Microsoft "Courier" secret tablet

I'm not sure if anyone remembers the Microsoft Courier tablet demo, which came out before iPad's announcement: ▶ this video This video left me with a strong impression of future general computing usage patterns. It has also been my personal gold standard of a superb video demo. Interestingly enough, they abandoned it right after iPad's release: link

I thought the Courier was a great idea not just for the dual screens but the software as well the scraps and notes seemed like a great idea. ▶ this video

> But MOST importantly the way the user interacts with the interface would re-create the ease of use rendered by our interaction with print media. This last part, about the user interface, is why I believe Apple is best positioned to tackle this problem. > In one year's time we'll see. 2010 should be the year paper learns of it's destiny, the year we reach a tipping point on our way towards bits from the momentum of atoms. This is of course a prescient prediction of the iPad. But what it also reminded me of is a device that had already been shown publicly at the time: The Microsoft Courier. Microsoft was working on a dual-screen tablet that was essentially a notebook in computer form, complete with custom OS.[1] In the end it never happened. [1] ▶ this video

Microsoft Courier was designed to solve this ten years ago, by being essentially a digital version of a notebook[1]. You'd fill your notebook with digital clippings from any media and freely annotate them. [1] ▶ this video

Here [1] is the original concept video for the Courier. I remember it generated a ton of hype when that video came out. ▶ this video

That picture gave me a big Courier vibe[1], always wished Microsoft could have made that happen. [1]: ▶ this video

Like others have mentioned, I still do handwriting in a notebook, mainly because it's easier to sketch a diagram with a pen and paper than it is to do it digitally. Pros of handwriting/pen+paper: - Extremely high "resolution" (can fit a lot of information in a small space) - Flexibility - Direct input: tools rarely "get in the way" Cons of handwriting/pen + paper: - Editing is cumbersome - Storage/retrieval is annoying (no search!) - Sharing/collaboration is not as good as digital I'm still dreaming of something like the Microsoft Courier Concept [0]. We've gotten a lot closer since the concept came out (e.g., the MS Surface), but I think we're still not quite at the point where a digital notebook can feel just like paper + pen. [0]: ▶ this video

At least they got further along than MS Courier. They actually have a useless prototype, rather than a vaporvid[1]. [1] ▶ this video