1. Butler Lampson Microsoft August 4, 2004

2. Tablet PC: Revolutionary Tool or Etch-a-Sketch? Butler Lampson Microsoft August 4, 2004

3. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Why tablets? nMobility nReading nPen o Pointing o Writing o Sketching o Gestures nMake the computer natural

4. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC History nDynabook (1968) nWorkslate, TRS-80 (1982) nLectrice (1996) – originally for reading; $8K nPen Windows/ Go nPalm / Pocket PC nWin CE Clio

5. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Alan Kay’s Dynabook mockup (1968)

6. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Convergent Workslate (1982)

7. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC TRS-80 Model 100 (1983)

8. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC DEC SRC Lectrice (1994, $8k)

9. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Lessons from past failures nA tablet must be a full PC. Why? o Must have volume to keep cost down o Users need to run full apps o Don’t want two >$1k computers o Don’t want to carry two bulky things Lampson’s law: Devices must differ in size by 5x  Watch  Cellphone  Tablet/laptop  Desktop nBeing a full PC is hard o And it’s a moving target

10. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Slogans nThe power of the PC, the simplicity of paper nGrab and go nThink in ink nEvery laptop is a tablet nTablet PC, the first computer good enough to criticize—Alan Kay

11. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Prerequisites for success nHardware o Display: ≥120 dpi, good viewing o Digitizer: ≥120 dpi, hover o Wireless networking o Ultralight laptop engineering o Cycles and RAM for handwriting, speech nSoftware o UI compatibility: all kbd, mouse actions ▬ No changes to base platform o Handwriting recognition o Cleartype for reading o Decent scribbling application

12. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Today’s tablets nNEC: Excellent slate, except for battery life nMotion: Good slate, part of good system nToshiba: Excellent convertible

13. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC NEC Litepad (2003, 2.2 lb)

14. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Motion M1400 (2004, 3 lb) —Grab and Go

15. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Toshiba M200 (2004, 4 lb) —Convertible

16. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Natural UI: The guessing game nComputer UI: My way or the highway o Input is unambiguous o It’s your fault if the wrong thing happens nNatural UI: Ambiguous—machine must guess o What if it guesses wrong? nNew requirements o I can tell what it guessed o I can undo any state changes from a wrong guess o I can say what I wanted in another way ▬ Perhaps clunkier, but less ambiguous

17. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Lessons from V1 Tablet PCs nThe biggest threat to development: Creativity o Keeps people from focusing on essentials nUI design is hard o Even the best people need many iterations o Example: TIP nIt’s easy to overreach o The guessing game is hard o Examples: Journal and OneNote nMicrosoft doesn’t understand images o Why Tablet PC doesn’t integrate PDF nImportance of ergonomics—hard for OEMs

18. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Hardware futures nDisplay o Quality: reflections, resolution, parallax, contrast o Size: smaller o New technologies: eInk nDigitizer o Cost o Calibration nBetter integrated keyboard nRide laptop evolution o Battery life o Weight—less than 2.5 lbs. o Rugged—especially for K–12

19. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Software futures nPen o Gestures—proofreader marks show what’s possible o Math input o Sketch recognition o Ink annotation – auto reflow nSpeech – audio input the biggest problem o Natural language commands nDisplay o Smaller: UI issues o Recruiting local projector, other screens nCamera/scanner – needs image processing nSeamless networking, disconnected operation

20. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Vertical applications nHealth care o Just what doctors need o Many system issues, however nEducation o Are computers any good for education o Or is it just for cheap textbooks

21. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC Revolution through evolution nChanges are incremental o Market is still small: << 1% of Windows o Few tablet-specific apps o Mostly small tweaks to existing apps nBut it’s a different relationship to the computer o Much more intimate o Much closer to the physical world nIn the end, big changes

22. Butler Lampson: Tablet PC The future is bright, but cloudy nTablet vs cellphone o Phone will integrate GPS, PDA, music, camera o Reading is unclear: screen size o Writing is even less clear: reading plus speech? nTablet vs laptop o Every laptop a tablet? o Weight vs screen size vs power tradeoffs nTablet vs people o Natural input o Computing at your fingertips