Introduction

Tablet PC is a revolution in computing that represents the way people and computers will come together in the future - or a big yawn, depending on who you talk to. The promise of pen computing has been around for a long while, and many computer pundits (you know, those folks who write those self-important columns for geek magazines) are not impressed by yet another effort.

But blasé pundits aside, Tablet PC is a leap forward for the way people compute. It combines several ways to interact with data - through handwriting, voice, or keyboard. Its portable design makes it ideal for workers on the job - from census takers to nurses, insurance inspectors to shipping agents.

And (let's not forget the important stuff) it's cool.

About This Book

Obviously, I'm in the camp of people who think Tablet PC has a role to play in the future of computing - and I think you're going to love your Tablet PC. But I didn't write this book to gloss over its shortcomings. It's a brand new computing device, and like any brand new machine, it has its glitches. So my first goal in writing this book was to give you an honest picture of the strengths and weaknesses of your Tablet PC and provide tips on how to be the most productive with all its features.

My second goal was to not make this a PCs for Dummies book. You know how to use a PC - I assume that you want to read about what's unique to using a Tablet PC. So I focused on what's different and special, while pointing out where you can just fall back on the standard Windows knowledge you already have.