Why
I think Tablets going to be a failure (in the long run)
I was
very excited when tablets started hitting the market.
I
thought it is going to be the “digital slate” that will be in
every child's school back.
I for
one want it to be my digital reader cum writer.
I
thought it is the best thing that is going to happen in my twilight
years away from the PC.
But in
three years I have to revise my opinion and scale down my excitement.
I have
few reason for not buying one till now.
I will
list them later but jot down in point form, why I think tablets are
going to be a failure.
Not
the best thing that happened in the IT world.
Number
1
It is not going to replace the functions of a simple desktop.
The old IBM (I have several but discarding one by one, and sticking
to my wok horse) did donkey work for me and still going on batting
for me.
The keyboard, the mouse and the screen are designed for human needs
and not for a robot.
Small screen and even touch screen capability is not design for
androids (human hand).
If used in regular basis by children will have hand eye coordination
problems.
Hand eye coordination are essential for a vascular or heart, plastic
surgeon.
Future surgeons might have to use a robot for surgery and I won't go
under one of them (I would be gone by then anyway).
Number
2
Tablet won't replace a good mobile phone in usage.
For communication and text messages to begin with.
Number
3
Tablet will never replace a good SLR camera or a video camera.
In other words, the PC, the phone, and the camera were dedicated
gadgets.
What tablet did was to integrate the three with some increase in
bulk.
It did not replace any one of the professionally designed gadgets,
for example good quality PC for gaming or simulation of flying.
Now let me come to the more important topics.
Number
4-Security
Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu (According to Linux Magazine) calls for
declarative firmware.
He claims most of the manufacturers put out low quality closed source
firmware, which can become paradise for hackers.
Whether we like it or not dominance of the device configurations and
firmware will remain with the parent company.
In this scenario even Apple is not safe.
The tablets will come with poor firmware and will be hacked in no
time.
I think they will have a shelf life of two years if carelessly used.
That is my major concern.
They do not have USB ports to prevent using root kits to hack the
firmware but the hacker can reach it from the Internet when the
tablet is connected.
The manufacturer will put the fault on the user instead of owning his
lack of responsibility.
Android has lot of holes even though it is based on Linux
derivatives.
Kernel is not as good as a standard PC Linux kernel.
Let
me dish out my own reasons.
Number 5
I won't buy a tablet without a USB port.
I do not want to use Apple or Samsung software.
I prefer my own Linux software and if possible use a root kit
(ideally both commercial and my own) to install my own Linux Kernel
out of the hundred available in the free software foundation.
Rest are academic not related to tablets alone.
Number 6.
Battery life.
Durability.
Customer support etc.
Number 7
It is not yet ready for school use.
I want tablets to be universally available both for rich and the poor.
My Gut Feeling
In this scenario, ASUS Transformer wins the game for a long time to
come.
I hope the price of the tablet and transformer with the battery and
keyboard will come down.
This is what I wrote few years ago.
It has long battery life, the human keyboard and the portability.
So think twice before buying a tablet.
If you have a laptop keep it in running condition and use the tablet
as an accessory and not the work horse.
In my case I will have my old computer running till it packs up,
(even if I decide to buy a tablet) or me pack up for good due to old
age.
