in the world, when your *secretary* doesn't even have to type.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
> Yahoo News are currently running a story, Tablet
> PCs gaining momentum, describing a renewed
> enthusiam among computer manufacturers for Tablet
> PCs, in the face of skeptics who are, apparently,
> abounding.
Not quite. The article mentions that Fujitsu is having a go at it, and implies that they'll be using Microsoft's new "Tablet-aware" Windows XP.
But the article doesn't claim that sales are up, or that anyone is making any money on these things. The only pundits seem to be those who are marketing product.
This does indicate a gathering of force behind the tablet PC concept, regardless of whether or not that concept is a worthwhile or whether it will ever find a substantial market. In submitting this story to Slashdot, I wanted to suggest that a certain niche of the market, digital artists, would actually find tablet PCs extremely attractive but only if the touch screens are as sensitive as Wacom's existing graphics tablets.
If you could have the same functionality/sensitivity in just one highly portable device, that would be worth considerably more to me than the $2000 they're talking about for tablet PCs. If they could get a tablet suitable for digital artists out the door for, say, $3000 I think they'd actually be looking at a far larger market than just artists. Hell, I'd bet that most executives, even the ones who will never use it for art, could be persuaded to pay extra for the "added value" of a more sensitive screen.
As I said in the original story submission, I'm hoping that this functionality can be dragged down to commodity-level pricing so that, eventually, everyone can enjoy it.
There's also the fact that Transmeta seem to be making progress in this area, lending the whole tablet concept Torvalds-powered street cred.
I think a tablet would be great for sales people. Instead of having everyone stare at a lap top screen, rotating it back and forth, a tablet makes much more sense.
A tablet does not put up a "wall" between the client and the sales person like a laptop screen does. A tablet would be very nice for me to take to normal meetings. A Tablet could not replace by Laptop for a few reasons, and it doesn't make sense to have two machines like that, so I guess the tablet is out for me.
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
Would be in the lounge/sitting room. It wouldn't clutter, or look out of place like a desktop or laptop.
You could use it to surf the web, or to control your Autiotron MP3 player. I want one!
--- My dad's political betting
No a tablet is not good for people who use the keyboard all the time (ie. coders) and no a tablet might not be very useful for artists and yes, some things might be done different (ie. slower) than how its done as we speak.
But by golly I'm a sucker for a TabletPC. Of all the uses I've found for my computer very few of them make me appreciate that I can't take my computing into the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the couch, my friends places, a café or whereever I may please. The TabletPC will offer a !much! more casual way of computing.
What I think is important to recognize is that the TabletPC is not a computercentric device - that is, its applications and usage is an entirely different framework than that of coding, digital imagery and the likes. It's main aplicability are topics beyond the computer itself. Things that has to do with the world we live in and the things we do every day - not things that has to do with keeping a computer running. We use other computers for that - ones that are tailered more specifically to this application.
Further, I've seen hybrids of desktop / Tablet PC's that make the best of both worlds: dock the tablet and you've got a full fledged destop pc. Pick up the display and you've got a Tablet PC.
My two mere cents anyhoo
naah sig schmig
Apple has had good, working handwriting recognition technology ever since the Newton 130 or 2000 or so in 1996.
(Yes, the first newtons had laughable handwriting recognition at first. But by the time that the newton was at the end of its life cycle, it was actually a good, worthwhile, usable product, one that technology is only just now catching up with. People don't remember that the year Windows 95 came out, NewtonOS v2.0 won the "Best New Operating System" award at comdex.. the problem was that Apple released the Newton prematurely, and then hyped it endlessly. Then a few years later, in *1996*, when the thing was actually FIXED, they did absolutely nothing to promote it. So the general public, unless they read "MacWorld" cover to cover, didn't know the Newton then worked-- they just remembered the beginning of the Newton's cycle, when Apple released it in a blitz of hype, and every journalist in the world picked it up, tried it out, and reported, hey, guess what, this thing doesn't WORK.)
Apple will be putting handwriting recognition back into the OS with mac os 10.2. But it is too late-- by the time that 10.2 is released, MS will have their handwriting-recognition-enabled WinXP Tablet Edition *preinstalled on tablet PCs being shipped in stores*. Before 10.2 is released, WinXP Tablet Beta will be in the hands of consumers. Although Apple has had a great handwriting recognition tech for years, MS will actually be releasing the tech first-- and when they do, it will be in a much cooler form, namely tablet laptops. Something apple currently has no analogue for at all. (iWalk? What's that? Is that like the segway?)
Just think what apple could have done: they didn't have the funds or resources to continue developing the Newton in 1997. However, they could have sold/licensed some of that technology to Wacom, and worked with them on getting some kind of simple, early version of this Cintiq thing (which, by the way, is absolutely the coolest tech toy i've seen in ages) created-- then put the newton handwriting recognition stuff into the Mac OS. They would have had an advantage for *quite* awhile in that you would have something absolutely unique for the Mac OS-- Wacom would surely release windows drivers for their tablet/monitor, but 1) it would take a really long time for MS to play catch-up and get some kind of workable handwriting recognition feature, not counting Graffiti (handwriting recognition not being a useful feature, but definitely an eye-catching one to consumers), and 2) this was back when the Mac OS had multiple monitor support, and Windows didn't to speak of. (Mac OS has had seamless multiple monitor support for a long time; Windows didn't in any functional form until Windows 98, and even for awhile after that, it was buggy).
Think about all that could have done for Apple-- even though the monitor might have been prohibhitively hyperexpensive outside of its designated "niche market", given the LCD tech of the day, Apple could have been publicly seen as doing something truly revolutionary and new at a time they were troubled. Instead, Apple just gave off the impression that year of falling apart at the seams. An image problem which of course didn't help sales. Instead, though, MS is going to be the one to first take advantage of this technology, and Apple will be playing catch-up in a field they pioneered.
Typical-- the entire computing world, including apple, is just now catching up with where Apple was six years ago. Once again, Apple is far ahead of Microsoft in terms of getting something working & usable, and far, far behind microsoft in terms of actually getting their technology into the hands of consumers. I'm tired of this being the way the computing world works.
Now i can't wait to see what happens when the Windows world discovers the "voice command" useless gimmick.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Tablet PCs make good near-wearable computers (i.e. see this webcam).
Not having to deal with the weight and required protection of a keyboard is a big win. You can wrap them up in neoprene with a see-through thin plastic window and use a stylus to interact with the screen.
I have yet to fathom why all of the computer manufcaturers seem insistent that tablet PC's are the way of the future. A company I worked for had a bunch of table PC's that were supposed to be sold as part of wireless Internet services, and they were horrible? I mean technologically, they were sort of impressive, but the actual usability of the beasts was just awful compared to a laptop. Furthermore, the price of one of these beasts was roughly double the price of a midrange laptop.
It's sort of funny how blind they are to the reality of this market. Think about this for just a moment. Look at the market for hand held PDA devices. A couple years ago did any of them have keyboards? Nope. Now, suddenly all of them are getting keyboards because, simply, it's much easier to enter information on a keyboard. They all seem to be convinced that entering data using handwriting is so natural and easy but I'm sure I'm not the only one who. after years of incessant typing, can barely write in cursive anymore without serious concentration.
The only real advantage that there is to the table design is that you can carry it around and use it without needing to sit down. That's somewhat useful in some places and it is only a necessary feature in very limited areas (medical use is about the only thing I can think of off the top of my head). If somebody could get a hybrid design together for only slightly more than a full blow laptop, then maybe it could work.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
But as Apple found out, demand is the key. The Palm OS succeeded for a variety of reasons, but my feeling is that it triumphed over the Newton primarily due to two things:
1) Newton's early, much-huballooed release that didn't live up to expectations
and
2) The form factor of the original Palm Pilot. The Palm devices were and are smaller. They fit in a pocket or a purse or an attache. They fit the paradigm people were used to. The Newton's bulk simply looked and felt clunky and awkward to many people.
Now Microsoft is going to ship their tablet technology soon, but aside from geeks on Slashdot, there just is no hue and cry for handwriting recognition technology. The Tablet PC is a cool technology in search of a real-world application.
For example, look at the size of a Tablet PC. Sure, it might be spiffy for surfing the Web while you're sitting on your couch, but honestly, will most people replace their laptops with Tablets just so they can do this? With laptops getting so thin and light, there isn't much discernable difference between a Tablet PC and a laptop in terms of bulk and size.
As has been mentioned before by others, typing is inherently faster and less of a strain than writing by hand. It's simply a more efficient means of turning thoughts into data. With speech recognition coming into its own on laptops, I don't see how the Tablet PC's handwriting recognition will seem in any way superior to consumers.
The gap in time between XP's handwriting recognition and OS X 10.2's release will be minimal, but even so, I doubt there will be a groundswell of consumer excitement about the technology.
Apple learned its lesson the first time around - whatever they do with handwriting recognition, my guess is they have some real-world applications in mind for specifically-defined markets.
Just because Apple has been slow to market with their handwriting recognition products doesn't mean they have been foolish all these years. In business you have to pick and choose your battles, and I think Apple has been smart not to take up the cause of handwriting recognition until the time is right.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
whats really interesting about this tablet is the statement: "Textured surface for natural pen-on-paper feel"
Thats really cool - because you know anytime you try to sign your name on those little lcd's that UPS and some cash registers have - you can never make an acurate signature due to the fat that the plastic on plastic slides all overthe place and you dont get the friction of pen on paper which gives you enough feedback for you to be able to acurately control the path of the tip of the pen.
I would love a Tablet PC for surfing the web and reading some things while I'm sitting at a table at my local Starbucks or other cafe. The other day, I printed out the main page of /. just as a printer test at work, and brought it with me on my lunch break at Starbucks yesterday, along with my newspaper, and the "Version Fatigue" story, which I printed elsewhere as a test (rather practical things, than a stupid Windows Test Page). I enjoyed my printouts over a latte, and wished that I could have read other sections, and so on. I would not want to try to type on a tablet PC, but if it was light, and could be held in one hand easily, like I did my printouts, I would be quite pleased. I have a Zaurus, but the screen is still a bit too small for comfortable reading of a large page.
I disagree. I have two from a review I did earlier in the year and I use them for all sorts of things. They're great for controlling our MP3 server, for watching the kids via the web cam, and for friends who are over and want us to "check out this website".
When I'm just "surfing" they're lighter and easier to handle and don't run as hot so you can sit with one in your lap on the couch and surf comfortably. (If you've got wireless, of course. But what real geek doesn't?).
They're also used extensively in the medical field because they are portable, generally support WiFi connectivity and provide doctor's and nurses with instant access to your records and such without needing to physically find a terminal.
I agree they aren't useful for development or anything that's keyboard intensive. It just isn't feasible - unless you want to hook up a USB keyboard, which most support, which destroys the portability of the things.
Also note that many of the tablet PCs/Web pad style devices use a Transmeta processor regardless of whether they're running a Windows OS or Linux.
SonicBLUE offers both Linux and Windows. And so does FICA.
I don't have a solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
I don't agree with your assumption that it is too late at all.
I think of it more like the MP3 market - Apple simply will wait until they can release a usable, well-thought out tablet. Even though I personally would have been happy to see a tablet iMac, I realize that appeals to a very small number of people in reality right now. A $400 tablet with a well thought out interface will simply destroy whatever weak version 1.0 (2.0, 3.0) tablet Microsoft might have by that point (at least on technical merits, who knows after the marketing factor is applied). And because it's based on OS X will be more appealing to the technical user as well!
Do you want the sucky tablet that keeps crashing and trying to talk to Microsoft every day, or would you prefer the tablet that has a real unix shell and can edit movies via iMovie and the firewire connection (Talk about a killer app, portable video editing platform!!).
My ideal tablet - an Apple tablet with 15" touch screen, handwriting/optional voice recognition, firewire, USB, Airport card, and a 40GB ram disk onboard.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There are so many applications that are too complicated for little pocket devices, but for which "real" computers, even laptops, are too clumsy and inconvenient. Casual reading, browsing a museum web site. I guess most of them are recreational -- when you're trying to relax, you don't want to be tied to a lot bulky hardware, and you probably don't need to do a lot of complicated interactions.
Tablets are only a part of the solution. You also need networking that's secure, reliable, reasonably fast, and affordable. A sort of "last inches" problem.
People will need to do some text input with their tablets, and few will be satisifed with handwriting. It's doable (despite the fuckups with early Newtons) but as you point out, it's too slow. I expect there to be a lot of work on things like virtual keyboards., special kinds of electronic shorthand, and fancy one-handed input devices. Actually a lot of these things have been worked on for years, but haven't found a market yet.
" I don't think I am nearly geeky enough for /. any more. Touch-screen/graphics tablets just don't arouse those sort of feelings for me. But, man, just take a look at this beauty [wacom.com].
... uh... uh... huuuuu!!
:-)
I'm a normal, red-blooded male but when I look at that it just makes me
Oh, crap."
My suspicions are confirmed
Gesture-based computing has a lot of intrigue for me, and while the stuff in Minority Report was pretty fake (gesture at a green screen, put in the rest later), it still looked like a lot of fun.
But I would go one further. I want an extremely sensitive camera that could tell where on a screen I was looking, and use that like a mouse cursor. If they have cameras that can identify you based on your eyes from 10 feet away, certainly they can tell where your eyes are focused on a screen with a few millimeters.
That, to me, is the ultimate in interfaces. Effective voice recognition would be great as well, but that's stalled too.
Wonder why.
Synergy is your friend
SonicBLUE offers both Linux and Windows. And so does FICA.
We bought a couple of win98 ones for $599 each, and I blew away the win98 partition on the one and installed Linux. The guy that works with me put win2k on the other. :-)
It is probably the crappy slackware packages, but KDE3 was dog-slow on these things. I am going to put the latest CVS compiled with prelinking and gcc3.1 to see if I can't get the startup times down and maybe better speed through the updated code in CVS.
Not bad little machines. 1024x768, 5G HDD, 128M RAM, 400MHz Crusoe processor. The graphics chipset is a Silicon Motion Lynx3M which is totally supported with XF410. The wireless network card is an OEM Orinico with a funky antenna arrangement: there are two jacks on the card "I" and "II"; I goes to a long coax cable to the other end of the unit, and II goes to a very short run of coax to a similar aluminum-plate antenna but which slides over the PCMCIA card itself, which leads me to believe it's not a dual antenna PCMCIA card. At any rate the only thing I can't get working is the gay scroll joystick, which isn't a big loss.
I've been half-heartedly porting the qtopia popup keyboard to qt/x11 so that I can get away from plugging the USB keyboard in. :-)
I'm not trying to start a flame war here, but I am curious as to why slackware packages are crappy. Perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining...
I was being flip, but I belive that the slackware packages are not compiled --with-objprelink which *really* helps reduce startup time. The other thing I had mentioned was using KDE CVS code, which I run on my notebook. We're talking 400MHz Crusoe compred to 1G P3m, but I am fairly certain that the KDE CVS code has numerous speed increases (including a prelinked Qt library too).
I'm a diehard Slack fan but for things like GUIs and web servers I compile my own instead of relying on a package. I'd like to see if GCC can optimize for Crusoe as well... -mcrusoe? :-)