tabalture.html -
noun (Science and
Technology ) In computing, a flat
rectangular plate or pad over which a stylus or mouse is moved to input graphics or alter the position of the cursor on a VDU screen. Etymology: A specialized use of tablet in its original meaning of 'a small, flat, and comparatively thin piece of hard
material fashioned for a particular purpose'. History and Usage: The tablet, which essentially digitizes information about the
position of the stylus or mouse, was developed by the Rand corporation in the US in the mid sixties. At first
it was used mainly for inputting
graphic images, using a stylus which could be moved around on the tablet like a pen on a pad of paper, the resulting 'lines' being instantly translated into images on the VDU screen. With the boom in personal computing and the increasing popularity of WIMPS (see
WIMPÜ ) in the eighties, the tablet reached a wider market of users
and became a commonplace piece of computing equipment. The tablet is often known more fully as a data tablet, electronic tablet, etc.; one designed for use with the fingers instead of a stylus or mouse is a touch-tablet (or touchpad). A graphics tablet allowing
sophisticated computer graphics facilities to be added at low cost to a wide variety of microcomputers has just been announced. Computing Equipment Sept. 1985, p.
16 To get the most out of drawing options, I strongly recommend the
use of a mouse, joystick or touch-tablet. Personal Computer
World Nov. 1986, p. 191
