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VisiCalc's Dan Bricklin On the Tablet Revolution
snydeq writes "Dan Bricklin, the co-creator of the PC revolution's killer app, weighs in on the opportunities and oversights of the tablet revolution. 'In some sense, for tablets the browser is a killer app. Maps is a killer app to some extent. Being able to share the screen with other people — that it's a social device — also might fit the bill. I think that for tablets, there isn't and won't be one killer app for everyone. It's more that there are apps that are killers for individual people. It's the sum of all those that is the killer app. This has been true since the original Palm Pilot.'"
Just FYI: My comments about "social device" in the InfoWorld interview relate to the fact that a 10" tablet is easily usable by one person while a few other people watch. It isn't "between" you and them the way an open laptop is or a phone held in front of your face. The actions you are doing (tapping, dragging, pinching) are easily followed by the other person unlike a keyboard and mouse where what you are doing isn't as obvious or direct. I first mentioned this in http://danbricklin.com/ipad1.htm .
The "lots of apps is a killer app" comment (and the reference to the Palm Pilot which was based on an interview I did with Palm's head) comes from the essay I wrote in 2006, "When the Long Tail Wags the Dog" (http://danbricklin.com/tailwagsdog.htm). It explains why "There's an app for that" was such an important selling point for Apple.
Finally, more recently (a little over a year ago) I wrote "Is the Apple iPad really "magical"?" (http://danbricklin.com/magical.htm)
-Dan Bricklin
For mobile computing the form factor just isn't there at a 10" screen. If I'm out and about, I'll be using my phone. The screen is small, but it's portable. If I'm at home want to get something done, I'm going to set my phone on the desk and link it wirelessly to a 24" monitor, keyboard and mouse.
The recent Ubuntu on Android demo is where I see things going. You bring your computer with you everywhere you go and use the touchscreen for convenience or use whatever input and output devices are around when you need more capability and a real OS.
Speaking as a professional CNC programmer, I'd say the touch screen interface is lacking for the application. Most CNC programmers I know, myself included, use two of the largest screens they can get their hands on to maximize screen real estate. There's an awful lot of data that you have to get from the computer to your head. We also tend to use Space Pilots and the like for view control, and high end trackballs (or mice for some) for fast but precise selection (no, not that line, I meant this one!) I also prefer to set a bunch of hotkeys and use keyboard access to menu commands because then I can keep my mouse pointer close to the geometry I'm selecting, which makes it much faster. I can then get rid of most of the toolbars and free up more screen area. I think trying to do CAM on a pad would be an exercise in frustration.