Search Technology Will Be The Key To Success For New Breed Of Tablets

Despite the fact that a computer sits on almost every work desk in the developed world, we still take notes on good old-fashioned paper using writing instruments that cost around 25 cents. Those notes generally are available for a short period of time before they are lost or filed away in a manila folder tucked inside of a cabinet,the same thing as being lost.

Microsoft and a host of hardware manufacturers hope to change all that come November when the Tablet PC platform is slated to be launched, along with a specialized operating system. Together these vendors hope to prod us into using a computer that acts more like paper.

The reality is that dealing with today's computers doesn't feel natural. They require us to be more organized than is humanly possible and, if you didn't major in computer science or take some programming classes along the way, you can forget about finding anything once it's been "filed" away.

I have more useful data stored in my PC than I care to think about. Trouble is that I often can't find it. The big difference between filing paper notes and filing something on a PC is simple: At some point with paper, after I've looked in all my filing cabinets, I can assume that my notes are lost. With the PC, I know I haven't looked everywhere because that's impossible. I know my document is definitely there, but it is definitely and permanently lost.

I'm excited about the Tablet PC because the design possibilities for this new class of computer are almost endless and are bound to help us enter new areas of use and opportunity.

Two things have to happen, however, if this new class is going to afford solution providers the ability to develop customized applications that solve customer problems.

First and foremost, we need the right hardware design. No doubt that will happen, if not at first then over time. Some tablet prototypes I've seen already fall squarely into the very cool class. Dual-use machines from Acer and Toshiba lead me to believe these systems might steal market share from traditional notebooks. Both machines operate as standard notebooks, but by flipping the screen and folding it down, the user can transform them into tablets.

For the vast majority of applications, the convertible form factor will make the most sense. We all want one machine, if at all possible, and these dual-function systems,if priced properly,are sure to sell well.

Perhaps more important than the hardware form factor, however, is the operating system. Microsoft must deliver an operating system with a kick-ass search function capable of recognizing chicken-scratch handwriting if the Tablet PC is to succeed.

The Graffiti system used by the Palm operating system is useless, in my opinion, and one of the reasons why very few people use Palm handhelds for note-taking. Two or three years ago when I walked into business meetings, more than 50 percent of the attendees had a Palm or similar device with them. But no one was taking notes on these devices, and over time most of us found we were using them as electronic telephone books and, to a lesser degree, as calendars. Now my cellular phone has the telephone numbers I need programmed into it, and my Palm is gathering dust in one of my file cabinets.

If Microsoft's tablet operating system lets us search our own handwriting, then we may be on the verge of a new computer category that could drive lots of business because it solves a real problem.

Make something happen. I can be reached at (516) 562-7812 or via e-mail at [email protected].