Tablet Pc

Abstract:

A tablet personal computer (PC) is a cross between a laptop or notebook computer and a personal digital assistant (PDA). It's essentially a flat-panel portable computer. The user either taps on the screen with his or her finger or with a stylus, or he or she uses a stylus to write on the screen. A tablet PC can wirelessly connect to the Internet and other computers. The term "tablet PC" originally referred to a specific brand or tablets that were compatible with certain operating systems, but any tablet-sized computer has come to be referred to in some instances as a tablet PC.

The Tablet PC has the potential to dramatically alter the educational process.This new technology significantly changes the way students and teachers interact. It adds completely new dimensions to classroom interaction by providing digital ink and drawing tools for writing, sketching, and drawing; and for real-time

collaboration.

When integrating Tablet PC technologies with other advances in the computing sciences, undergraduate computing educators must re-think what we teach students and how we enable students to learn. We are just beginning to understand how to best take advantage of these new communication and collaboration resources.

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The Operating Systems

Tablet PCs have grown in popularity and the main reason is due to their interface with a touch sensitive screen. Most laptops and personal computers do not use touch screen technology because they rely on either a physical keyboard or a mouse.

The tablet PC is different and thus requires a different operating system to run the touch screen interface as well as the other processes. The range of tablets on the market is large but the majority of tablets are controlled by just a few operating systems.

The main operating systems that tablet pc use are either Windows 7 or a version of Android (either 2.1 or 2.2) and Apple Mac`s own operating system, iOS. Windows 7 has been dominating the personal computer operating system market and Microsoft have delayed their emergence into the tablet market because Apple and Google have already cornered and shared the initial markets with their two operating systems.

Time will tell if Microsoft`s Windows 7 will compete with the two current market leaders and regain lost ground.