History looks set to repeat itself tomorrow when a US firm will attempt to reinvent personal computing and encourage us to use touch-controlled "tablets" in place of keyboards and mice – or so strong rumours suggest.
But can Apple of Cupertino, California, do it more successfully than Microsoft did when it tried the same thing in 2003? Many reports are focussing on Apple taking on the book, textbook and newspaper markets with the device it is expected to unveil. Others suggest a major market will be gaming. But anyone with experience of tablet computers past – I trialled one in 2003 – will tell you that the most important thing for the firm to get right is the user interface.
The earlier tablets were fun, but the novelty wore off too quickly. Most of them were simply laptops that allowed you to twist the screen 180 degrees and fold it over the keyboard, making them heavy. And the stylus-centric touchscreen interaction just wasn't compelling enough. But a rash of patents filed by Apple suggest that going the next step beyond the iPhone's once-revolutionary touch interface may just be part of the plan for any tablet it launches.
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