<p>So like most of the tech world I am keeping an eye on the tablet industry. There are so many tablets out there. You got the Ipad, Xoom, Galaxy Tab, Iconia Tab, Eee Slate. The options are plenty and the sector is exciting. I played with a Motorola Xoom the other day and fell in love with it. It got me thinking. What if I used this for school instead of my laptop? It's far lighter and far sexier. I mean I do a lot of "consumption" actions on my laptop. Things like open PDFs, Word, email, web browsing, etc. Sure would make a lot more sense than lugging my laptop around campus. I know for one class I used my ipod to read all the PDFs and stuff, which the class revolved around. It was awesome! Very convenient. </p>
<p>Then I was like dam. I'm an engineering major. We utilize things like Matlab and Inventor. A tablet won't be my one stop shop. :(</p>
<p>Thus, this idea. Does building a desktop PC and then using a tablet seem like a solid tandem? I can use my tablet for the uses I already described and then access my desktop for the heavier things if I need to. Are there any holes in the idea? For example, do you think a tablet, Xoom or whatever, can actually utilize Matlab or any other larger software well enough remotely?</p>
<p>Hell, while we're on the topic, where does everybody think the tablet industry is going? Do you think they will eventually replace laptops? In 2 years? 5 years? I know the keyboard is a pretty important hurdle for input purposes but what about hardware/software support? How far do you think industry can take the tablets in these regards? I mean most of these are already dual cores. I remember when the big thing for PCs was the dual core processors. Will tablets become as commonplace as laptops?</p>
<p>That’s a pretty solid idea. Many choose to have a desktop and a laptop, but for a while it was becoming more common to have a desktop and a netbook. The popularity of netbooks is going down, probably because of tablets.</p>
<p>As for tablets replacing laptops, many think that’s on the horizon. When the iPad was about to come out, the most common speculation about it was, will it run OS X? Lots of people were disappointed because it can’t (and is thus more like an oversized iPhone). I read on one of the tech news sites that an Apple insider suggested that Apple is developing a full-blown OS X tablet. I think it’s widely agreed that that’s the next step in the mobile PC progression. As always, Apple will cause ripples in the tech industry (first with its desktop PC starting in the 80s, then with the iPod, then with laptops like the Air, then with the iPhone, now with the tablet) when it releases an OS X tablet and others follow. This OS X or PC tablet will probably have some dock for a keyboard so that you can use the tablet as a screen on the dock or as a tablet on the go. That would effectively make current laptops much less desirable.</p>
<p>Of course, that depends on new technologies for touch screens, i.e. making an affordable, sensitive multi-touch for more than 9- or 10- inch screens. IMO we’ll definitely see PC tablets within 2-3 years, though as with any new technology, it’ll be pricey.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech requires all engineering students to have a tablet PC now. They recommend Fujitsu’s which are basically touch screen, detachable laptops with windows software.</p>
<p>yeah, yeah, yeah. VTs tablet PC requirement is a bunch of BS. They’re terrible laptops and they completely contradict the idea of having something lightweight. I never bought one and never will</p>
<p>Although I must say that was a very observant comment</p>