One giant leap for Apple, and one small step for Userkind toward Ubiquitous Computing and the vision of the Xerox PARC Tab, Pad, and Board!

Ubiquitous Computing Demonstration using Tabs, Pads and Boards from 1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_CcNLd2iE&ab_channel=Linus...

>In the 21st century the technology revolution will move into the everyday, the small and the invisible.
Mark Weiser coined the phrase "ubiquitous computing" around 1988, during his tenure as Chief Technologist of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Both alone and with PARC Director and Chief Scientist John Seely Brown.
Weiser wrote "The Computer for the 21st Century" back in 1991.

Ubicomp Tabs - Ubiquitous computing Xerox PARC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ofehNpoSrY&ab_channel=Leona...

>Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using any device, in any location, and in any format. A user interacts with the computer, which can exist in many different forms, including laptop computers, tablets and terminals in everyday objects such as a fridge or a pair of glasses. The underlying technologies to support ubiquitous computing include Internet, advanced middleware, operating system, mobile code, sensors, microprocessors, new I/O and user interfaces, networks, mobile protocols, location and positioning and new materials.

>This paradigm is also described as pervasive computing,[1] ambient intelligence,[2] or "everyware".[3] Each term emphasizes slightly different aspects. When primarily concerning the objects involved, it is also known as physical computing, the Internet of Things, haptic computing,[4] and "things that think". Rather than propose a single definition for ubiquitous computing and for these related terms, a taxonomy of properties for ubiquitous computing has been proposed, from which different kinds or flavors of ubiquitous systems and applications can be described.[5]

>Ubiquitous computing touches on a wide range of research topics, including distributed computing, mobile computing, location computing, mobile networking, context-aware computing, sensor networks, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.

An Overview of the ParcTab Ubiquitous Computing Experiment.
Roy Want, Bill N. Schilit, Norman I. Adams, Rich Gold,
Karin Petersen, David Goldberg, John R. Ellis and Mark Weiser.

http://www.roywant.com/cv/papers/pubs/1995-12%20(IEEE%20PCom...

>6.3.1 Group Pointing and Annotation

>A PARCTAB used as a pointing device operates much like a mouse. However, a PARCTAB
does not have a cable and can use proximity in combination with its wireless link to connect
to the nearest computer.
Many PARCTABs can also connect to the same computer. Consider, for example, the
case in which a lecture is presented using a large electronic display such as a Liveboard (see
2.2). Each tab in the audience can control a different pointer on the display. We have built a
remote display pointer using the PARCTAB screen as both a relative and absolute positioning
tool: the user controls the location and motion of the pointer by moving a finger over the
PARCTAB’s touch surface2.

>An extension of this idea is Tabdraw, a multi-tab application that allows the tab screen to
be used as if it were a piece of scrap paper. One mode of use allows each PARCTAB participating in the application to access and draw on a shared piece of virtual paper. The shared
drawing is generally defined by the room that people are in. A group in one room will automatically obtain a separate drawing surface from that in another room. Alternatively, a
group might arrange to share a drawing regardless of location. [...]

>6.4 Remote Control

>Television and stereo system remote-controls have popularized the notion of control at a distance. In fact so many pieces of consumer electronics have such controllers that one can now
buy universal remote controls that control many devices at the same time. A PARCTAB can
also act as a universal controller. Furthermore, it can command applications that traditionally take their input from a keyboard or a mouse.

>Since a tab can display arbitrary data, the controls available to a user can be changed
depending on context. (Commercial universal remote controllers, in contrast, tend to need a
large array of buttons.) Using the remote control application in an office may trigger a tab to
provide a control panel that adjusts lighting and temperature, whereas in a conference room
the interface might be biased toward presentation tools.

>We have experimented with two types of remote control. First, program controllers providing a more powerful set of commands than was available in the original program. If a
program is already intended for remote use and has a network interface, controlling it and extending it with a PARCTAB application is very easy. Second, another UbiquitousComputing
project at Xerox PARC, the Responsive Environment Project [7], has been exploring how
environmental control can save energy during the day-to-day operation of a building. The
project had created servers that control power outlets through a commercial system called
X10. The PARCTAB has been used to interface with these servers and thus control power
appliances in the test area.

Ubiquitous Computing: Tabs, Pads, Books, and Clouds

https://lowendmac.com/ed/rosen/10ar/ubiquitous-computing.htm...

>The iPad launch got me thinking about an old paper I'd once read about "Tabs, Pads, and Boards" and how small portable computers with different form factors were the direction technology was taking. Upon further review, it's amazing how well this model has held up over time. The paper was written - where else - at the famous Xerox PARC research facility, birthplace of the GUI, the mouse, and much of modern computing.