The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Tablet coming in October: Executives get glimpse at future of PCs "The Tablet PC, a new type of computer that Microsoft hopes will rejuvenate industry sales and broaden computer usage, will go on sale in October, Chairman Bill Gates disclosed yesterday at his annual CEO Summit. ... Microsoft developed a special version of its Windows XP operating system to run Tablet PCs. The devices are being built to Microsoft specifications by computer companies such as Acer and Toshiba and expected to sell for about $2,000. ... "If I can do it, everyone can do it,'' said Toys R Us CEO John Eyler. "I think this comes as second nature. It's very easy to use." ... Eyler also mentioned that his sales of Microsoft's Xbox game console quadrupled last week after the price came down from $299 to $199." ... To lighten his speech, Gates poked fun at former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. He said that at least year's summit Skilling had given some of the "pearls of wisdom." ... On a slide, Gates showed a quote from Skilling saying that business is moving so fast "you don't need a strategic-planning function anymore." ... Smirking, Gates said it was an "interesting insight," drawing chuckles from the crowd."