Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Microsoft's Surface Book Is Part Clipboard
Microsoft's Surface Book is a laptop computer with a surprise - a detachable touch screen that is a highly capable tablet computer - a Clipboard.
(Microsoft Surface Book and Clipboard Video)
The tablet portion of the Clipboard is remarkably similar to Arthur C. Clarke's Newspad, a remarkably prescient look at what we now call tablet computers, from his 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the following excerpt, Heywood Floyd is relaxing on a flight from near earth orbit to the Moon:
When he tired of official reports and memoranda and minutes, he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports from Earth. One by one he would conjure up the world's major electronic papers; he knew the codes of the more important ones by heart, and had no need to consult the list on the back of his pad. Switching to the display unit's short-term memory, he would hold the front page while he quickly searched the headlines and noted the items that interested him...Floyd sometimes wondered if the Newspad, and the fantastic technology behind it, was the last word in man's quest for perfect communications...
(Read more about Arthur C. Clarke's Newspad)
Science fiction readers waited a long time to get their tablet computers. Fans of the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey got a clear view of a tablet computer right on the film's movie poster. As you can see, it's much closer to the size of the Microsoft Clipboard. Clarke describes the Newspad as "foolscap sized" which is a paper size larger than an iPad.
(Poster from 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey)
If you're intrigued by Microsoft's Clipboard computer, you might look at the competition, as well as prototype devices:
-
- In-Flight Wi-Fi Gives Me Clarke Moment
- Sony Reader Electronic Paper Book
- News E-Papers From Plastic Logic
- Buying a Tablet Computer?
- Murdoch To Create Digital News-Paper
- Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. iPad 2 vs. Clarke's Newspad
- Samsung Cites 'Space Odyssey' Newspad Against iPad In Patent Suit
- Sony's A4-Sized Flexible Digital Paper Notepad
- Do You Want A Tablet Computer? Or, Fad Over?
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/6/2015)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Computer ")
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...' - John Brunner, 1975
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'- Peter Watts, 1999
AI Worms That Spread
'...there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net now' - John Brunner, 1975.
Great. Now AIs Have Access To Hacking Tools
'... when you and the Flatline punch through that ice and scramble the cores.' - William Gibson, 1984.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
