MisterDonut wrote:Great video, so far..
One thing, though, I think he's off the mark (and I think others might agree, or Bill needs to elaborate on) is that the vision of Students without textbooks (or better yet, with tablets) that Bill spoke of as a software problem isn't totally a software problem.
I'm of the belief this is as much of a hardware problem as a software one. People can curl up and study a good book. Kind hard to do that with a tablet in it's present form (yes, I own one and love it). Software is great, Microsoft. But hardware can be a limiting factor, as I'm sure you all are aware.
Also, convincing people to use new technology is very difficult as well. Maybe Bill address this, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
Anyone agree? Or Disagree?
Again - a shout out do Bill G - Thanks for making my wife's scholarship a reality! (ok.. I'll be quiet now..)
I think Bill G was speculating about the future. Of course, Bill's speculations mean quite a bit more than just any old speculations, he's in a position to make things happen.
I agree that the Tablet PC will evolve over the next 5-10 years, especially as voice recognition becomes common place. Right now most TabletPC's are of the convertable type to allow for the use of the keyboard. With near-perfect voice recognition the average user would have no need for a keyboard.
I think the TabletPC will either evolve into or give birth to a new generation of computers similar to the "slates" seen on Star Trek. They would be smaller than a magazine, light, and perfect for electronic media (books included).
As far as curling up with a current tablet to read a book, thats exactly what I do with my textbooks this semester (I scanned them in, since publishers havn't realized a need for electronic versions of their books). But you're right that it's not as natural or comfortable as it could be.
