Tablet PCs

The basic design of a tablet PC rests on the idea of separable components. This ultralight notebook also seeks to bring back the writing tablet, the oldest and most natural form of non-verbal communication. Its built-in digitizer pen acts in place of a mouse, and also lets one write B either left or right handed B on the screen. Otherwise a tablet works just like a standard notebook, except that with an optional docking station one can gain virtually all of the capabilities of a desktop. You can run all of your favorite programs on tablets.

Tablets do get fairly warm, so if you are using it on your lap for very long you might want to put some insulation, say a washcloth or two, between your thighs and the machine. Since the tablets= first introduction in 2002, prices have come down considerably, along with the amount of heat, and most now come with a lot of bells and whistles.

The tablet PC represents a major advance in the evolution of personal computing devices. One can use a tablet PC, suitably configured, to run any standard Windows program that will run on a desktop B except for Windows itself, which comes in a format of XP or Vista specially designed for tablets. The Microsoft Office suite also now has a built-in stylus or pen functionality.

By themselves, tablets typically weigh slightly more or sometimes even less than 4 pounds, and typically they have small (9" or 10") screens, though widescreen displays are available. How much hard drive space (and whether it is internal or external) to get is up to you. Similarly, how much memory you get will depend upon your needs and budget. Remember that although processor speed is the most important factor determining a computer=s overall speed, the amount of memory is a close second. Try to get lots of both.

Here are some basic characteristics:

1. Many come with regular keyboards, and all are keyboard compatible, but the stylus is very intuitive and you will quickly master its use.

2. One can use a regular mouse if you wish, though one quickly discovers that the stylus or pen is a natural and highly efficient tool, and one that lets you be mobile to the maximum degree. 3. You may also plug-and-play any standard Universal Serial Bus or USB device. 4. Tablets all have built-in wireless (Bluetooth 802.11x) Internet capabilities.

5. Usually an undocked tablet=s central processing unit or CPU will be slightly slower than that of a desktop, but wholly adequate for virtually any task you can think of.

6. Tablets have amazingly accurate capabilities through sound recognition and through optical character recognition (OCR) to make files out of voice and handwriting input. 7. Lightness is often combined with the rugged construction required by military standards.

8. With respect to mobility and extended battery life, these machines are outstanding.

Tablets come in two basic forms, slates and convertibles. Convertibles have a screen that tilts 180 degrees, for use in either portrait or landscape mode, and it folds down over a keyboard. Slates have no keyboard except, when placed in an optional docking station or when purchased as an optional accessory. The idea is that you need only to carry with you what you need to get the job done. Now that’s progress.

Early adaptors include music composers, graphic designers, student notetakers, traveling salespersons, realtors, and anyone who works “in the field.” They often find that by eliminating many trips back and forth to and from home and/or office, their tablets save them the purchase price in less than a year.

www.lifehacker.com conducted a survey in February, 2008 that shows quite clearly the rapid trend toward portable computing. It asked users were asked whether they owned a desktop (22.8%), laptop (29.6%), or both (47.6%). The next question was, if shopping now whether the respondent would buy a laptop (58.2%) or a desktop (27.6%) or both (14.1%).

This survey left out the possibility of having the best of all possible worlds without the necessity to struggle with two completely separate sets of files, and all the headaches that brings for problems such as version control.

The new and very sensible solution is to buy a tablet or light notebook PC or Mac, and use it as such in the field, but when in the home or office to plug it into a docking station, which in effect turns it into a full-featured desktop machine.

* Because the files are all on the mobile computer’s hard disk, keeping track of them becomes immensely simpler.

* A tablet PC together with a docking station will typically cost much less than both a desktop and a mobile computer that function wholly separately.

* It’s almost like having your cake and eating it too.

OnHop lists docking stations separately, so please be sure to read about them in their own category on this website.

www.nuancesystems.ca quotes Scott Leforce, President of Realty World of Northern California and Nevada. Leforce, expressing the wave of the future, when he said: “Give your laptop to your kids because you don’t need it anymore; it slows you down.”

It is now time for you seriously to consider buying a tablet PC.