slu said:
I'll tell you why. I don't work in computers or medecine, I'm a musician. And pretty much all my information I keep in my mac - contacts, correspondence (email), calendars, etc. This keeps it nice and organized and easy to access (shout out to spotlight here!) - but only when I'm home.
iPods can store your contacts and calendars but you can't edit them or input any info. Laptops can do everything but they are obtrusive - you can't just whip it out of your pocket to look up someone's email address.
This is what I think people mean when they say 'in between a pda and a laptop'. A hundred times a day I look up phone numbers, emails, refer to my calendar, refer to prior emails. My ipod is OK for that (except the email). And you know what? A hundred times a day I would like to ADD a contact, change an appointment, and send off a quick email. But instead I have to keep notes and keep them organized until I get home, which is a lot harder than it sounds - I have to use a system of pockets like Lenny in Memento.
So a tablet would be PERFECT for me. It gives me not just a window, but an interface for my organizational needs while I'm out. Most of my emails are very short, too, like: "3/24 - gig @ Northsix. Are you available?" and "no, thanks for offering". I could get by with a pen interface, I don't need a keyboard. I mean, I'm not writing my life story. A 10-digit phone number + name, change a 7 pm rehearsal to 8 - simple stuff.
A laptop would suffice if I worked sitting down all the time and was stationary. But I'm not - a lot of my 'transactions' and 'business' are done face to face. 'But hey', you say, 'why don't you just get a PDA?'. That's a good question, and my answer is because they all suck big donkey balls. I tried them - I hate the interface, I hate the limitations, I hate the learning curve.
I want a tablet specifically because I'm not a "tech nerd" (no offense guys, his term!) and my life doesn't revolve around computers. But like a lot of people, I keep virtually all my information on my computer and this type of device would be a perfect interface for how I use my digital office. If you think about us 'regular' folks, and how we spend our days, and how we interact with our information and our computers, then you see why tablets make a lot of sense. Then, I think, you also start thinking like Jobs and Ive.
All that out of the way, I think we will not see a tablet on Tuesday, but 4/1 is a strong possibility. Just like Apple defined personal computing 30 years ago, a tablet interface, properly executed, could revolutionize how we interact with computers all over again and redefine how we use computers in our daily life. And that's definitely a 30th anniversary kind of announcement.
Long time reader, first time poster - thanks y'all!
Can you please consider the risk of having all professionals touching the same screens? What about immunocompromised patients like HSCT and aspergillosis? MRSA resistant strains? We are having problems with just the door handles, how are you going to sterilize your apple tablet?
