In a CNET interview with Bill Gates, Gates reaffirms his role after 2008, "... it's not like I disappear. I'm around even after mid-2008. There's some things that I'm closely associated with, like tablet (PCs) and WinFS, that people will expect me to shepherd. I want to do that."
It's good to hear that Bill Gates still has it in him to continue working with the Tablet PC. Even if his day to day interaction isn't that great with the Tablet PC, people will listen to what he has to say (both inside and outside of Microsoft).
An important point to make here is how much things will have changed by mid 2008. Yes, much will be the same, but on the hardware front, WiMAX will be rattling the mass market shelves. I expect this alone to have a huge impact on how people think about mobility. In the business markets the Tablet PC will be well aligned with this hardware transition.
In other areas, 2008 will come upon before we're ready. Take collaboration, for instance. There's still much to do in terms of developing apps, SDKs, and the like that make ad-hoc sharing trivial, for instance. Ray Ozzie may bring his influence here. We'll have to see.
No matter, the Tablet PC is transitioning into a new phase of its life. With Vista, almost all of the Vista SKUs will include the Tablet PC bits. Ink will be more ubiquitous than ever. Even without a digitizer, people will be able to run MathPractice and scribble their answers (albeit with a mouse or touchpad), or GoBinder, or TEO, or many of the other Tablet products. My prediction is that one or more Tablet apps will break out of the pack and become viewed as "cool" Vista products--in large part their growth will be due to their use of ink and/or ink recognition, which many people have yet to experience.
The Tablet PC momentum is building.


Incremental Blogger