By Marty Rocha

Tech and Business Editor, SNSPOST.com

As the owner of an IT Consulting firm that provides technical support to hundreds of computer users across the Chicago area, I seem to have amassed a large amount of technical know-how, tricks, shortcuts, and ways to make using your computer on a day-to-day basis easier and less repetitive.

This week,  I’m going to be taking on a common misconception I run into when people are fed up with their aging laptops.

“I’m going to replace my laptop with a Tablet!! So much easier, doesn’t get viruses, and I can do all my work on it!”

It seems so promising!  A flat screen with no keyboard and mouse to carry around!  Damn… we must finally be in the future!

But, here’s the real skinny on what a Tablet is, how it integrates into your world, an how it isn’t going to be a computer replacement.  Not for a while.

I’ve found that a Tablet, be it an iPad, an Android, a Kindle Fire, or any of the other seemingly millions out there, excels at things that you would do on your computer when you aren’t, *ahem* working.  But, actual work – a tablet isn’t quite cut out for yet.

The reasons they aren’t computer replacements a numerous, but mostly comes from comfort and functionality.

A tablet was designed to be used anywhere, anywhere except for a desk.  Because of the lack of a keyboard (yes, they are available, but now you have a laptop again – or even worse a laptop with a detached keyboard and a fraction of the power and functionality), it’s hard to bang out work on it.  Try typing up a paper on a touchscreen, looking down at it.  Your neck will hate you after a few moments.  The same holds true for E-Mail – it’s great for checking email, sending out quick responses and looking at attachments – but try sending out a status report email from your tablet with multiple attachments, and you will be banging your head against the wall.

It’s also very hard to manipulate files on an iPad, as it lack s a real file system (I.E. – My Computer with a My Documents folder, or the Finder on a Mac), so locating and storing files can be a real nightmare.  Apps that can open these files often store these files within the App, making them inaccessible to any other Apps.

Printing from a tablet is still in it’s infancy.  I still haven’t seen a quality printout from a tablet, even with HP’s EasyPrint – anything that comes out is nothing more than a rough draft.  Most printers today do not support tablet printing at all.

The future of the tablet in the workplace is bright, however, as many industries are creating apps for tablets to interface with work data, but these are usually created for use in the field, where a computer is not available.  They are also highly-specialized and very expensive for a corporation to implement.  You will see more tablet in healthcare, food service, law, government, etc – but usually for collecting data, away from the office.

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So, what is a tablet good for?

F*cking around, of course!!

From reading a book to watching a movie without bothering others, checking in on friends from Facebook, listening to music to finding a new recipe online – this is where it excels.  All the stuff your employer hates seeing you doing on your office PC all day!

A tablet excels around a web-browser for looking up information, it’s great to bring to your family functions to share experiences through movies and photos.

Many Apps are designed to do a single function and make your day to day life easier – like ordering a pizza and seeing in real time where it is in preparation, changing channels on your cable box, turning on lights in your bedroom or even starting your coffeemaker.  Others are designed to try to streamline information, or even attempt to make working at it easier.

Another area that the tablet is becoming very useful in is the Arts.  Music and Video Production technologies have been revolutionized by tablets.  I’ve seen bands using tablets as instruments on-stage, I’ve seen audio engineers walking around a venue during a show and making fine adjustments to their sound rig remotely to fine-tune the experience for the listener.    I’ve seen art installations using tablets as an integral part of the artists’ message.  I myself have written multi-instrument, multi-track songs on my tablet.  This is all truly amazing!!

A tablet  is a device that will integrate into your life differently than your computer.  It will find itself more comfortable in the family room with you than by your desk.  It is meant to put information at your fingertips when you aren’t at a computer, and to begin replacing all those extraneous devices we have to do different functions, such as a digital camera, a book, a magazine, newspapers, voice-recorder,  etc.  But, do not purchase one to replace your old laptop yet.  You may find that your old laptop will live longer if you bring a tablet into your life.  You won’t depend on it as much for all the day-to-day stuff in your life – and you may find that if you are using it solely for working – it may actually not really need to be replaced yet.  It may have plenty of power for typing up papers, and doing other “work”.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions for future topics at marty@snspost.com

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