The deafening buzz over the prospects of an Apple netbook often drowns out the fact that a Mac tablet computer does exist -- although it isn't exactly made by the Infinite Loop crowd. Axiotron, of El Segundo, Calif., has had a tablet notebook based on the Mac platform in the market for two years.

In the United States, the 4th of July is celebrated as Independence Day, recalling the time when Americans stepped away from a government they viewed as repressive and fo...