I wrote about Microsoft’s super secret tablet device, named Courier, a little while back. Gizmodo has some really good screenshots outlining the user interface design. Hot damn, I have to say this is looking better all the time.
Laptops are great but the dependance on what software you have, and your personal workflow, influence just how well you use it. I’m not talking about surfing the web or updating your social networking sites. I spend an awful amount of time, probably too much, in searching out new software to make my life easier. It’s a dangerous game in that you can fall pray to never using what you have effectively.
A nagging problem for me over the last few years has been the need for storing and referencing vast amounts of research material. I use a combination of text notes for fast, easy indexing and searching. Evernote covers my screenshot needs from saving emails to forum threads worth a read later, and I get Evernote’s awesome ability to search those images as text! But in the end I’m still stuck with a clunky ol’ keyboard, and two different methods of handling two different types of media.
These rumoured tablets/booklets could be the missing link in computing. Apple tried it once-upon-a-time with the Apple Newton (I still think it was a beautiful device). But given the power of today’s mobile chips, network infrastructure, software, and materials, a proper tablet would be a godsend. We’ll see what both Microsoft and Apple deliver soon enough.
Plus I would slap a Don’t Panic sticker on that so fast. 