Seriously, we reached the pinacle of user interface design with Office 2003 on Windows XP, so why even bother trying to come up with new ways for people to use computers?

Microsoft's Tablet PC software includes a feature it calls "digital ink" that allows users to write on the surface of the display the same way one writes on a sheet of paper.

Wow! If only the iPad had that to take and . OH, WELL.

Often, when I'm scribbling notes on my tablet at a conference, people sitting nearby will ask me what magical device I'm using. They're amazed when I tell them it's a five-year old tablet PC that runs Windows 7 and Office.

Amazed and possibly terrified.