It’s been a while, so I thought I’d hit the mailbag … (apologies to Tony Kornheiser)
Our first question comes from Mr. W. Gates of Redmond. He writes, “I really like my Tablet PC, but sales seem to be sluggish. What’s up with that?”
Well, Mr. Gates, having seen and touched several of the units, my opinion is that they are close, but no cigar. Trying to go after the masses is probably the wrong approach. Instead, the Tablet PC and Windows XP tablet edition should be targeted for the beefier computers, like the IBM T30 series — the 6 pound notebooks that serve as desktop replacements. These folks would probably be willing to use the additional Tablet PC capabilities while not losing any of the power of their laptops.
Creating a unit that is essentially a big PDA is probably the wrong idea for this. We already are flooded with small PDAs and are buying laptops that have more power than most desktops — it’s these laptops that need the Tablet capabilities.
The second question comes from Mr J. Valenti. “How about that battle against Napster?”
Yes Mr. Valenti, you and the MPAA and your kindred spirits at the RIAA are making absolutely no progress in the protection of digital content. In fact, I think people are downloading more than ever. I recently walked by a local CD store where all of their $9.99 CDs were on sale for $6.99. Now I know that those CDs aren’t representative of the top artists, but please — this is an indicator of things to come. Yes, times are a-changing. It’s time for $3 CDs and $5 movies, because it doesn’t take that long to burn a DVD and we all have more time than money.
Our third question is on the subject of e-mail chain letters. Why do people continue to forward them without checking for hoaxes first?
I can’t remember if I’ve written on this before, but one of the most irritating things to me is to get an e-mail from a friend or relative that contains a chain letter or some similar hoax. I think it’s because of the number of years that I’ve been doing Internet things that I get more irritated than most people, but it strikes me how gullible people are. The latest one to drop in my e-mail was one on Bonsai Kittens, a site that is admittedly in bad taste, but is totally a hoax.
Okay, enough venting. Anything else?
Of course. 2002 was a fascinating year for me. I’ve started a new venture in the area of data synchronization and have been working with some of the most interesting people that I’ve ever met. I generally keep my k2.com stuff separated from my other work, so I’m not going to go into the new venture on this site, at least not yet. But it’s been a fun 2002 and I look forward to a terrific 2003!