Tablog PC

Considering the Tablet ThinkPad

2005-06-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC unveiled: "The ThinkPad X41 Tablet brings together a lightweight and thin form factor, outstanding security, first-class wireless connections, and the productivity benefits of Tablet PC functionality." —jkOnTheRun

Give it a daylight-readable screen and I'm in. ThinkPads are the best laptops on the planet.

Motion M1300 TabletPC For Sale Sold

2005-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

This item has been sold. Thanks for your interest!

Last week I was in New York for an analyst meeting and spent some free time catching up on emails and RSS feeds in Bryant Park, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi. I find myself using my tablet outdoors more and more (which might have something to do with the beautiful spring we're having in Austin) and wishing I had a daylight-readable screen. So I've decided to take the plunge, sell my trusty M1300, and buy a View Anywhere model.

I'm planning on listing my machine on eBay, but thought I would offer it first to the readers of my blog. I'm not sure what a fair price is, so I'll take offers. If I don't get any that seem reasonable, I'll go ahead with the eBay listing.

The machine itself has the following specs:

Motion M1300 TabletPC Model T002
1GHz Pentium M
768MB RAM
40GB HD

It also comes with a full set of Motion accessories:

Hardtop Keyboard
Mobile Keyboard with Touchpad
Leather Executive Portfolio
Hardtop Cover

It also has a full complement of software, but I need to check my licenses to make sure everything's kosher to sell. I bought the machine as a refurb model through the Motion Friends and Family program. It's in excellent condition, and as an added bonus I can give you the home and cell phone numbers of Motion's support manager. Haha, only kidding, Jay.

Update: After my original post, I got a lot of emails asking how much I want, but since I'm not sure of the market value, I've listed the tablet on eBay. You can view the listing, and bid if you're interested, at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6767899379

Thanks!
-Charlie

Motion M1300 and Dell 2405FPW!

2005-04-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24" Widescreen LCD for $999 shipped: "The new Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24' Widescreen LCD monitor costs $999 at Dell Small Business. (To find it, search for 'T6133'.)" —dealnews

This one, unlike the 20" widescreen model, can be driven by a Motion M1300. Mmmm. Megapixels.

Motion M1300 and Dell 2005FPW?

2005-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm finding myself wanting even more screen real estate than is provided by my tablet's display plus my external 15" flat panel, and lusting after the 20" Widescreen Dell 2005FPW (now available for $487 shipped). I'm concerned about this warning though:

To optimize this monitor's performance, your system must be able to support WSXGA+ resolution (1680 x 1050)

1680x1050 isn't listed as one of the supported resolutions when I go to Display Properties on my M1300. So I'm wondering, is there a way to get my machine to output the proper signal for this display?

Field Report: Motion FlexDock

2005-03-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

I recently posted that I had ordered two Motion FlexDocks and that I would report back once I started using them. This is that report.

Wow, what a difference! I had grown used to balancing my expensive little tablet precariously on the flimsy plastic picture frame stand that came with it, and had almost gotten used to life at 1024x768. But my FlexDocks have breathed new life into my tablet experience.

In Austin, I have the dock connected to my full-sized keyboard and mouse (via a USB switch so I can also control my PowerMac), an external flat-panel display, my PocketPC cradle, and a direct 100Mb Ethernet connection to the aforementioned Mac. (Hey Motion, how about dropping the FireWire port and adding Gigabit Ethernet?) In Denver, I have a similar setup, but with a bigger flat panel display. The addition of the docks has positively affected my tablet experience in two ways.

First, the in-office experience is worlds better. The added screen real estate of an external display is a big productivity boost. Also, I'm constantly getting up from my desk and taking my tablet with me, so the ability to simply pop it out of the dock, rather than fussing with handfuls of cables, makes me much more mobile at the office. My only gripe here is that I have to manually re-enable the external display once I redock. I'm sure there are utilities that can do this for me, but I haven't looked. If anyone knows of anything good, let me know.

Second, the on-the-road experience has benefitted as well. Since a good deal of my travel is simply between my two offices, I can leave the laptop bag at home and just bring the tablet itself in my executive portfolio. A single battery charge is good enough to last the two-hour flight from AUS to DEN, and once I arrive I simply pop the tablet in the dock and get to work.

So for those Motion owners of you who haven't also bought a FlexDock, I highly recommend it. Sure, it's expensive for what it actually is ($99 would be more in line), but you'll be amazed at what it does.

Chris does Tablet PC newsgroup RSS feeds

2005-03-20T03:54:00.000-08:00

Chris does Tablet PC newsgroup RSS feeds: "Chris De Herrera has built RSS feeds for the Tablet PC newsgroups. That's cool. Now I can watch what people in those newsgroups are saying in my aggregator."—Robert Scoble

Four Great Tablet PC Applications

2005-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Googy Software - four great Tablet PC applications: "Talk about jumping into the pool from a running start! Googy Software is a new Tablet PC-focused software developer that has released four, count ‘em four Tablet PC applications. The team behind this company includes one of my favorite Tablet PC bloggers Iggy Kin whose Bootstrapped blog features posts centering around Iggy’s sketches in digital ink."—The Tablet PCs Weblog

Tablet PC Sells Millionth Unit

2005-03-05T05:06:00.000-08:00

Tablet PC sells millionth unit: "Congrats to the Tablet PC team for selling a million Tablets."—Robert Scoble

Home Networking Made Simple

2005-02-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

Home Networking Made Simple?: "Network Magic is the only software that makes the day-to-day use of your home network easy, intuitive and enjoyable. With Network Magic, you can:

Set up Windows home networking in just a few steps
Add new devices in minutes instead of hours
Get automatic repairs made to your network
Share pictures, files, printers and more securely, reliably and effortlessly"

—Network Magic

If this works as advertised (and according to a friend of mine it does) it could be just for thing for a Windows networking twink such as myself.

The $3,000 Laptop Bag

2005-02-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Don't skimp on your laptop bag: "When it comes to a laptop bag I opt to go as small and light as possible. My laptop already weighs over 6 pounds by itself and to add a lot of weight with a heavy case just doesn't appeal to me. I may have to rethink that strategy after..."—jkOnTheRun

I found this article amusing, given that just days ago I was complaining to whoever would listen about my 3-pound laptop and my 30-pound bag. Don't get me wrong; it's an excellent bag. But it literally gives me back problems, despite my ultramodern, superlite tablet computer's meager heft. And as with all great luggage, there's a story behind it...

It was early 1999 and my new wife and I had moved to the Bay Area to get used to being married and try San Francisco on for size. I was working as an SE for Vignette, and business was going gangbusters. The sales rep I worked with and I had a presentation scheduled with a company in Santa Clara, and it was for a relatively small ($70k) deal. The rep (who shall remain nameless... wait, no he won't, his name is Ladd Austere), lived in the East Bay and called me the night before the meeting. He told me that it was a really long way for him to drive for such a small deal (I told you business was good) and that I should do the whole meeting myself. Now, you must understand that the way this normally works in enterprise software sales is that the SE does the demo and the chalk-talk and handles technical questions and the rep does everything else. Doing the whole thing myself was something I had never even considered. But being the cocky young gun I was, I agreed.

The presentation went off without a hitch (if I do say so myself), the demo was flawless (at least from my side of the table), and the deal was done. I think Ladd actually took the paper, but he never had to leave his house to do it. He got the commission (probably around three grand unless he was already into accelerators, which is likely, in which case it would have been more like five) and I got... a laptop bag.

Ladd, being the gracious guy that he is, bought me a very nice Tumi bag, which I carry to this day. It's too big and it weighs too much, but it and I have been through a lot together, including at least 500,000 air miles. It's protected every laptop I've had in the last five years, and I'll carry it until either it falls apart or I do.

The whole situation made me realize I was underselling my own skills, so I demanded a sales rep position in order to make better commissions, both of which I got. But looking back, I realize that between Ladd and me, I probably got the better end of the deal. I still have the bag. I can guarantee you Ladd doesn't still have the three grand.

Ladd, if you read this give me a call. Good times.

What's Up, er, Dock?

2005-02-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

For months I've been using my M1300 without a dock, simply plugging in power and USB connectors when I get to my desk and unplugging them when it's time to go home. But my new office setup has tipped the scales. And not being one to do anything halfway, I bought not one FlexDock but two.

As part of my new job, I'll be working some from Austin, some from Denver, and a lot from seat 3C on a plane to somewhere. The tablet form factor is ideal for airplane work, but I need to have a full desktop setup, including keyboard and mouse, second monitor, and wired Ethernet, in both of my offices. After a week of plugging and unplugging all of those connectors every time I got up from my desk to go to a meeting, I decided it was time to invest in a dock for each office.

I placed the orders yesterday and now eagerly await delivery, especially since I left my AC adapter in Denver. Since Motion's headquarters is about a mile from my house, I'm hoping shipping won't take the estimated 6-8 business days. But then again, FlexDocks might be coming overseas. We'll see. Once I get set up, I'll let you know how my experience goes.

What Does Your Tablet Say About You?

2005-02-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

Tablet PCs at Yahoo!: "First it was Powerbooks. I was seeing them more and more around campus. But today I was in a meeting where two of our execs appeared, both sporting Tablet PCs. The near one was using it as a mini-laptop while the far one had sworn off the keyboard. After the meeting I got a really brief look at them and later received an 'Ink' e-mail...."—Jeremy Zawodny (Yahoo)

I've been talking to a friend of mine who is a die-hard Mac user about the social implications of the choice of one's laptop in a business setting. You see, he works in a creative field where Macs are de rigueur. But I work in a more buttoned-down industry where toting a PowerBook into a meeting is akin to wearing rainbow suspenders. It just marks you as a willful goofball. That being said, I use a PowerMac at home. On the Internet, no one knows you're a goofball. In the office and on the road, I use a Tablet PC.

So what does a Tablet PC say about its owner? I've gotten reactions across the spectrum. Most people I run into are vaguely interested, and ask how I like it. Some people are indifferent, and a handful look at me like I brought an Etch-a-Sketch to the meeting.

Ultimately, I think people's reactions to your machine of choice says more about those people than anything else. I myself harbor some prejudice against anyone with a Newton MessagePad, but that's probably just my way of dealing with my hidden shame of being a one-time NewtonScript developer.

For now, I'm sticking with my tablet. It runs the Windows apps I need for work, it's very light, and it's usable in a cramped coach seat. I just wish it ran OS X too.

2005-02-05T05:12:00.000-08:00

Reboot daily, Tablet users advised: "Microsoft has publicly acknowledged the Tablet PC bug that eats up the computer's memory until the machine crashes. The out of control memory leak remains unchecked while Redmond's Red Adairs grapple to put a lid on the blow-out. But there's no word yet of exactly when a fix will be issued."—The Register

Expand Your Tablet with Flash RAM

2005-01-19T04:48:00.000-08:00

Kingston 512MB Secure Digital for $23 shipped after rebate: "Buy.com offers the Kingston 512MB Secure Digital card for $42.99. A $5 off coupon and $15 mail-in rebate yield a net price of $22.99 and shipping is free. It's the lowest total price we know to be available for a Secure Digital card of its size. Rebate ends January 31."—dealnews

Secure Digital and CompactFlash flash RAM are great ways to transfer files and keep backups, and the sizes are starting to creep into small hard drive territory. Prices just keep falling. Gotta love it.

Microsoft is NOT making its own Tablet PC

2005-01-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

Microsoft is NOT making its own Tablet PC: "There was a report today on heise online that said that Microsoft would release its own Tablet PC. I immediately emailed a bunch of people inside Microsoft to check on this report. It is abjectly NOT TRUE. That's straight from Peter Loforte, general manager on the Tablet PC team."—Robert Scoble

Crisis averted. Stand down.

Microsoft to launch low cost Tablet PC?!

2005-01-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Microsoft to launch low cost Tablet PC: "According to ActiveWin, Armin Cremerius-Gunther, Windows division head for Microsoft Germany, announced Tuesday that Microsoft intends to launch its own Tablet PC. The article also states that Microsoft's intention is to sell the Tablet PC for less than 1200 euros. Microsoft realizes that the high costs of current Tablet PCs..."—jkOnTheRun

If this is true, it will either revolutionize the industry or kill it. Or both.

PDF Annotator

2005-01-14T04:24:00.000-08:00

PDF Annotator: "Previously, annotating, commenting or proofreading a document received for review in PDF file format was possible only by using multiple software products in a row—or only by printing the document and adding comments manually. With PDF Annotator, annotations can also be added in a natural way—using a pen—but everything remains in digital format. PDF Annotator allows commenting of PDF files in a single step."—Grahl Software Design

This is the missing piece for many electronic forms applications. Nice!

Microsoft's Longhorn may blend Tablet PC, Media Center

2005-01-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Microsoft's Longhorn may blend Tablet PC, Media Center: "Microsoft plans to drop the 'Home' and 'Pro' tags with the next release of Windows, code-named Longhorn, and is looking at shipping a single product that includes the features found in today's Windows XP Media Center and Tablet PC editions."—InfoWorld

Let's hope that's a free upgrade for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition users.

Konfabulator for $20

2005-01-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Konfabulator for $20: "Expo special. Pixoria's Konfabulator, a widget tool, costs $19.95, $5 off, during Macworld Expo. It's for Mac or PC. Offer ends January 14."—dealnews

If it's not clear by now, I think Konfabulator is must-have software for every Tablet PC.

Best RSS Feed Reader for Tablets?

2005-01-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

Looking at my FeedBurner stats just now, I noticed that the majority of this feed's subscribers use NewsGator. I find this surprising only because the readers of my most popular blog show a distinct preference for Bloglines. I expect it's because this site is targeted specifically at Windows (XP Tablet Edition) users, whereas Moonwatcher is decidedly platform-agnostic.

I'm interested in hearing what RSS readers are best suited for tablet use. What do you use, and why?

Linux On Your Tablet PC

2005-01-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

Linux On Your Tablet PC: "tyman writes 'Michael Rolig has created a Debian-based linux package for your Tablet PC. The support for various tablet features is limited by the features on the tablet Rolig owns, such as the 'half-working' pen button features. One important missing feature is the screen-swivel buttons common with most tablets. However this is a good start for the development of linux for Tablet PCs.'"—Slashdot

I'm not sure about this one. Fit and finish is what's most lacking from most Linux distros, and what's most important to me in a tablet OS.

2005-01-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

Two days left to vote for Motion 1400 as Endgadget of the year!: "http://www.engadget.com/2004-awards/"—Tablet PC Buzz (Motion)

The Endless 8x10 Digital Photo Album

2004-12-24T03:35:00.000-08:00

While filling out and signing forms may be te killer app for the Tablet PC in the workplace (or the jobsite), I just discovered what I believe to be the killer app for the Tablet PC during the holidays: The Endless 8x10 Digital Photo Album!

Being the gadget guy and proud new father I am, I have a few hundred digital photos of the twins. Our extended family will be in town this weekend for Christmas, and knowing they'll all want to see pictures, I'm faced with the question of how best to share them all. I could have 4x6 prints made (samsclub.com does them for $0.18, and offers one-hour, in-store pickup). I could burn a DVD. I could downsample them and put them on my iPaq. In fact, because I am a geek, I did all these things. But I also loaded all of my photos onto my tablet and installed Picasa, the excellent, free iPhoto-alike available from Google.

Now when the family wants to see photos, I can set Picasa to slideshow mode and pass around the tablet. People immediately understand how to navigate to the next picture using the directional keys, and the slate form factor is much more living room friendly than a laptop. The images are beautiful and roughly the size of an 8x10 print.

Taking the Paper Out of Paperwork

2004-12-23T05:20:00.000-08:00

With the recent additions to our family, I find myself filling out lots of forms. Along the way, I've found what may be for me the killer app for the Tablet PC.

I've been a fan of the "paperless office" idea since, well, since it was popular. Email and the web have replaced a lot of formerly paper-bound processes, but forms are another story. Even though all of the various forms from my insurance company are available as PDF's, you've still had to print them out, fill them out, sign them, and fax them somewhere. But with a TabletPC, you can skip the paper step altogether. This is convenient when you're in the office, but absolutely necessary when you're somewhere without a printer or a fax machine, like a hospital waiting room.

When the twins were born, I sent an email to the HR person at my company requesting the appropriate insurance forms. She replied, attaching them as PDF files. I opened them in Acrobat, printed them to a Journal file, and filled them out and signed them using the tablet's Ink function. At that point I could have created PDF versions of the signed forms and emailed them back, but since my company has a VPN that lets me connect to the office network from anywhere, I logged in and sent the signed versions to the printer in the HR department. No paper, no faxing, done in five minutes, and all wirelessly. Nice!

Of course I don't fill out enough forms every day to justify the cost of a Tablet PC, but my wife sure does. She's an architect and a builder. When she's working on-site on a project, she exchanges faxes with suppliers, subcontratcors, government agencies, and clients every day. Many of these documents require signatures, so she's been stuck in the fax-sign-fax routine, requiring her to run a temporary phone line to the job site just for faxes. With a tablet, she'll be able to radically simplify the process, sponging off of a neighbor's open wireless network (trust me, there's at least one on every street) and saving time and money. I predict that the Tablet PC will join the white pickup and the 7-11 Super Big Gulp as standard issue gear for builders.

Posting to be Light

2004-12-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Posting will be pretty light for the next little while. Here's why:

Another "inkerneter" joins the blogosphere

2004-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another "inkerneter" joins the blogosphere: "Warner is a theatre director (artistic director) of Wayside Theatre in Middletown, VA, USA. He's also an avid TabletPC enthusiast and an MSN Spaces blogger. Nice to see another Tablet PC revolutionary blogging.

See, how do you start a revolution? One link at a time! Er, I guess that should be 'one 'ink' at a time!' :-)"—Robert Scoble

Google Suggest a Boon for Tablet Users

2004-12-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

Latest Google Experiment Suggests Popular Queries: "Google Inc. introduced an experimental search service Friday that automatically suggests queries as a user types search terms. Called Google Suggest, the service is similar to a feature in Google's main Web search that suggests alternative spellings after a user enters a query. Google Suggest instead works in real time, listing possible search terms in a drop-down menu below the query box."—eWeek

This new feature works great with, and can save a considerable amount of hunting-and-pecking when using, the keyboard TIP—at least when using MSIE.

An Apple iTablet home-built

2004-12-10T04:31:00.000-08:00

Reader Joseph DeRuvo Jr. sent me a pointer to his home-built "Apple iTablet":

I'm really just trying to fan the flames under the feet of Mr. Jobs. It's about time that Apple came to bat with a Tablet. But until then I took matters into my own hands. Really I do believe it would benefit the entire Tablet community if there was some competition.

http://www.macmod.com/content/view/166/2/

I'd love to see a tablet from Apple—they have all of the technology pieces in place—but I'm not holding my breath. Thanks, Joseph!

OneNote 2003 Free + $45 Profit

2004-12-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

Amazon.com is selling OneNote 2003 for $54.99, which combined with a $100 mail-in rebate gets you OneNote for free plus a $45 profit. —via FatWallet

There has been some confusion over rebate requirements, but here's the skinny from a FatWallet forum member:

I just got off the phone wih the MS rebate customer service department. I talked to Mark and he said that the rebate form should be supplied by Amazon with the product. He said that if the rebate form is not included with the product, to call them back 1-800-622-4445, and they will email out a rebate form for this product. He went over the requirements for this rebate. He stated:
The product must be one listed in the rebate (the SKU of S26-01031 is listed), and
Must submit the box top from the MS One Note 2003 software box, and
Must send in a copy of the sales invoice where purchased (I told him Amazon.com and he said no problem), and
The rebate form. Again, he stated if the rebate form is not sent by Amazon with the product, then to just call the number (listed above) and the rebate form would be emailed.
I confirmed that these were the only requirements for the rebate. No proof of prior purchase of any MS products is necessary. He said to please allow 8 to 10 weeks for processing the rebate.

Heckuva deal.

Turning Meetings into Poetry

2004-12-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

I spend too much time in meetings, especially status meetings that could be completely obviated by the use of internal corporate weblogs. But that's another story. Anyway, yesterday I was in such a meeting and decided to play around with my tablet's speech recognition. I started Word, fired up Speech Recognition, and let it try to understand the various overlapping conversations that were going on. It tried valiantly, and came up with something which, after only a few deletions and some added punctuation, reads to me like poetry:

A memorial, weather permitting
a little while and whether the air.

You are right- now I know
if the real... if really... if all of them were...
no way you're right.

An hour and a half and a handful of my heart
was initially not a lot at all.

the era of the car nears the area of overlap
the Italian and yet another man were in danger.

Much more beautiful than the discussion of launch plans, online demos, and alpha releases that I heard, don't you think? It seems my tablet is a romantic.

HP Bluetooth GPS

2004-12-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

As I may have mentioned, I'm a little bit of a GPS geek, and as such have been eagerly awaiting the chance to try out my HP Bluetooth GPS Receiver with my tablet. I've had great success using it in conjunction with my iPaq 4155, and wanted to see if it would work as well with my Motion M1300.

Pairing the GPS receiver to the tablet was extremely simple. I turned on the receiver, opened up My Bluetooth Places on the tablet, searched for devices in range, selected the receiver, paired it using the hard-coded PIN, discovered available services, and selected Properties of the Bluetooth Serial Port to determine that my machine would see the GPS receiver on COM8. Now that I type it, it sounds like a lot of steps, but it only took about 20 seconds.

Then I launched Microsoft Streets & Trips 2003, which is admittedly not the most recent version, but it's the one I have. I selected Tools>GPS>Configure GPS receiver and told it to look for GPS data coming from COM8. It worked flawlessly the first time.

With the GPS receiver on my dashboard and my tablet riding shotgun, I drove to work, periodically checking my position via the Track Position function. Everything worked as designed, but therein lies the problem. Streets & Trips is not designed to be an in-car navigation system. From the help file:

With a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver connected to your computer or Pocket PC, you can see your current location on the Streets & Trips or Pocket Streets map. When you have a GPS receiver installed, Streets & Trips and Pocket Streets checks for your location every 15 seconds and displays it on the map. You can choose to have the map always centered on your current location. Using the GPS Sensor, you can also view the latitude and longitude coordinates of your current location.

This is a far cry from the dynamic routing, turn-by-turn directions, voiec prompts, and once-a-second position updates you get from a program like Mapopolis. The comparison is unfair- the two pieces of software are designed to do different things. But what I want is an in-car navigation system for my tablet.

I'll probably find a use for Streets & Trips, but this isn't it. It's nice to know though that whatever software I find, my Bluetooth GPS receiver works perfectly with my tablet. I bought the HP model when it came out because it came with software for my iPaq. You can find much cheaper (and presumably just as good) models, like the Belkin model that periodically goes on sale for $149.

jkOn... Various Input Techniques

2004-12-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

Excellent review of ink systems and on-screen keyboards: "James Kendrick has just published a sweeping review of alternative ink technologies, handwriting recognition systems, onscreen keyboard alternatives, and voice recognition systems. If you’re frustrated with the Tablet PC’s built-in Tablet Input Panel (TIP) and are looking for a faster alternative, this article will be a great resource."—The Tablet PCs Weblog

Later this morning, I'll be posting the first piece of a new art form I created yesterday: in-meeting speech recognizer poetry. It's quite good.
:-)

The Closest Thing to Hollywood

2004-11-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

My Tablet PC desktop, showing my Mac roots, I'm afraid.

Konfabulator 1.8.1 is Out

2004-11-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

So go download it! As promised, it properly repositions widgets when you switch from portrait to landscape mode and back, among other enhancements. The rockin'est tablet utility just got rockin'er.

Experimenting with Speech Recognition

2004-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

I hadn't experimented with my tablet's speech recognition capabilities until this morning. I had to stop because it was making me laugh so hard. Remeniscent of the handwriting recognition on my beloved Apple Newton, the Microsoft speech recognition system is no doubt the result of millions of man-hours of research. But that doesn't mean it works yet.

Here's what the speech recognizer understood when I read the paragraph above:

"And it's barely made with Michael woods speech recognition capabilities until this morning I had to stop the design was made me laugh so reminiscent of the handwriting recognition on level of an apple Newton of Microsoft speech recognition system is no doubt the resolve of millions of man hours of research but that doesn't mean it works in the."

Hours of fun! Granted, I've only gone through one session of voice training. I'll do some more and see if it improves.

PowerPoint and Interactive Whiteboarding

2004-11-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

The question was asked over on the TabletPCBuzz Motion forum about whiteboarding during a PowerPoint presentation, specifically, how to go back and forth between a blank slide used as a whiteboard and the presentation itself. Here's what I've been doing.

First, create the whiteboard slide. Go to the end of your presentation and create a new, blank slide. I usually use the "Title Only" layout and use "Notes" for the title. Using a title makes the slide easier to find in the outline view. It also makes the next step a little easier.

Now edit the Slide Master (View > Master > Slide Master). Insert a new shape (I just use a rectangle) in the lower left corner of the slide. Leave some room below the shape so it won't overlap with the Slide Show toolbar during the presentation. You may want to make the shape transparent so it won't interfere with the presentation's design. Now create a hyperlink for the shape by right-clicking on the shape and selecting Hyperlink. In the Hyperlink dialog box, select "Place in This Document" from the "Link To:" list. Then select your Notes slide in the "Select a place in this document" tree. Now click on the "ScreenTip..." button and enter "Whiteboard" for the ScreenTip text. Click OK, and OK again, and close the Master View. You now have a link to your whiteboard slide from every slide in your presentation.

During your presentation, you can navigate to the whiteboard slide by clicking the shape in the lower left corner of the screen, just above the Slide Show toolbar. Even if you made the shape transparent, you'll still be able to see the ScreenTip text you entered when you hover the mouse pointer over the shape. (Once you get to the whiteboard slide, remember to choose a pen from the Slide Show toolbar to start inking.)

Once you're finished inking on the whiteboard slide, you can navigate back to wherever you were in the presentation by first selecting the Arrow tool from the Slide Show toolbar, then right-clicking (or your preferred pen equivalent) anywhere on the screen and selecting Last Viewed from the menu.

If this works for you, or if you have a better way to get the job done, leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Mobile Movies

2004-11-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

As any veteran road warrior can tell you, one of the great uses of a laptop— or a tablet— is watching movies. Stranded at the Sofitel in Minneapolis? Wedged into seat 13D on the Austin-San Jose "nerd bird"? Killing time at the LAX Admiral's Club? Whip out your machine, plug in your headphones, and catch a flick. But without a DVD drive in your little 3-pound wonder, you might ask how you're going to do that. In fact, it's really easy.

Do some Googling about ripping DVD's and you'll soon find yourself neck-deep in discussions of codecs, aspect ratios, bitrates, and audio sync issues. But all of this technical detail is relevant only to the discussion of transcoding DVD's from their original format to something more compact, like DivX. Since my goal is not to store 100 movies on my tablet but rather to have a movie or two to watch on any given trip, I skip all the transcoding nonsense and stick to the basic task of copying a DVD to my hard drive. Sure, it takes a lot more storage space, but the quality is excellent, the process is simple, and I can watch the resulting movies with a standard software DVD player.

Commercial DVD's are encrypted to prevent copying, but the encryption is extremely weak and easily overcome. To simply decrypt a DVD and copy it to your hard drive for viewing with such DVD players as WinDVD or PowerDVD, you can use the freely available DVD Decrypter. But if the DVD has a lot of extra features that you don't want to copy (like the director's commentary and alternate-language soundtracks), you're going to waste a lot of hard drive space.

For my purposes, I just want the movie itself, the menus, and the English soundtrack. Leaving out the extra features and additional languages can save multiple gigabytes of hard drive space. Luckily there's a great (and free!) utility that lets you do just that: DVD Shrink. It allows you to strip off unwanted content, decrypts the content you do want, and compresses that content to fit on a standard 4.7GB DVD-R disc.

I tested DVD Shrink with a copy of Out of Africa that we own. Running on a ThinkPad with a 1.6GHz Pentium M, the program took 41 minutes to decrypt and copy the 150-minute movie, a time that was most likely limited by the speed of the DVD drive. Copying the resulting 4.7GB folder to my tablet over a 100Mb Ethernet connection took another 8 minutes.

A speedier solution would be to attach a 16x DVD-ROM (like this $27 Sony model) housed in a 5.25" USB 2.0 enclosure (like this $18 one from xpcgear) directly to your tablet.

The happy ending to this story is that now I can watch Out of Africa any time I find myself with two and a half hours to kill. Hmm. Maybe I should start copying my Looney Tunes collection.

Aviation Weather in Your Aggregator

2004-11-24T05:20:00.000-08:00

Aside from the fact that it's starting to get a little chilly outside, I know that Fall has arrived based on this morning's aviation weather forecast:

KAUS 241134Z 241212 30015G25KT P6SM BKN025

     FM2000 32012KT P6SM FEW040

     FM2200 34009KT P6SM SKC

     FM0100 33003KT P6SM SKC

What does this have to do with Tablet PC's? Well, since I know that tablets are particularly popular with pilots, I thought you might be interested in a service I host that provides Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) information as RSS feeds.

Just point your RSS reader to the following URL, replacing 'KAUS' with any ICAO identifier:
http://globelogger.com/taf-rss?icao=KAUS

You can get a (mobile-friendly) web version of the same information at:
http://globelogger.com/taf?icao=KAUS

Hardtop Keyboard Experiences

2004-11-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

I've been trying out the Motion Hardtop Keyboard, and have found a couple of non-obvious benefits. But first, a one-sentence review: Yes, it's a cramped layout and touch-typing will take some practice, but the key-feel is great, much better than I would have expected. With that out of the way, here are the two surprise benefits.

First, a tablet with the hardtop keyboard attached takes up a lot less room than a laptop, and is therefore much more coach-class friendly. Anyone who has tried to use a laptop on an airline with restricted seat pitch knows the problem. You open your laptop to the degree that you can read the screen, and then live in fear of the guy in front of you suddenly reclining, crushing your $2,000 machine. I've seen it happen with a sickening crunch. Not pretty. The tablet/hardtop combination fits into a much smaller space, eliminating this problem.

Second, the hardtop keyboard makes for a very stable stand. I've started using it for occasions where I don't even need a keyboard, I just want the display held upright—like when I'm watching DVD's. Which reminds me, there's a much better way to watch movies on your tablet than slipping in a DVD. But that's the subject of another post.

Daniel Jomphe Takes the Plunge

2004-11-23T05:36:00.000-08:00

Quebecian blogger Daniel Jomphe writes about his plans for using his just-ordered Tablet PC:

In short, I'm gonna do all the things I've been daydreaming about for a year. I'll be Taking Notes. Finding My Notes. Brainstorming. Planning. Organizing. Gathering. Having A Grasp On My Things. Sketching. Drawing. Marveling. Showing. Sharing. Evangelizing. Naturally Computing.

A company couldn't hope for a better Product Marketinng hire. I look forward to hearing his perspective on his M200 and tablet computing in general.

Konfabulator 1.8.1 to Address Widget Repositioning

2004-11-22T06:22:00.000-08:00

According to a forum post from Arlo Rose on the Konfabulator site, v1.8.1 is due out soon and will include, "fancy resolution checking and repositioning," which sounds like a fix that a lot of tablet users have been waiting for.

Must-Have Upgrades and Accessories

2004-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Since taking delivery of my M1300 a couple of weeks ago, I've added some upgrades and accessories and am planning on a few more. Here's what I've found most useful, and what I'm most lacking.

First, the Motion Executive Portfolio is a huge win. I take my tablet to work and back home with me every day, and the difference between carrying a 4-pound leather portfolio and a 25-pound Tumi laptop bag is huge. It's like a weight has been lifted. In fact, it has! Only two minor issues: it doesn't have room for an AC adapter, which I'll talk about below, and the zipper isn't very well made, which could be a serious problem if it breaks.

Second, I've added some RAM, bringing the system up to 768MB, which seems like more than enough. Man, RAM is cheap. Back in the day, I charged people $1,000 to solder 1MB of RAM into their Macintoshes. Now it's $100 for a 512MB module. (The Crucial site doesn't list modules for the M1400, only the M1300, but they take the same memory and I've sent Crucial a note asking them to update their compatibility list.)

I've also added a CF adapter PC Card and a Bluetooth CF module. I hope to use my Bluetooth GPS with Streets & Trips on my next trip out of town. I'm a bit of a travel technology geek, you see.

So what else could I need? My most pressing issue is power. I hate carrying my AC adapter back and forth to work, since it doesn't fit in my case. I know I should probably have a dock at home and one at work, and I'll probably do that once I can find a reeeeally good deal on a FlexDock or two, but that doesn't do anything for me when I'm travelling. So my next purchase is going to be an iGo Juice power adapter. It will do AC, air, and car, and power all of my stuff: tablet, PDA, and phone. Apparently, the iGo Tip #3 works with both the M1300 and M1400.

Finally, like I said, I'll probably buy a dock or two. But I need to find a really good deal. If anyone has an extra dock they'd be willing to part with, please let me know. :-)

Scoble's Secret Identity?

2004-11-21T05:19:00.000-08:00

I saw The Incredibles last night, and laughed out loud when I realized that tablet über-evangelist Robert Scoble looks and sounds very much like super-villain Syndrome.

Tabletizing Konfabulator

2004-11-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

(You have to love a handwriting recognition engine that can correctly recognize that title! Anyway...)

I spent some time last night working on some code that would help Konfabulator respond correctly when I change my tablet's display from portrait to landscape mode and back. The facilities are there, but I can't get them to work. The onScreenChanged event doesn't seem to fire when I change the display orientation. I'll do some more testing later, and post to their developers' forum if I can't act it fixed.

But with God as my witness, I shall get my widgets to remain visible! (Sorry, Gone With the Wind is on TCM.)

Tablog PC Traffic Triples!

2004-11-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

In the past week, this site has gone from picotraffic to triple-picotraffic! :-) Seriously, it looks like about three times as many people are subscribed to the RSS feed today as were on Monday. So to all the new readers, welcome! I'm getting in the groove of using my tablet at work, at home, and sometimes in between, and I'll be posting more tweaks, enhancements, uses, and ideas.

This weekend I hope to get some time to work on a hack that should make Konfabulator much more tablet-friendly. Stay tuned.

100GB HD for Your Tablet: $194

2004-11-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

Seagate 100GB 2.5" IDE for $194: "Amazon.com offers the Seagate 100GB 2.5-inch IDE 5400 rpm drive for notebook computers, model no. 9W3277-556, for $193.99 with free shipping, as a reader found. We haven't seen a lower total price for it elsewhere."—dealnews

I've been following some of the discussions about increasing tablet HD size and performance. This looks like quite the deal for those with the need for a little extra storage.

OneNote vs. EverNote Redux

2004-11-18T04:54:00.000-08:00

Daniel Jomphe posted an answer to my OneNote vs EverNote question on his blog: Falling in love with EverNote. I wonder which one he prefers? :-)

I haven't yet looked at EverNote, but I must say that OneNote is an impressive piece of software. Like Daniel, I'm glad to see some competition in this space.

Hey Dude, Pass the Tablet

2004-11-18T04:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was in a bug review meeting, with an Excel spreadsheet of the bugs in question loaded on my tablet. We needed to get the CTO's opinion on one of them, so instead of sending him an email, I got up and started to walk to his office but passed him in the hall. I handed him the tablet and asked, "Is issue 518 something we should fix?" Someone walking by made the comment that he felt like he was in a Tablet PC commercial. I got my answer and headed back into my meeting.

One of the great things about the tablet form factor is you never find yourself trying to look over the shoulder of someone who's showing you something on a computer- you can just hand the machine back and forth. And unlike with a laptop, you can do it standing up.

No OS X Ink Support Over VNC

2004-11-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it looks like there's no way to use OS X's Ink Services when I connect to my Mac from my tablet using vnc.

I got the canonical answer from a friend of mine who works at Apple and who forwarded my question to some of the Panther engineers. Here's the bottom line, straight from the horse's mouth:

In Panther and later, Ink supports tablet-like devices supported by the system's IOHID driver (such as the small MacAlly tablet), along with Wacom tablets. Ink won't work with devices across VNC for two reasons: 1) VNC would need to generate tablet events, and 2) I'm sure the throughput on this connection would lead to pretty poor recognition results.

So much for that idea. But I will continue to use my tablet as a thin client for controlling my Mac, at least until someone writes a Windows RSS reader as good as the Mac-only NetNewsWire.

Motion Knowledge Base Diving

2004-11-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of fascinating stuff in the knowledge base on the Motion support site, but it's not terribly easy to get to. I wouund up searching for "M1300", which netted 173 results (in a not quite lightning-fast 63 seconds). Anyway...

As I've mentioned before, I'm a PocketPC user. Therefore, I'm used to using press-and-hold with a stylus to simlate a right-click. However, the default Tablet PC behavior is slightly different than its PocketPC equivalent: on the tablet, you have to hold longer before a right-click is simulated. With the aid of this knowledgebase article I was able to adjust that setting, and now my tablet behaves more like my iPaq. That makes me happy.

I'll continue to post interesting tidbits I find in the knowledge base, but I wish Motion would make these things easier to browse. And an RSS feed of newly added items would be the bee's knees!

Configuring Konfabulator for Tablet Use

2004-11-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days I've been tweaking my Konfabulator settings to get things working just right on my tablet. I now have the Mini Digital Clock, Mini Battery, Mini Airport, and The Weather widgets running, with the clock and battery widgets floating above all windows.

But the most useful change I made was to assign a tablet button (Function-HotKey2) to simluate a keypress of the F8 key. This activates the Konspose feature, allowing me to see all of my widgets, including those usually hidden under maximized windows. Now I can litter my deskotp with widgets and have them all just a couple of buttons away, even with no keyboard attached. Cool!

Most Useful Tips

2004-11-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

A recent post on Tabula PC lists a whole horde of Tablet PC tips from Microsoft. I spent some time digging through them this morning, and found the following articles to be the most useful:

Correct Text with Input Panel
I'm still getting the hang of using the TIP to enter text. There's a lot of non-obvious stuff in this article that will help make it less of a nuisance.

Take Your Files Offline
Until we get to the point where wireless Internet access is truly ubiquitous, we'll need to be able to sync files for offline use. This article shows how to set it up. Nice!

Use Ink During Presentations
I've recently discovered for myself the usefulness of marking up presentations. This article describes a more elegant method than the one I've been using.

The Tablet at Work

2004-11-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

I just got out of a meeting in which I was working with a group of people to hone a PowerPoint presentation. I'm happy to say I've discovered a(nother) really great use for a Tablet PC.

I had the preso loaded on my machine, which was connected to a projector. As we went through the slides, people in the room suggested changes, and I was able to mark the slides up with ink in real time, making notes about what should be changed. It was like having a whiteboard integrated into PowerPoint. I was then able to email the PPT file to our PR firm and let them see our notes. The productivity boost was visceral. Very cool!

Mac OS X on Tablet PC

2004-11-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

This morning I got up at 5:30 with one thing on my mind: firing up a VNC client on my tablet and connecting to my PowerMac to see how OS X looks and feels on my M1300. Scary, but true.

Turns out X is a great tablet UI! I was able to customize the toolbar of my favorite RSS reader (NetNewsWire) to have "Next Unread" and "Mark All as Read" buttons in the top-right corner of the window, making for a great pen interface.

The only thing--and it's a biggie--missing from OS X is ink input. In fact, it's built in, just hiding. It looks like OS X needs to think there's a recognized USB pen input device connected to show me inking options. Is there a way to force this on? I really want to be able to use my PowerMac from around the house using my tablet. I have this very question in to a friend of mine who works at Apple.

And yes, Apple should definitely come out with a tablet. Don't even build in a hard drive- just use a 2GB or 4GB CompactFlash card, and let people attach an iPod if they really need more storage. It's a cool form factor!

Microsoft on Tablet Power Management

2004-11-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

Robert Williams, who is Director of Business Development and Partner Engineering for the Mobile Platforms Division at Microsoft, writes about power management issues on his weblog:

One of the things we learned with V1 was that the enhanced mobility enabled by Tablet PC exposes a lot of work we need to do to make power management better. Laptops are used mostly as station to station desktops, rather than as truly mobile devices like PDAs and SmartPhones.

Robert's observation clearly matches my own about the differences between tablet and laptop usage models. I'm glad to hear that Microsoft is thinking about such issues. I'm also glad that he has a tip:

Whenever I set up a new tablet I immediately reconfigure one of the buttons to control screen off... When I am using my tablet in a meeting or at home on the couch I just activate the button whenever I pause to think or actually engage in conversation with another human, possibly even a family member). A tap of the pen on the screen turns the display back on. In Chuck's prototype the screen was 4 watts out of a nominal 10 watt power budget so just this simple discipline greatly extended the battery life. It's almost half way to S3 without any resume issues or delays.

Thanks for the tip, Robert!

Using a Tablet Like a PDA

2004-11-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

One of the things I'm noticing about my Tablet PC use is that I tend to use it in short bursts. For instance, when I arrived at the airport yesterday I needed to look up my flight number to get my boarding pass. (Why? Only Southwest knows.) So I woke my tablet from hibernation, opened the PDF with my itinerary on it, got the flight number, then put the machine back to sleep. I did this same wake-look-sleep routine a dozen times yesterday. It's a lot like how I use my PDA.

The problem with this use model is that the waking and hibernating functions take some time, and spin the hard drive, and surely wear down the battery. Which got me thinking: I wonder if I could configure Windows to use a flash RAM card to store state while hibernating. You can get a 1GB CompactFlash card for $66 shipped, which is more than enough storage for this purpose. It's low-power and might even be faster than the hard drive, especially considering spin-up time.

A quick Google search reveals that several people have suggested this, but none that I can find have succeeded. Sounds like something I should test.

2004-11-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

Good tablet resource: Tabula PC

MarsEdit/Blogger Hiccup

2004-11-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

Well this is a pain. I'm getting a 'null pointer exception' from Blogger when I try to post with MarsEdit. I can post to Bubble 2.0 just fine though. Not being able to post with an external editor is a serious impediment. Hmm.

First Field Test

2004-11-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

9:32a For my trip to Dallas this morning, I decided to forgo my usual bag of electronics and bring along nothing other than my new tablet. It certainly is light, but I'm not confident about the battery lasting the whole trip. It's a quick one though, so we'll see.

I did find one situation where the whole the tablet form factor has proven useful... ok, PED's off. See you in Dallas.

2:47p Quick trip-now I'm waiting for my return flight to board. The tablet is great for taking notes in meetings, especially since I'm the kind of person who winds up drawing diagrams on whiteboards to explain everything. Now my boxes and arrows will make it into my (electronically managed) documents. Big Win!

Battery life has been good, since I let the machine sleep when I'm not actually using it. I'll be tweaking the power settings over the next few days. Turning off bluetooth and wi-fi will surely help.

7:11p Now that I'm back home I can say with confidence that my M1300 will replace my PDA, my laptop, and my legal pad on all future business trips. Cool!

P.S. When I got home I found my Executive Portfolio waiting on my doorstep. Off with the hardcover!

Firefox TIP Fix?

2004-11-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

I found an easy solution for the Firefox-TIP issue in the form of a Firefox extension: tpctip. From the site: "tpctip is a simple extension that lets a Tablet PC SP2 track the Mozilla cursor (by way of Mozilla accessibility support). This allows the Tablet Input Panel (TIP) work correctly."

Even though as other people have pointed out, "It doesn't support the shortcuts (.com, http, etc) like the TIP in IE does," it works perfectly for me. So, IE goes back in the trash and Firefox goes back in the Quick Launch toolbar.

Update: I can't figure out how to write a URL without spaces being inserted after the .'s. For instance, if I write "www.yahoo.com", I get "www. yahoo. com", which is a bit of a pain. Any ideas?

Update2: There's a thread on TabletPCBuzz about tpctip being incompatible with the newly-released Firefox 1.0. The saga continues.

My M1300 Arrives

2004-11-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

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!

More Tools

2004-11-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

My collection of software to install on my tablet (once I pick it up) continues to grow. Intel has a utility that will show you your processor's current operating speed, which can vary from its advertised speed, due to Intel's SpeedStep power-saving feature. You can download it from Intel here. Thanks to Jim Artis on the TabletPCBuzz.com Motion forum.

Text Entry with SHARK

2004-11-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

Text Entry Epiphany for the Tablet PC- SHARK: "There is no question in my mind that SHARK is the best on-screen text entry system I have ever used. This method is so simple and accurate it amazes me every time I use it. It is a must try for every user of a Tablet PC or other touchscreen enabled computer."—jkOnTheRun

Since I ordered my tablet without any kind of keyboard whatsoever, I'm particularly interested in this. If I can get away with not carrying a keyboard around with me, I'll be very happy. My only concern is how the JVM will affect battery life and system performance. I'll post a review of my own once I've had a chance to try it out.

Konfabulator is Out!

2004-11-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

Konfabulator for Windows is out! Download it. Pay for it. You'll love it. $25 cheap. (And no, you can't use the license key from your Mac version.)

Tablet Navigation?

2004-11-08T04:54:00.000-08:00

I wasn't able to pick up my tablet before I left town for the weekend, but I should be able to get it today. One of the things I'm eager to try out is Microsoft Streets & Trips. I've tried an older version of PocketStreets before and found it lacking. The map files were huge and suffered from incompatibilities between versions. I hope the 2005 version is better.

Microsoft has some tough competition in this field. On my trip to Palo Alto this weekend, I used my iPaq running the excellent Mapopolis software for in-car satellite navigation. That combination sets the bar high, with compact map files, smooth on-screen scrolling, super-fast screen refreshes, and a user interface optimized for use while driving.

Once I have a chance to test Streets & Trips running on my tablet, I'll post a review and include a comparison with Mapopolis running on a PocketPC.

2004-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

"The waiting is the hardest part."
—Tom Petty

My flight to San Jose (and BloggerCon III) departs Austin tomorrow morning at o' dark early. I hope to have in my hot little hands my new machine to play with on the plane. Hi, my name is Charlie, and I'm a geek.

Best Note-Taking App?

2004-11-04T05:17:00.000-08:00

Question: How does EverNote compare to OneNote? Looks like I'll need to do some trials.

Windows to Get Widgets

2004-11-04T05:09:00.001-08:00

Konfabulator coming to Windows: "It appears that Konfabulator, a desktop “widget” program originally developed for the Mac OS, is being rewritten for the Windows platform."—The Tablet PCs Weblog

I've been a paying user of Konfabulator for a long time, and plan on buying it for my Tablet PC as soon as it's released. It's fantastic for at-a-glance information, including things like the weather, the time, your calendar, Gmail status, etc., and is one of the most visually beautiful interfaces I've seen on a piece of software. I can't wait for the Windows version.

Update: Looks like I won't have to wait long. Konfabulator for Windows will be released Monday, Nov 8!

Bluetooth is Goooood

2004-11-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

One of the first things I plan to add to my M1300 is a Bluetooth adapter. I use Bluetooth to sync my phone, my PDA, my laptop, and my desktop, and to communicate with my GPS receiver. I'm not sure yet if I'll add a USB dongle or a PCMCIA card—any recommendations?—but once I do, this support document should make the software setup a lot easier.

Blogging the Tablet PC

2004-11-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name's Charlie Wood, and I've been thinking of buying a Tablet PC ever since Motion Computing started selling them oh so long ago. Well, after years of hand-wringing, rationalizing, and fence-sitting, I've placed my order. Mind you, it's for a reconditioned demo unit, a previous-generation M1300, but it will be new to me.

What prompted me to finally take the plunge? A tragedy really. My wife's dusty old Latitude finally gave up the ghost. So I'm giving her my 1.6 GHz ThinkPad T40p (!) and downgrading (?) to a ~~900 MHz~~1GHz Tablet PC. I hope to take delivery in the next day or two.

Will it be cool? Will it be irritating? Will it make coach-class airline seats more comfortable? Will it change my life? Well, I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I'll be posting regularly (which I can say with great confidence, as I've done this before) so you can follow along at home and find out with me.

I invite you to comment on the posts here, or if it's more appropriate, to send me an email at charlie.wood@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting!