New book! The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine
Hi everyone, I wanted to do a quick announcement of my new book, *The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine*. Out now from JHUP! Thank you to many SIGCIS members who talked with me about this book over the years it took me to get it written. https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54040/tablet-computer *The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine* A history of the ideas behind a device we thought would change everything. Tablet computers appear commonplace today, yet for decades they represented an ambitious—and often unrealized—vision of personal computing. The Tablet Computer traces the long history of this idea, from early conceptual designs in the 1970s to the consumer devices of the twenty-first century. Elizabeth R. Petrick examines the tablet as a shifting concept shaped by expectations about learning, productivity, accessibility, and human–computer interaction. Across multiple generations of failed prototypes, partial successes, and rebranded technologies, developers imagined tablets as book-sized, portable, networked computers operated through touch. These visions promised to transform education, support workers of various kinds, and redefine how humans interact with machines—promises that were repeatedly revised or deferred. Approaching the subject through intellectual history, Petrick follows how engineers, designers, corporations, and users debated what a tablet should be, who it was for, and what role it might play in everyday life. Projects such as the Dynabook, personal digital assistants, and early consumer tablets reveal how technological futures are shaped as much by aspiration and failure as by market success. Best, Liz _________________ Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studies Department of History Rice University
Congratulations Liz! Such wonderful news! So glad to get a preview of parts of this book with your amazing talk in Minnesota, and I cannot wait to read this!! Best, Jeff ** * * * * ** *Jeffrey Yost, Ph.D. * *Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture* *Research Professor, History of Sci., Tech., Med., University of Minnesota* *Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT (Johns Hopkins U. Press, co-edited w/ Gerardo Con Diaz) <https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/12804/just-code> * *Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry (MIT Press) <https://amzn.to/3gqe4R6>* *Studies in Computing and Culture book series, Johns Hopkins U. Press <https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/series/studies-computing-and-culture> *Co-Editor (w/ Con Diaz) *Co-PI, NSF-funded CBI project "The Second Quantum Revolution." (2026-2029). * *Blockchain & Society* <https://www.blockchainandsociety.com>* (crit. inq. essays & resources)* (Founder/Leader) *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> (*Co-Editor-in-Chief w/ Amanda Wick) *Editorial Board/Contributing Editor (3 journals): Technology & Culture; Information & Culture; IEEE Annals of the History of Computing* On Tue, Oct 13, 2026 at 9:37 PM Elizabeth Petrick via Members < members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to do a quick announcement of my new book, *The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine*. Out now from JHUP! Thank you to many SIGCIS members who talked with me about this book over the years it took me to get it written.
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54040/tablet-computer
*The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine*
A history of the ideas behind a device we thought would change everything.
Tablet computers appear commonplace today, yet for decades they represented an ambitious—and often unrealized—vision of personal computing. The Tablet Computer traces the long history of this idea, from early conceptual designs in the 1970s to the consumer devices of the twenty-first century. Elizabeth R. Petrick examines the tablet as a shifting concept shaped by expectations about learning, productivity, accessibility, and human–computer interaction.
Across multiple generations of failed prototypes, partial successes, and rebranded technologies, developers imagined tablets as book-sized, portable, networked computers operated through touch. These visions promised to transform education, support workers of various kinds, and redefine how humans interact with machines—promises that were repeatedly revised or deferred. Approaching the subject through intellectual history, Petrick follows how engineers, designers, corporations, and users debated what a tablet should be, who it was for, and what role it might play in everyday life. Projects such as the Dynabook, personal digital assistants, and early consumer tablets reveal how technological futures are shaped as much by aspiration and failure as by market success.
Best, Liz _________________ Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studies Department of History Rice University _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Congratulations, Liz--can't wait to read it! Best, Mar ________________________ Mar Hicks Historian of Technology Quantitative Foundation Associate Professor School of Data Science University of Virginia marhicks@virginia.edu marhicks.com<https://marhicks.com/> Research Affiliate, Centre for Democracy and Technology<https://www.mctd.ac.uk/>, University of Cambridge Member, Scholars' Council, Center for Critical Internet Inquiry<https://www.c2i2.ucla.edu/>, UCLA Associate Editor, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing<https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/an> (feel free to ask me about submitting an article if you work on a topic related to computing history) Books: Programmed Inequality<https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality>: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing (MIT Press, 2017) Your Computer Is On Fire<https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/your-computer-fire> (MIT Press, 2021) ________________________________ From: Jeffrey Yost via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org> Sent: Tuesday, 13 October 2026 23:40:31 To: Elizabeth Petrick <elizabeth.petrick@rice.edu> Cc: members@lists.sigcis.org <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Re: New book! The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine Congratulations Liz! Such wonderful news! So glad to get a preview of parts of this book with your amazing talk in Minnesota, and I cannot wait to read this!! Best, Jeff * * * * * * Jeffrey Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture Research Professor, History of Sci., Tech., Med., University of Minnesota Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT (Johns Hopkins U. Press, co-edited w/ Gerardo Con Diaz)<https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/12804/just-code> Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry (MIT Press)<https://amzn.to/3gqe4R6> Studies in Computing and Culture book series, Johns Hopkins U. Press<https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/series/studies-computing-and-culture> Co-Editor (w/ Con Diaz) Co-PI, NSF-funded CBI project "The Second Quantum Revolution." (2026-2029). Blockchain & Society<https://www.blockchainandsociety.com> (crit. inq. essays & resources) (Founder/Leader) Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture<https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> (Co-Editor-in-Chief w/ Amanda Wick) Editorial Board/Contributing Editor (3 journals): Technology & Culture; Information & Culture; IEEE Annals of the History of Computing On Tue, Oct 13, 2026 at 9:37 PM Elizabeth Petrick via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> wrote: Hi everyone, I wanted to do a quick announcement of my new book, The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine. Out now from JHUP! Thank you to many SIGCIS members who talked with me about this book over the years it took me to get it written. https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54040/tablet-computer The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine A history of the ideas behind a device we thought would change everything. Tablet computers appear commonplace today, yet for decades they represented an ambitious—and often unrealized—vision of personal computing. The Tablet Computer traces the long history of this idea, from early conceptual designs in the 1970s to the consumer devices of the twenty-first century. Elizabeth R. Petrick examines the tablet as a shifting concept shaped by expectations about learning, productivity, accessibility, and human–computer interaction. Across multiple generations of failed prototypes, partial successes, and rebranded technologies, developers imagined tablets as book-sized, portable, networked computers operated through touch. These visions promised to transform education, support workers of various kinds, and redefine how humans interact with machines—promises that were repeatedly revised or deferred. Approaching the subject through intellectual history, Petrick follows how engineers, designers, corporations, and users debated what a tablet should be, who it was for, and what role it might play in everyday life. Projects such as the Dynabook, personal digital assistants, and early consumer tablets reveal how technological futures are shaped as much by aspiration and failure as by market success. Best, Liz _________________ Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studies Department of History Rice University _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Congratulations on the book. You are building nicely from one project to another--that is most helpful to historians of IT. Jim Cortada On Wed, Oct 14, 2026 at 6:29 AM Hicks, Mar (avg5bd) via Members < members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Congratulations, Liz--can't wait to read it!
Best, Mar
________________________ Mar Hicks Historian of Technology Quantitative Foundation Associate Professor School of Data Science University of Virginia
marhicks@virginia.edu marhicks.com
Research Affiliate, Centre for Democracy and Technology <https://www.mctd.ac.uk/>, University of Cambridge Member, Scholars' Council, Center for Critical Internet Inquiry <https://www.c2i2.ucla.edu/>, UCLA Associate Editor, *IEEE Annals of the History of Computing <https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/an>* (feel free to ask me about submitting an article if you work on a topic related to computing history)
Books: *Programmed Inequality <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality>**: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing *(MIT Press, 2017) *Your Computer Is On Fire <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/your-computer-fire>* (MIT Press, 2021) ------------------------------ *From:* Jeffrey Yost via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org> *Sent:* Tuesday, 13 October 2026 23:40:31 *To:* Elizabeth Petrick <elizabeth.petrick@rice.edu> *Cc:* members@lists.sigcis.org <members@lists.sigcis.org> *Subject:* [SIGCIS-Members] Re: New book! The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine
Congratulations Liz! Such wonderful news! So glad to get a preview of parts of this book with your amazing talk in Minnesota, and I cannot wait to read this!!
Best, Jeff
** * * * * ** *Jeffrey Yost, Ph.D. * *Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture* *Research Professor, History of Sci., Tech., Med., University of Minnesota*
*Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT (Johns Hopkins U. Press, co-edited w/ Gerardo Con Diaz) <https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/12804/just-code> * *Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry (MIT Press) <https://amzn.to/3gqe4R6>* *Studies in Computing and Culture book series, Johns Hopkins U. Press <https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/series/studies-computing-and-culture> *Co-Editor (w/ Con Diaz) *Co-PI, NSF-funded CBI project "The Second Quantum Revolution." (2026-2029). * *Blockchain & Society* <https://www.blockchainandsociety.com>* (crit. inq. essays & resources)* (Founder/Leader) *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> (*Co-Editor-in-Chief w/ Amanda Wick)
*Editorial Board/Contributing Editor (3 journals): Technology & Culture; Information & Culture; IEEE Annals of the History of Computing*
On Tue, Oct 13, 2026 at 9:37 PM Elizabeth Petrick via Members < members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to do a quick announcement of my new book, *The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine*. Out now from JHUP! Thank you to many SIGCIS members who talked with me about this book over the years it took me to get it written.
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54040/tablet-computer
*The Tablet Computer: The Idea of a Machine*
A history of the ideas behind a device we thought would change everything.
Tablet computers appear commonplace today, yet for decades they represented an ambitious—and often unrealized—vision of personal computing. The Tablet Computer traces the long history of this idea, from early conceptual designs in the 1970s to the consumer devices of the twenty-first century. Elizabeth R. Petrick examines the tablet as a shifting concept shaped by expectations about learning, productivity, accessibility, and human–computer interaction.
Across multiple generations of failed prototypes, partial successes, and rebranded technologies, developers imagined tablets as book-sized, portable, networked computers operated through touch. These visions promised to transform education, support workers of various kinds, and redefine how humans interact with machines—promises that were repeatedly revised or deferred. Approaching the subject through intellectual history, Petrick follows how engineers, designers, corporations, and users debated what a tablet should be, who it was for, and what role it might play in everyday life. Projects such as the Dynabook, personal digital assistants, and early consumer tablets reveal how technological futures are shaped as much by aspiration and failure as by market success.
Best, Liz _________________ Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studies Department of History Rice University _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382
participants (4)
-
Elizabeth Petrick -
Hicks, Mar (avg5bd) -
James Cortada -
Jeffrey Yost