I’ve been sprawled on my bed and couch for the past few days, wrapped in a heating blanket, fighting a bout of dysentery. I’m not one for prescribed medicines, so I chose to combat my lack of appetite by self prescribing and watching classic movies.
While movies like The Big Lebowski, Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle, Ted, and Adventureland played in the background I did some important research on my tablet. I looked up ex-girlfriends on Facebook, what those lines mean on red Solo cups, and legal limits of tinted windows. Then it occurred to me… I’m just laying here looking at my tablet and watching movies.
About three years ago one of my astute employees questioned how we’re going to combat an influx of tablets. My reply at that time was, “don’t worry about it. I’m not worried at all.” Well, the time has come and tablet use is here to stay. They’re not going anywhere, and fast.
Tablets, much to my chagrin, have become staples of hooky playing bosses and unemployed mallrats alike. It seems like everyone is using tablets; but for what? Certainly not for serious applications like writing this article and handling corporate payroll.
PC’s and dare I say Macs take the cake for serious applications. You won’t see banks switching to tablets simply because of possible security breaches. My company can’t switch because of hardware limitations. Attorneys won’t take the plunge because of massive typed documents. So who then?
Tablets are good for a couple things like finding out if Chuck Norris can fly and checking email. Much more and you’re pushing the limits. I’ve noticed when I travel the second piece of technology I schlep (following my phone) is always the tablet. I can research the business I’m visiting and even more important is finding out how many peanuts an acre of land will yield.
Over the past six months I’ve seen tablet use impact the number of virus removals we perform. Because tablet use has gone up virus infections on PC’s have decreased. Android and Mac based tablets simply don’t get infected to the same level as PC’s. No matter what you use you’re still at some risk.
Don’t be rushing to surf your favorite questionable sites from your tablet quite yet. We have had several customers with tablet based viruses. Outside of backing up data and reloading the operating system there’s not much anyone can do.
Many people have asked me how caramel is made and I can’t answer them. But I can answer why tablets don’t get crippled by viruses. Every time an app is installed your password or some other confirmation is required. Multiple security layers are required which virtually eliminates infestation.
Windows, on the other hand, doesn’t require multiple security levels which leaves it helpless to virus attacks. Windows is the most targeted operating system primarily because it’s the most prevalent on the market. If you were designing the newest money making hoax virus you’d probably focus on Microsoft Windows too.
Tablets are limited in functionality and the biggest business applications (QuickBooks and Office) don’t support iOS and Android. Adopting tablets into business would require a second set of smaller eight year old hands to manipulate the teeny onscreen keyboard. As well, applications supporting the export of major file formats makes using tablets in business much easier.
Some aspects of day-to-day business can be changed to tablets but most will stay status quo. Occasionally a frontend application like taking orders or inputting patient data will let a tablet sneak through; but PC’s will always handle the backend grunt work. One thing is for certain, neither tablets nor PC’s will replace the TV for watching the ball drop tonight. Happy New Year!
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)