Bill's comparison of Tablet PCs to Windows back in '92 makes sense, in a way. Windows back then was just getting started with the whole GUI thing, and it wasn't really successful, or terribly good, until the release of Windows 95 several years later, which was quite a big change from what was already available. Win95 was pretty much a revolution, it worked reasonably well, and people took to it.

Tablet PCs now aren't exactly a revolution over existing laptops, they are an evolution. A convertible tablet can do everything a regular laptop can, but it throws ink into the mix. Windows 95 was a major change, tablets are not. Also, tablets today are already very good at what they do, unlike Windows back then.

The similarity, I think, is in the market position. Both Windows in '92 and Tablets today are not taken very seriously by the mainstream, however in a few years, I can definitely see a majority of mobile, laptop style devices having the ability to ink. People wouldn't be missing anything, but they get an awesome feature in the addition of ink capability. What's not to like.

I agree - Tablet PCs are in a pre-Windows 95 stage. The interface is good, but a major shift in the gui, like we saw with Windows 95, is still needed.