My M1300 Arrives

I've taken delivery! I picked up my Motion M1300 on my way home from work last night and spent a few hours playing with my new toy. My first thought was, "Wow, this thing is light." Good first impression for a longtime laptop user. I fumbled a bit with the hard cover (which I find a little cumbersome and plan to supplant with the Executive Portfolio) but managed to get everything situated correctly.

Once I started using the machine, I found myself exhibiting "PDA hand", the condition in which the user, accustomed to touch-screen PDA's, awkwardly hovers his hand over the screen while touching it with only the tip of the stylus. After a few minutes I realized what I was doing, relaxed, and planted the heel of my hand on the screen like I was writing on paper. Much better.

I fired up Firefox to get a feel for web browsing in portrait mode and was disappointed to discover that (unlike MSIE) selecting its URL text box doesn't automatically invoke the Floating TIP (Tablet Input Panel). I'll be using IE for now, and looking for a workaround for Firefox.

I also installed Konfabulator, which, as I mentioned before, rocks. Having vital information (like the time, the weather, and WiFi signal strength) available at a glance is huge. The only problem I've found is widget placement when you change the display rotation. I plan on using my tablet in portrait mode most of the time, but when I rotate the display, the widgets I've placed in the bottom-right corner of the screen are no longer visible. It would be nice if Konfabulator recognized the change in display settings and moved widgets accordingly.

Finally, I downloaded the Intel processor ID utility I mentioned yesterday. It reports my tablet running at 1000 MHz (on battery power, "Max Battery" power scheme), while the Properties panel for My Computer shows it running at the expected 598 MHz. I think I'll trash the Intel utility.

I'll be installing lots of extras—more memory, more software, and more accessories as I can find them cheap. Twelve hours into my ownership experience, I'm very happy with my purchase. Now let's see what this thing can do!