Thursday, September 07, 2006  Can mobile computer users live
without QWERTY?  I was following an interesting discussion on
the OnTheRun with Tablet PCs show #28 podcast about whether
Tablet PC users can live without a keyboard. This issues is
increasingly cropping up as people consider the tablet and UMPC
models over the traditional laptop (folding screen and
keyboard). Apparently there are a lot of apprehensive laptop PC
users about there who think that they will suffer keyboard
withdrawal symptoms if they switch to a non-QWERTY keyboard,
mobile PC platform. This demonstrates the usual problem that new
technology faces...the fear of change.  I vaguely remember all
the knashing of teeth that occured when the WIMP (windows,
icons, menus and pointers) desktop replaced the terminal
interfaces (UNIX, DOS). Apple did it first (oh, those eccentric
Mac users) and then Microsoft followed (didn't they steal the
idea...or perhaps Apple stole it from Xerox). Of course, today
people think you are crazy if you are not usi