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W h a t Y o u C a n D oh a t Y o u C a n D o
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114 P P a r t I I I : a r t I I I : W

As industry has been moving to a paperless environment, all those people we associate
with clipboards are going high tech. They’re replacing those clipboards and piles of paper
with personal digital assistants (PDAs) and tablet PCs. Some waitresses don’t even write
your order down on a pad of paper anymore. They write your order on a PDA, which
transmits it straight back to the kitchen.

PDAs
PDAs are small, handheld computers with touch screens that allow you to enter information.
They also have memory card slots for data storage, and a wireless connection (usually
infrared, Bluetooth, WiFi, or a combination).
PDAs are used in all sorts of fields. For instance, when delivering a package, the
delivery driver might ask you to sign for the package on his PDA. Physicians are turning
less and less to the clipboard checklist for diagnostic and treatment information. The
clipboard and paper checklist has been put onto a PDA, so the doctor simply checks off
symptoms and waits for the results to pop up on the PDA screen.
PDAs typically run a version of Microsoft Windows Mobile for Pocket PCs—which is
specifically designed for PDAs—or the Palm OS. However, manufacturers may build or
purpose a PDA with specific functionality in mind, and make their own proprietary OS for
the device.

NOTE Apple took a stab at the PDA market in the mid-1990s with the Newton. It didn’t take root,
so to speak, so Apple gave up on it.
Tablet PCs
Tablet PCs are a hybrid between a laptop and a PDA. Tablet PCs are similar to laptops in
size (albeit a bit smaller), and users typically interact with them as they would a PDA—by
entering data on a touch-sensitive screen.
Tablets do have keyboards, so they can be used at a desk on someone’s lap, but on the
move, the keyboard is swiveled underneath the PC and interactions with the device are
done on its touch screen.
Microsoft Windows XP or Vista is the OS normally installed on tablet PCs. In fact, when
developing Vista, Microsoft came up with a bunch of tools specifically for tablet PC users.
Linux can be installed on a tablet PC, in the same way that Linux is installed on any PC.

NOTE Apple doesn’t offer any Mac tablets (yet), although there are some aftermarketers who modify
tablet-based equipment to run Mac OS X.

Unified Communications
Having a paperless office can mean more than just filing away what used to exist on paper
and storing it on a computer. Business processes can also change. The way you work can
become more streamlined, more productive. A big part of this is in the form of
communications.
In recent years, technology bigwigs such as Cisco and IBM have introduced their own
visions for a comprehensive communications system in an organization. This system
has come under the blanket term Unified Communications. In this model, all types of
communication—phone, messaging, e-mail, faxes, and so on—are maintained so that