Butler Lampson
Microsoft
August 4, 2004
Tablet PC: Revolutionary Tool
or Etch-a-Sketch?
Butler Lampson
Microsoft
August 4, 2004
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Why tablets?
Mobility Reading Pen
Pointing Writing Sketching Gestures
Make the computer natural
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
History
Dynabook (1968) Workslate, TRS-80 (1982) Lectrice (1996) – originally for reading; $8K Pen Windows/ Go Palm / Pocket PC Win CE Clio
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Alan Kay’s Dynabook mockup (1968)
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Convergent Workslate (1982)
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
TRS-80 Model 100 (1983)
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
DEC SRC Lectrice (1994, $8k)
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Lessons from past failures
A tablet must be a full PC. Why? Must have volume to keep cost down Users need to run full apps Don’t want two >$1k computers Don’t want to carry two bulky things
Lampson’s law: Devices must differ in size by 5x Watch Cellphone Tablet/laptop Desktop
Being a full PC is hard And it’s a moving target
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Slogans
The power of the PC, the simplicity of paper Grab and go Think in ink Every laptop is a tablet
Tablet PC, the first computer good enough to criticize—Alan Kay
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Prerequisites for success
Hardware Display: ≥120 dpi, good viewing Digitizer: ≥120 dpi, hover Wireless networking Ultralight laptop engineering Cycles and RAM for handwriting, speech
Software UI compatibility: all kbd, mouse actions
▬ No changes to base platform Handwriting recognition Cleartype for reading Decent scribbling application
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Today’s tablets
NEC: Excellent slate, except for battery life Motion: Good slate, part of good system Toshiba: Excellent convertible
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
NEC Litepad (2003, 2.2 lb)
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Motion M1400 (2004, 3 lb)—Grab and Go
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Toshiba M200 (2004, 4 lb)—Convertible
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Natural UI: The guessing game
Computer UI: My way or the highway Input is unambiguous It’s your fault if the wrong thing happens
Natural UI: Ambiguous—machine must guess What if it guesses wrong?
New requirements I can tell what it guessed I can undo any state changes from a wrong guess I can say what I wanted in another way
▬ Perhaps clunkier, but less ambiguous
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Lessons from V1 Tablet PCs
The biggest threat to development: Creativity Keeps people from focusing on essentials
UI design is hard Even the best people need many iterations Example: TIP
It’s easy to overreach The guessing game is hard Examples: Journal and OneNote
Microsoft doesn’t understand images Why Tablet PC doesn’t integrate PDF
Importance of ergonomics—hard for OEMs
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Hardware futures
Display Quality: reflections, resolution, parallax, contrast Size: smaller New technologies: eInk
Digitizer Cost Calibration
Better integrated keyboard Ride laptop evolution
Battery life Weight—less than 2.5 lbs. Rugged—especially for K–12
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Software futures
Pen Gestures—proofreader marks show what’s possible
Math input Sketch recognition Ink annotation – auto reflow
Speech – audio input the biggest problem Natural language commands
Display Smaller: UI issues Recruiting local projector, other screens
Camera/scanner – needs image processing Seamless networking, disconnected operation
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Vertical applications
Health care Just what doctors need Many system issues, however
Education Are computers any good for education Or is it just for cheap textbooks
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
Revolution through evolution
Changes are incremental Market is still small: << 1% of Windows Few tablet-specific apps Mostly small tweaks to existing apps
But it’s a different relationship to the computer Much more intimate Much closer to the physical world
In the end, big changes
Butler Lampson: Tablet PC
The future is bright, but cloudy
Tablet vs cellphone Phone will integrate GPS, PDA, music, camera Reading is unclear: screen size Writing is even less clear: reading plus speech?
Tablet vs laptop Every laptop a tablet? Weight vs screen size vs power tradeoffs
Tablet vs people Natural input Computing at your fingertips
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