CutMeLoose.com

You have got to checkout this guys setup. It is way cool and unlike anything I have ever seen.

Tablet PC Buzz.com - Forum

From James Kendrick:

"

A flurry of activity the past few days shows how important the blogosphere can be when an issue affects a lot of people. I originally posted about the Copernic Desktop Search problem working on Tablet PCs days ago and ranted about the software company's position that they can't test CDS on a Tablet because they don't have one and have no intention of getting one. The blogosphere reacted to that in a uniform fashion as often happens in cases like this with Marc Orchant of The Tablet PC Weblog joining in the discussion in total agreement with my position. Marc's post was in turn picked up by numerous other websites and a flurry of activity has ensued today. I have heard directly from the Copernic co-founder, Martin Bouchard, CEO David Burns, and finally VP of Technology Albert Dang-Vu. All three gentlemen expressed the commitment of Copernic to get a Tablet PC and test the program and more importantly to fix it for Tablet owners.

This has been reported on numerous websites already so this will be my next to last post on the CDS subject. Albert Dang-Vu has reported to me that the TIP flicker problem has been fixed and will appear in the next release. Kudos to Copernic for stepping up to the plate and addressing the situation in a professional manner. The last post I will make on this subject will be to report when a fixed version has been released.

"

(Via jkOnTheRun.)

Thanks for leading the charge on this, Marc and James.

From Marc Orchant:

James and I both just received the following from Martin Bouchard at Copernic:

Mr. Kendrick,

I’ve been reading your post regarding your problems with CDS and the Tablet PC. Let me assure you that Copernic will now include the Tablet PC in our QA test benchs. I’ve personally bought a Tablet PC two days ago to make sure we support this platform. We will let you know when we will have a correction for the bug you encountered.

Please accept our sincere apologies.

Martin Bouchard, co-founder

Copernic Technologies

Most welcome news and exactly the response I was hoping for. Thank you Martin. Your support of the Tablet PC
platform is really appreciated. This is the right way to respond to an issue like this. I look forward to testing CDS
again when you believe you have the issue with TIP fixed.

"

(Via The Tablet PCs Weblog.)

Marc Orchant talks about why he and James Kendrick won't be installing the new Copernic Dekstop Search on his Tablet PC. Why? It doesn't work on a tablet pc and Copernic won't buy a tablet pc to test against. Come on guys, you can get a tablet pc for $1500. That's poor customer support.

Our society has shown its' true colors for allowing this to happen, and the true after effects of 25 years of Roe V Wade. The effects of today will be felt for generations and our children's children will ask how we could have ever let this happen. Starving someone to death. Forgive us....

CNN.com - Terri Schiavo has died - Mar 31, 2005

Chime in on Robert's blog:

Are you a Tablet PC TechEdBlogger?: "

"

(Via The Tablet PC Education Blog.)

Eight More Rules of Tablet UI Success: "Developers are starting to get the message: A Tablet PC is not a standard desktop or notebook PC. It's easy to think that the Tablet PC is simply just a notebook with a bright swiveling screen, a pen, a few new UI widgets and a few extra bits crammed into the operating system. In a previous article (Eight Essentials of Tablet User Interface Design), I presented some suggestions that applications programmers and UI designers should keep in mind while..."

(Via Tablet PC Talk News.)

How much for those autographs, James?

Houstonian James Kendrick recently translated his love of blogging into podcasting. His two new shows, techADDICTION and The Tablet PC Show take a look at gadgets and devices from PDAs to ultra-portable computers and the Tablet PC.

jkOnTheRun: Fifteen minutes of fame starts... now

Great followup by Mark Payton on Tablets and e-books:

My wife and I were talking the other day, when I mentioned that I had read "my book" while riding a stationary bike. She laughed and asked, "Which one? You are always reading six books."

Little does she know.

Not only do I usually have a half-dozen books of various kinds going, I have that many again, or more, in progress on my Tablet. Many are technical, some are for pure enjoyment, several are literary works I never got around to in school, quite a number are of a spiritual bent.

The Pew Tablet: Whatcha Reading?

In trying to move away from the Blogspot ATOM feed, I'm now using Feedburner. Please update your feed url with the following:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/robbushway

Apparently, MindJet doesn't like ATOM feeds, so I've moved to an RSS compliant feed.

Congratulations, James!

jkOnTheRun one of the 14 Best Mobile Blogs!: "

The Mobile Technology Weblog recent (OK, a few weeks ago but I thought I had mentioned it earlier) listed their list of the 14 Best Mobile Blogs and I am honored to be on this short list! Thanks Russell!

"

(Via jkOnTheRun.)

I totally agree with Loren and the author that the tablet pc will drive the e-book. Since developing my TabletBible apps ( http://www.tabletbible.com ), I've come to really appreciate the concept of the e-book, marking them up, etc.

Why technology moves faster than the (e-Book) market: "

In a review of the book: 'The Slow Pace of Fast Change: Brining Innovations to Market in a Connected World' by Bhaskar Chakravorti, there are some interesting tidbits on e-Books.

What caught my attention was the reviewer's final comments on e-Books and Tablets:

'In case you are wondering if e-books have fallen by the way side - apparently not! Now technology research firms say that the dominant device will be the Tablet PC and after 2006 e-book demand will drive the sales of Tablet PCs. And there is new technology already in play, with new shepherds - Sony and Philips. Sony's digital e-book reader LIBRIé was launched in Japan in 2004. It uses digital paper technology developed by E Ink.'

Will Tablets give rise to the e-Book market? Could be. The growth of audio books though may indirectly help its textual cousin. Why? Because both can be delivered digitally so an infrastructure built for one can be used for both. The demand for e-Books can grow organically.

Another possibility is that universities will go so digital with content exchange that books will follow. Here again, an infrastructure will slowly get built up geared around lower-volume, higher dollar content, which will then spread out across the market.

A direct assault on the reading marketplace hasn't worked as analysts had once expected, partly I think because the jump was too big.

Mobile devices, such as the Tablet PC and the iPod, may be the technological cusps that inspire the next e-Book market rage. We'll see.

"

(Via Incremental Blogger.)

Checkout Michael Hyatt's new blog, as well a list of other employees at Thomas Nelson that are now blogging.

My New Thomas Nelson Blog: "

"

(Via Working Smart.)

Great entry by Trevor. I looked at RSS feeds in MindManager awhile back. Think I'll take a fresh look at it. With folks at MindJet blogging now, I bet we see some big improvements in this area.

MindManager as an RSS Reader: "

I saw this post on the new Mindjet Blog. They talk about how to build a Visual RSS reader. RSS is a useful technology that allows easy syndication of content. I use it for reading my numerous blogs.

I took Mindjet's example one step further to make it a truly visual mindmap...

(Via The Student Tablet PC.)

About as close as I get to this guy is playing my iPod through my fm transmitter and checking my email through my Treo 650.

Speed Blogging: "

Ahhh, the joys of technology. Right now I am driving 70mph on the highway to Detroit for work. I am on my tablet pc with a grps connection to the net. I have the Microsoft GPS hooked to streets and trips to track progress. I have Napster running which is connected to my car stereo, so I can listen to my downloaded tracks. Of course as always I always have AIM running too."

(Via Feedster Search: tablet pc.)

My two youngest children, ages 3 and 5, are daily asking me to use my Tablet PC to color with. I'm about to download Loren's flash app and give that a whirl.

Tablets and Kids. Interesting Thoughts: "

"

(Via Life on the Wicked Stage.)

My next interview, to be published on TabletPCBuzz.com, is going to be with Microsoft's Robert Williams.

Robert is the Director of Business Development and Partner Engineering for the Mobile Platforms Division.   Here is a snippet from his blog about his role: In this role my team and I work with partners (OEMs, ODMs, IHVs, ISVs) to bring new technology and products to tablet pc and mobile pc users.

Look for it around the first week of April.

If there are others that you would like to hear from, leave me a comment.

Michael Hyatt has draft 2 of his corporate blogging guidelines. Take a read and post your comments:

Corporate Blogging Guidelines, Draft #2: "

About a week ago, I posted an initial draft of what we were then calling our Corporate Blogging Rules. I asked for public comment and received some terrific input. Many readers were put off by the formality and legalese of the document. They felt it should be more conversational and less intimidating—after all, we are trying to promote blogging within our company not stifle it.

(Via Working Smart.)

I use MindJet's MindManager at least weekly on my Tablet PC. I love it. Was glad to see Hobie Swan's post about gestures.

How to mind map on the Tablet PC"Hobie Swan of the Mindjet team has crafted a well-illustrated post that provides an excellent primer on using
MindManager X5 on the Tablet
PC. He explains the many gestures Mindjet has built into the Tablet mode you can put the application into and
provides an excellent general primer on the art of mind mapping. This is a great read for anyone interested in mind
mapping as a brainstorming and communication tool, even those who are, shall we say, Tablet-challenged?

Nice work Hobie!"

(Via The Tablet PCs Weblog.)

I saw this come through on Feedster today. Converting Journal notes to XML format so you can then display them on the web, in OneNote or your pocket pc:

Converting Journal Notes to XML, SVG, and OneNote

Lora Heiny: Microsoft Tablet PC Partners Directory: "

"

(Via Lora.)

Massive thanks to Tablet PC guys!: "

Thanks to everyone who emailed / commented in the post below about Tablet PCs; I really appreciate it. We’re finishing up the article and will be running it some time next week.

It’s really nice to see just how many people loved Onenote- it’s truly a fantastic program to use. Also ..."

(Via Feedster Search: tablet pc.)

Since Sunday is Easter, I decided to go ahead and publish the interview with Ben Thacker so I wouldn't have to work on Sunday.

Enjoy

Tracy Hooten does a very thorough job in reviewing OrangeGuava - in classic Tracy style!.

Check it out

Earlier this week I posted about an interview I have coming up with an OEM. Well, the interview is with HP's Ben Thacker. Ben is the Manager of the Specialized Products and Options Group at HP. I'll let Ben describe his position:

I work in our Mobile Computing Product Division. It’s where the products are created before being passed to our regional marketing and sales teams. My marketing team focuses on the product marketing and product strategy for our Tablet PC’s, Rugged PC’s, and our Commercial and SMB Notebook Accessories (docking, travel batteries, cases, etc).

The interview is very insightful and one I think the Tablet PC community will really enjoy. Its' a unique opportunity to hear from one of the most successful Tablet PC OEMs on the market.

Look for it on Sunday at TabletPCBuzz.com.

How about some of the Tablet PC blogs and enthusiasts giving this blog a little feedback on Tablet PCs for their Neowin write up? I've already posted my feedback. Robert?

Tablet PC! Mr Scoble or Someone else?!: "

Sorry to the regulars reading this - I’m trying to lure in some people for a Neowin piece. We’re doing (amazingly) the first bit of solid coverage of Tablet PC’s yet at Neowin, and it’s rather exciting. We got a Toshiba M200 to play with and as Simon and Tom ..."

(Via Feedster Search: tablet pc.)

I posted about this a while back, so I thought I'd give it a little update.

I've just posted the last clue on the WhitsEnd.org website in the somethingbig area . For the past 8 weeks, we've been posting various clues, some pictures, some audio, some blog entries, etc.

Has anybody figured it out yet? Be sure to listen to Adventures In Odyssey on April 2 to find out what's happening. You don't want to miss it. To find out where to listen to Adventures In Odyssey in your area, go to Find Your Station.

I echo Robert's thoughts here: Where are you Tablet OEMs and Microsoft? That is a major win!

Apple Deploying 63,000 iBooks in Cobb County Schools: "Pending approval from the Board of Education on March 24, 2005, the Cobb County School District, Marietta, GA will partner with Apple to provide 63,000 Apple iBook G4 notebook computers, first to all K-12 teachers this spring and to high school students in Spring 2006. This will be the largest school district to engage in a one-to-one computer initiative.

The price of each iBook , based on a four-year lease, is $271.26 per year, less than the cost per computer in Maine & Michigan's programs. Add in comprehensive training and local support, and the cost per student is only $350 annually.

Each iBook has a full four-year warranty. Help will be available, through a 24/7/365 dedicated help desk.

OK, Tablet PC manufacturers and Microsoft, where are you with comparable partnerships and deployments?

Thanks, ScottyGu3 for the link in your comment about Tablet PC Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency in Education on The Tablet PC Education Blog."

(Via The Tablet PC Education Blog.)

Great article by James Kendrick on the Next Big Thing in mobile computing.

What is the NBT in mobile computing?: "

I spend a lot of time thinking about mobile technology and how it can be leveraged to help me in my life. I am fortunate in that I get to see and try many different devices, computers and tools that might take my productivity and enjoyment to the next level. All of this thinking has led me to the question- what is the Next Big Thing (NBT) in mobile computing? We have reached a point where PDAs are powerful little machines that can do a lot of different tasks that used to be solely in the domain of the personal computer. We are watching mobile phones get more of the capability that PDAs used to provide and we are now seeing entire computers shrunk to fit in the hand (barely). So what is missing from this mobile landscape?

This article does not intend to predict the future of mobile computing nor provide an overview of mobile devices currently available. I may do that at some point in the future but that is not the intent of this writing. I am focusing on what would work best for me since that is my natural point of interest.

I'll confess I have spent a lot of time thinking about this subject and trying to be honest with myself about what would really take my mobile life to the next level. Long time readers have read my plea for a mini Tablet PC which I know would be a good device for me and one that could make me even more productive than I currently can be with the Sony U750 ultra-portable computer. So would this be the NBT for me? Not quite. We have reached a point in the evolution of mobile technology where I think great things could be done and done right now with existing technology. So for better or worse I'm going to lay out a device that would fit my work style very well and then describe the software tools that would make this device the bomb, to paraphrase my kids.

(Via jkOnTheRun.)

I get out one of my business cards. On the back of the card, I write down the 5 things I need to get done for that day. Its' small, right in front of me, and the feeling of crossing them out is great.

The fact that I'm using a business card helps me to keep the list very small and manageable.

Absolutely no technology involved and I love it!

Loren Heiny: TabletFlash v1.1 uploaded: "

A little late, but here's the update for the TabletFlash program.

What's new?

Well, now you can write on and view the back side of each card. Here's the classic appearance of the front of a card:

And here's the new back side:

Tapping on the button on the bottom-right of the card flips the card over. There's a 'flip' button in the Standard Toolbar too.

Also, to make it easier to flip through cards, the Up/Down keys now sequence through cards and the Left/Right keys flip the card over. If you're using your Tablet as a slate, you may have cursor buttons on the case that you can now use to navigate through the cards very quickly.

One other big change: The audio recordings are now saved in the flashcard files rather than as separate files. This will make it a lot easier to copy and share flashcards.

Oh, and I've added an install program too and a couple flashcard samples are included in the Program Files folder.

"

(Via Incremental Blogger.)

New Tablet PC Show is available on The Podcast Network

James Kendrick and Marc Orchant sit down for a solid hour and discuss a wide range of Tablet PC related topics in The Tablet PC Show #3. Join us as we cover everything from an Apple iTablet to the Tablet PC goes to the rodeo. We hope you enjoy the show and ask for your comments, suggestions and any questions you might have about the Tablet PC. We sure had fun recording this show for you so let us know what you think.

Bernd from Aglix has posted his InkXcards flash card program as a sample of what you can do with InfiNotes. I know Bernd’s kids love it and I just installed it on my kids machines, it’s a pretty cool app that’s worth a look. If you’re a dev you should take a look at the source code. It's amazing how well InfiNotes works, last year this would of taken months to build with InfiNotes today you can build an app like this in a matter of hours… Nice work Bernd!

/frank

This posting is provided 'AS IS' with no warranties, and confers no rights! It’s just my personal humble opinion.

"

(Via frankgo's WebLog.)

Mark Payton has started two new blogs:

The Pew Tablet: A blog dedicated to a discussion about Christians and Tablet PC's. I'm personally glad to see Mark start this blog.

Vermont Slate: A blog dedicated to issues surrounding Tablet PC programs in schools, notably Mark's experience at Vermont Academy.

I'd highly encourage you to visit and then subscribe if the content interests you.

"Check this one out – an interesting thread on Tablets in aviation… Trust the skies to your pilot and their Tablet PC http://www.turbopilot.com/efb/ "

They are using a Motion M1400VA Tablet PC

(Via frankgo's WebLog.)

My project load is starting to really kick in after taking about a week off.

On the Tablet PC front, I'm still working on the Broadman and Holman bible for TabletBible.com, as well as getting about 30 - 50 new books published from mountzion.org. In addition, I'm slowly working on my own TabletBible application that will be using InfiNotes as its' foundation. No timetable on that one yet.

I've had to adjust the workload on some of my tablet pc stuff so I could concentrate on items that help pay my bills.

I've gotten several new clients for web development work, as well as existing project work that I'm working on. I truly love the work I do. I recently read on Scoble's blog about how he doesn't need the Google 20% time benefit to work on what he loves because that is what he spends all of his time doing anyway. I'm the same way. I use that 20% to take care of things I don't like doing: paying bills, paperwork, etc.

Look for an interview to be published on TabletPCBuzz.com toward the end of the month that I have with one of the major OEMs and their take on the future of the Tablet PC.

We arrived back in Colorado Springs about 7:00 on Sunday night with two extra suit cases of American Girl stuff! It was truly a once in a life-time trip.

Our limo actually left about 15 minutes early. After we left, several more cars showed up. We ended up stopping at Sam’s parking lot so Maggie could say goodbye to everyone.

Maggie shopped and shopped and shopped. The last picture of the slide show I created really says it all.

To view 54 of about 500 pictures that I took, go to http://www.zoeinc.com/makeawish . Click on the thumbnails to view a larger picture, then click one of the last two thumbnail image on the page to cycle through all of them. Not the greatest of slideshow utilities, but it works (free!).

A huge thank you to the Make A Wish Foundation of Colorado for making my little girl's wish come true.

Good for Thomas Nelson Publishers and Michael Hyatt for making public their draft on corporate blogging. View the draft and post your comments at Michael's blog. You could help Thomas Nelson and in the process help formulate a "standard" document on corporate blogging.

Corporate Blogging Rules: "

My company, Thomas Nelson Publishers, is about to launch a corporate blog aggregator site. Internally, we have tried to encourage a small band of employees to begin blogging.  The aggregator site will simply link to the individual sites. It will be similar to OfficeZealot.com, but it will be accessible through our main corporate Web site.

This program  has three primary objectives:

To raise the visibility of our company and our products.


To make a contribution to the publishing community.


To give people a look at what goes on inside a real publishing company.

Like many companies, we have struggled with what guidance to give to our bloggers. I personally checked with several companies. None had formalized a set of blogging rules or written guidance. One Microsoft blogger told me that the only rule his company provided was, “Be smart.” I thought we probably needed a little more guidance than that, so several of us cooked up a list of “Blogging Terms and Conditions.” Our corporate counsel has also had a crack at it.

I am posting this draft publicly so that you can comment on it.

AppleInsider | Sources: Apple developing updated AirPorts, two-button mouse: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Sources: Apple developing updated AirPorts, two-button mouse

By Katie Marsal
Published: 12:00 PM EST

Apple Computer is said to be readying updates to its AirPort wireless base stations and may soon debut a much demanded two-button mouse.

As I've talked about recently, I've had to acquire a Mac for supporting existing customers looking to implement the Mac into their existing network. I purchased a Powerbook G4 15" 1.5ghz.

I have to be honest here and tell everyone how impressed I am with this computer. You've heard it said before "It just works!" . I installed a bluetooth wireless mouse and it paired instantly. I have yet to reboot due to memory leaks or crashes or software installs. I have yet to report a crash to Apple. This thing is super fast and just runs.

I have had learning curve issues, though. The following have been my biggest hurdles:

1) The right click: I desperately miss this. I'm still having trouble adjusting to the ctrl-click. When I've gone back to using my Tablet PC, the right mouse click feels very natural.

2) host file: I've been all over the place, but I can't figure out how to properly edit the machines attribute in Netinfo Manager so I can browse my locally hosted websites on my network. For example, I need to associate a private ip: 192.168.11.2 to www.testurl.com .

3) Keyboard shortcuts: I'm quickly learning that keyboard shortcuts drive a lot of the productivity on the mac.

4) I don't like Safari, nor IE for the Mac. I miss the drop down list to show previously viewed websites. I miss my Blog This google plugin. I used it a great deal for blogging sites I visited. I also greatly miss OnFolio, although I'm getting used to NetNewsWire.

5) Importing my .pst file into Entourage was a royal pain. I still have not managed to get everything ported over. I used an app called Outlook2Mac and it missed alot of stuff. Contacts, calendars, and tasks moved over ok, but emails were a problem. Right now, I'm selecting all of the emails in each folder, copying them, and pasting them into a folder in the file system. Copying the folder over to the mac and then dragging and dropping them in. Major pain for the 50 email folders I've got.

6) I've been impressed with how easily I can network to my windows servers, move files back and forth, etc. Integrating FTP servers and local windows servers is really nice. However, the mac os doesn't seem to store my username and password for authenticating to the server even though I told it to store them in the keychain. I have to reauthenticate each time. Must be something I'm doing wrong.

I'm really enjoying Office 2004. It runs much faster than Office 2003 for Windows. Getting into Project Center to see how that fits my workflow. I made a fantastic DVD using iDVD for my son's Arrow of Light ceremony. Everybody was asking me how I could do something that looked so good. The dvd themes are simply fantastic.

I told myself when I got this unit that I would probably end up selling it in about a month once I learned what I needed to help support my clients. I'm quickly changing my mind. I really enjoy working on this Powerbook.

All that said, you shouldn't classify me as a "switcher" . My primary machine is still my Tablet PC and I don't forsee that changing. Even with installing Virtual PC on the Mac, I have yet to use it because I keep going back to my Tablet PC to ink up some notes, sit on the couch with it and surf the web with the pen. I went to a client meeting the other day. What did I bring with me: my Tablet PC. Taking notes using my pen has become an integral part of how I work now - its' natural.

If Apple were to introduce an iTablet, I'd place my order right away and would wait the 6 months or so it would probably take to get it.

Ok...off to Chicago and the American Girl Place on Thursday. No more blogging until next week. Have a blessed weekend.

For those of you wanting to create an inkable forum for the Tablet PC, look no further than the free Arcs of Fire source code. They have implemented inking on their forums and have now made the source code available. Kudos all the way around.

From Christopher James:

There have been some roumors that the HP TC1100 is no more, this
cannot be further from the truth, the following is a statement from HP
UK which I hope will dispell all thoughts about this:


I can assure you that you are indeed correct, the rumors are not
true. We certainly are having some component supply issues on the
TC1100 mainly down to the shortage of faster 1.1 or 1.2GHz ULV
processors, and making matters worse we also have display shortages on
the Celeron model. TIP: If anyone wants a brand new tc1100 in a hurry
we do have planty of material in our factories to make the 1.0GHz ULV
versions, part number DQ871A, we have reintroduced this model in the UK
to allow us to fulfill customers orders on TC1100.


Read his site for more details:
http://www.tabletpcplace.com/pivot/entry.php?id=26

Congratulations to Josh! Honestly, I'm not surprised. he's got one of the best Tablet apps out there!

Thanks to Lora and Loren for hosting www.tabletpcpost.com and I'm proud to announce that TEO has once again pulled ahead to become the #1 most popular download.

http://josheinstein.com/journal/archive/2005/03/15/437.aspx

Microsoft Tablet PC MVP WNewquay has started a blog. For those of you who don't know, WNewquay is the top contributor to www.TabletPCBuzz.com. His posts are always of the highest quality. I'm really looking forward to reading more on his blog.

http://www.msmvps.com/wnewquay/

For a fantastic review of HP's TC4200 Tablet PC, check out Christopher James article. Very well done. Lots of great photos and videos.

TC-one-thousand - TC4200 Review: "Where to start ... ? As a committed slate user I was not expecting to be too impressed with the TC4200, I assumed it would be big, bulky and heavy ... I was very wrong. The TPC looks like quite a nice and sturdy sub-notebook computer. It feels well made and quite 'solid' but it is not heavy and it is not big at all, in fact even with its 12' screen it is barely bigger than the TC1000 and TC1100 (with keyboard attached)."

Finally - they are hitting the sweet spot in terms of price! $1499 for a Toshiba R15 Tablet PC!

Buy the Toshiba Tablet PC (R15-S822) and other Notebook Computers at circuitcity.com

I'll be out of town next week going on a Make A Wish trip with my daughter, Maggie. We are going to Chicago to the American Girl Place. It will be a blast and something we are very thankful for. This will be our first family vacation in about 2 years.

So, I won't be blogging much, nor posting much on the www.tabletpcbuzz.com. Have a great week!

JumpingMinds Software has released a free version of its new MathPractice Starter. Young children can practice counting, simple addition and subtraction.

What Is New in Tablet PCs? - JumpingMinds MathPractice Starter Now Available

Bad news...

A judge on Friday ordered three independent online reporters to divulge confidential sources in a lawsuit brought by Apple Computer Inc., ruling that they were not protected by the First Amendment because they published trade secrets.


MSNBC - Reporters ordered to reveal Apple sources

Someone posted a question on TabletPCBuzz.com about the differences between PenCommander and OrangeGuava. I thought I'd share my answer here as well:

"Very good question. I've been running both: OrangeGuava for a couple of weeks, and PenCommander for a couple of days.

I really like PenCommanders scripting support and their skinnable input panel. There are numerous possibilities with inking a shortcut and launching applications, keystrokes, etc. I can start up applications, insert text, launch menu buttons, etc. I like that its' in the tray and activated when I click on it. Its’ quick, easy, and doesn’t feel like its’ taken over your computer.

OrangeGuava's current implmentation doesn't offer near the gesture and shortcut support that PenCommander does. Notice the emphasis on current. Its' no secret that ActiveWords and OrangeGuava are working on an integrated product offering. OrangeGuava and ActiveWords will be powerful. That will offer a tremendous competitive advantage as it will allow a user to access the same ActiveWords wordbase in both type and ink: ink TPB and go to TabletPCBuzz.com, type TPB (anywhere) and go to TabletPCBuzz.com - PenCommander doesn't offer that. In addition, ActiveWords scripting support is much better than Pen Commander. For example, with ActiveWords, I can create an Outlook meeting request from anywhere. I can create a meeting request with PenCommander only if Outlook is open and its' my active application. Where else does OrangeGuava have PenCommander beat? To ink something and then do something with that ink: activate a search, generate an email from it, create a note from it, create a word doc from it. Can you and will you be able to do more with OrangeGuava once its' combined with ActiveWords? Absolutely.

Something that will have to be addressed though: OrangeGuava is $48.00, ActiveWords Plus is $49.95: $97.95 . PenCommander is $24.95 . The price difference is going to be a big stumbling block for some people and will cause some people to look at PenCommander first and see if they can make it a go with just it. I personally believe the price difference will be very much worth it, though, when ActiveWords is integrated. That said, without the integration with ActiveWords, I believe OrangeGuava will struggle. Lets' hope they release it sooner than later."

Gary Krakow's review of the OQO. I played with it at CES and I wasn't really impressed. Too small for my use and slow.

I’d been begging for an OQO for nearly a year. I saw one at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January, 2004 and couldn't wait to try it. It wound up taking me close to 12 months to get one to play with. But, as soon as regular production OQOs hit the market I began living with a model 01.

MSNBC - Ultra portable PC is a real computer

Live from CeBIT: Tatung Sonoma Tablet PC: "

Tatung, the Taiwanese computer manufacturer who only recently started selling machines under its own brand, is showing off this 12.1-inch Tablet PC, which they claim is the first to run on Intel's Sonoma platform. The screen resolution wasn't listed (and it was rotating through a locked demo), but it appeared to by 1,024 by 768 pixels. Built-in a/b/g Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet are default, as well as Alviso 915GMS video and Azalia audio. Copyright: Copyright (c) 2005, lev

"

check out this game for the Tablet PC. plays really well with the stylus.

An addictive game based on the classic falling-brick game. Designed for Tablet PC, this innovative game can be controlled entirely with a stylus. But the innovation doesn't stop there... The game features multiple bricks falling at the same time, adding fun and challenge to the game.


BrickStorm - Increment Software

Great article by James Kendrick on making the TIP transparent. Very cool!

I have often wished the Tablet PC text input panel (TIP) could be made semi-transparent so I could still see what's in the windows underneath. While this is simply for convenience sake it is a very handy thing if you ink a lot. I did a lot of research and found a program that (among other things) lets you make any window transparent, even the TIP.

jkOnTheRun: Making the TIP semi-transparent

Loren comments on my comments that I don't necessarily agree with him about Intel leading the way for the tablet market. He does have some good points, but I honestly think its more sofware than centrino, although centrino certainly helped a tremendous amount with battery and wireless performance. Thinking back to when I used a TC1000 with the transmetta processor, within 6 months I gave up on the TC1000 due to performance - no amount of software could have kept me with it. However, I tried the M1200 and loved it - no centrino, peformance was decent. I would have been happy.

I honestly think that had centrino not come along, we would have still had decent tablet pc sales. Centrino has just made it the experience that much better. As Loren points out though, we need to be paying attention to Intel and staying aligned with them.

More thoughts on Centrinos and Tablets: "

Rob Bushway comments on my post about Intel leading the Tablet market: "...we had wireless and decent battery before centrino..Centrino just made the experience better."

Yep. Intel has hit the market just right. It was ready for WiFi/better mobility--hence the terrific notebook sales.

The Tablet goes even further, yes. For example, you can readily use a Tablet while standing up.

And in terms of ink, it's the main reason I got involved with the Tablet PC. I agree that ink/pen-enabled apps are the key to the widespread success of the Tablet--but with one caveat--assuming that the hardware is sufficient--scratch that--really good.

Now am I saying that people are purchasing Tablets because of Centrino? No. I'm saying that Intel has enabled the mainstream computer mobility market. It's been a very successful campaign--although it had a few false starts.

What I've been wondering about is: What if the Centrino had never come out? Yes, there would be WiFi, 2-4 hr battery life, and the like. However, I doubt that the Tablet would have picked up in sales this past year much at all--even with SP2, GoBinder, xThink, TEO2. Why? Because the Centrino made the Tablet (especially convertibles) a great notebook. Just a hunch.

What do you think? Have I been swayed by the Intel marketing machine? After all, in earlier posts I've argued that the success of the Tablet mainly depends on the software.

What I'm thinking now is that as a developer paying attention and staying aligned with Intel is probably a good move :-). Intel has gotten ahead of markets before--such as the endless advocating of video email--but I think their mobility story is well timed and spot on.

Down the road, as people are even more connected while using their Intel WiMAX-enabled, multi-core Tablets what does this mean for developers? This is where I'm going with all of this. Let's assume that the next generation of mobile chipset technology is also well received. Applications that maybe were so-so practical today may come into their own at this time. Will these be pen-perfect applications with recognizers that can leverage the multi-core processors? Or maybe collaboration apps that provide communication transparency over WiMAX? Seemless VoIP? Remote presence? Always-connected immersive games? Hmm."

From Chris Pratley's weblog:

I often hear from fans of OneNote that they are frustrated because they can't explain to others what it is they love about it. they explain for a few minutes and then their friend just says they can’t see why it is better than Word, or Notepad. (Notepad!)

It is tough with a new product in a new category because people have no frame of reference. They are used to asking "which is the best word processor/browser/OS?"', but with an information management tool, most people have no experience so they can't do the comparison. They just see the part that looks like a word processor and they think that is all there is.

For those who are frustrated trying to explain to others what makes OneNote different and exciting in a concise, coherent way, let me share a few ideas since obviously we end up doing that a lot ourselves.
The best ways to show OneNote to others

Looks like a direct competitor to OrangeGuava and the yet released integration with ActiveWords, although it doesn't offer desktop inking. I downloaded the trial and have been playing with it for about 15 minutes. Really nice. Good price, too: $29.95.

PhatWare Corporation, a leading provider of software products and professional services for mobile and desktop computers, announced today the launch of PenCommander for Tablet PCs. The new stand-alone application features a new powerful scripting technology which was first introduced as a part of PhatWare's PenOffice handwriting recognition application.

PenCommander allows users to use the pen to call up commands that can control Tablet PCs in almost limitless ways, such as editing documents, inserting often-repeated text into documents, and launching applications. To execute a PenCommand, simply write a PenCommand name on the PenCommander input panel. PenCommander is the best tool for entering repetitive data, accessing frequently used applications and documents, and overall extending Tablet PC functionality and user's productivity, providing a simple and fast way to functions that typically take longer to complete.

PhatWare Announces Pen Commander

Christopher James, fellow Tablet PC MVP, has a very short video of the new HP TC4200 Tablet PC that he is reviewing for TabletPCPlace.com .

I just launched a new website dedicated to hosting plugins for the yet released GoBinder 2006:

GoBinderPlugins.com . Think of it as a download.com for GoBinder plugins.

This site will be a one stop shop for plugins made especially to extend Agilix's GoBinder™ product. Imagine plugins that will allow you to customize your calendar, task list, an order taking application, a plugin for the new Google Desktop search, a built-in RSS reader, etc. The possibilities are numerous. Register to get your copy of the SDK and documentation here.

If you are developer, this will be the site for you to list your plugin. This site will officially launch with available plugins when GoBinder 2006 is launched. Meanwhile, if you are a developer who has already created a plugin, email us at info@GoBinderPlugins.com .

GoBinder™ is an ink enabled notetaking application that runs on Tablet PC's and non Tablet PC's. It is a mobile content organizer for professionals and a mobile course organizer for students.

Very interesting read from Loren Heiny...

As Intel goes, so goes the Tablet market: "

I was listening to Intel's IDF keynote webcasts and one thing struck me: Intel is leading the Tablet market. Yeah, Microsoft came up with the Tablet OS, develops key Tablet apps, and is nudging along the Tablet ecosystem, but when you think about it--really think about it--Intel is in charge. Microsoft is just going along for the ride.

Before you fall off the couch laughing (I assume you're reading this on your Tablet, of course), here's my reasoning: We all know that although the Tablet PC is going relatively strong right now, it's had a bumpy road. And thinking back, even though Microsoft's Service Pack 2 and its new Tablet Input Panel has made a huge difference in terms of the usability of the Tablet PC, it's really not the reason the Tablet is still in existance today. Not even the Microsoft marketing machine can claim success. The Tablet PC owes its survival to one thing: Intel's Centrino.

In fact, most everyone I know divides the Tablet market into "second-generation" Tablets and all the rest. (Yeah, I know some companies claim third+ generation, but they're trying to buck the Intel force. It's standalone marketing spin that's not going to work.) "

If you use a Tablet PC and Remote Desktop, your feedback is needed in a thread at TabletPCBuzz.com

I have not tried this out yet, but it looks very interesting.

Life on the Wicked Stage: Talking about Googgy Tablet PC Launcher

Secure Signature Biometric Pen uses strokes for security: "

This may not be as slick as IBM’s bionic, er, biometric touchpad, but the Secure Signature Biometric Pen has one big advantage over that system: it’ll work with any PC laptop (Mac users are out of luck). The pen uses software that replaces the Windows login screen with one that requires a signature. The pen connects by USB, and you can sign on any piece of paper or other nearby surface; no touchscreen required (in fact, you’d better make sure not to sign on your screen, since this pen has ink). According to the manufacturer, the pen tracks your strokes as you’re writing your signature, making it impossible to forge. Unfortunately, it only works with the login screen; it can’t be used as a password-replacement for encrypted files or secure websites.

[Via BIOS]

"

Problems With the Firefox Development Process: "

An anonymous reader writes "Mike Connor, one of the core Firefox developers, is raising a flag concerning the Mozilla Firefox methodology of development. From his blog: "In nearly three years, we haven't built up a community of hackers around Firefox, for a myriad of reasons, and now I think were in trouble. Of the six people who can actually review in Firefox, four are AWOL, and one doesn't do a lot of reviews." In an earlier entry, he raised concrete concerns about the community involvement. Asa Dotzler recently elaborated on the process, as previously covered on Slashdot."

"

Great article by Tracy Hooten :

TPCU: Double Majoring in Engineering and Tablets: "

I'd call this the first day of classes but I think that'd be stretching the TPCU thing too far (lol) so I'll just call this the first post in our new degree series ^_^. 

Figured I'd start with an easy one: my major. Well, granted my major is technically petroleum engineering, but given that's not probably the most popular, we're grouping all engineering together today. I know aerospace engineering is different than biomedical engineering, but they all have the same general idea and there's really only so many things specific to each major. That said, on with the show. (Note: These articles won't contain everything you'll find useful in your major, just what certain majors would find more useful than others. And, as always, everything here is just suggestions ^_^).

Events where you can see Tablet PCs: "

Microsoft Windows Anywhere (MWA) may have been the first, annual (should it be? yes?) Tablet PC developer conference, but it wasn’t the only large Tablet PC presence at conferences. Since MWA, the team has already been to HIMSS , SIGCSE , PMA, and Intel Developer Forum (IDF).

Upcoming conferences include: CeBIT, FOSE, WinHEC, TechEd, TechED

"

Apple’s free iPod Updater software could lengthen the life of your iPod battery. A reader with an iPod battery problem went to Apple’s Genius Bar for help:

iPod updater helps battery life : Lifehacker

Tablet PC sells millionth unit: "

Congrats to the Tablet PC team for selling a million Tablets.

At any other company that'd be considered an outstanding success. Getting a million people to do ANYTHING is pretty tough.

Walking around the TechFest this week I came to the realization that the Tablet PC is dead.

Huh?

The functionality that lets you be able to use a pen (or, even, your finger) to use ink on screen will just be something that every PC will ship with. There's all sorts of interesting stuff coming for computers with digitizers built in.

I'm sensing this is a breakout year for the Tablet PC team, though, that aside. The Tablet PC is growing up fast and we're not yet on version 3.0. Copyright: Copyright 2005 Robert Scoble

"

Pen functionality in all laptops and slates...its' going to happen. I can forsee a day in the next seveal years when the tablet pc name doesn't apply any longer - its' just a laptop with pen functionality or a slate with pen functionality - a Mobile PC. Tablet PC is driving the new input method, it will just boil down to the preferred platform in which one chooses to use it

Sprint is laying the foundation to roll EV-DO later this year: average speeds of 300-500 kbps, and peak rates of 2.4 mbps. I'll be the first in line once coverage becomes widely available.

Hopefully hot spots will become a thing of the past.


CanadaIT.com - Company News

FYI: Metal watch bands and Tablet PCs don't go well together. Just ask the scratch on my TC1100.

You'd think I would know better by now.

I finally got my hands on the trial of OrangeGuava. There has been a lot of raving about it on TabletPCBuzz.com so I decided to check it out for myself.

Tom Clarkson is building his app around much of the feedback he gets from the community and it shows. He is very responsive to errors and improvements. Just last night, he turned around 3 new builds.

OrangeGuava lets you ink all over your desktop, create new desktops, activate applications from your ink, etc. For example, I can ink Rob Bushway, right click the ink and choose Export: Search and a Google search will kick off. I can ink a note on the desktop, right click the ink, and choose Export Plain Text to create an Outlook Note. Ink some more, copy all the ink, and paste it in to Journal. There is a lot more to it than that, but that is a quick wrap-up.

One recommendation: do an Add / Remove on Office 2003 and make sure that everything is set to run from your computer. There are some pieces that OrangeGuava relies on that will cause an error if not installed.

We are going to have a full featured review of OrangeGuava on TabletPCBuzz.com in the next several weeks from some power users. Meanwhile, download a 60 day trial and come over to TabletPCBuzz.com to talk about it.

BTW: There is some great new stuff coming....

Great second article by Tablet PC MVP Tom Bishop on using Tablet PCs in the legal profession



While typing is an extremely efficient means of turning large passages of text into digital files for formatting, reproduction and distribution, there are important forms of text and information that keyboards can't create. These include signatures, diagrams, diaries, handwritten notes (including abbreviations) and anything created by someone who can't type.

Handwritten notes made in margins, taken during interviews or trials are an important part of an attorney's work product. Arrows, lines, circles and stars applied on top of text convey a great deal of emphasis and insight that is beyond the bandwidth of text. Many law review editors still handwrite proofreading corrections on galleys before the book is released for printing. Connecting these types of data to PCs was challenging. The scanner helped, but you can't OCR a drawing or highlighting strokes.

Tablet PC Buzz.com - Features

Congratulations to AbletFactory on the official release of the OneNote EMR Toolkit.

The OneNote EMR Toolkit is for physicians with a Tablet computer who are dissatisfied with current EMR solutions and want a portable and productive solution for patient chart/document management. Our product is a new way to capture, organize, share and display clinical information in the small physician office setting, at home, or on the road. It provides and easy-to-use interface that uses familiar forms and simple data entry tools– the pen and notebook metaphor. Unlike typical EMR solutions, ours is a complete and stand-alone system that grows with your requirements. We have combined the ability to access your information and share it with the Microsoft OneNote program, using all of its strengths and capabilities

Features:
* Directly import existing patient data
* Use your own or provided Templates
* Publish data to a Patient Portal, or email to Patient directly.
* Password protect data for HIPAA compliance
* Share data with others
* Search for data, text and even search ink
* Combines easy to use ink data entry with custom formatting
* Insert flags, notes, and audio messages directly into charts
* Time Stamp entries for auditing and accountability
* Directly scan paper charts into Patient’s OneNote EMR record
* Use Microsoft as your application development partner

The techAddiction Show is a go: "

Another day…another show launch…

Today we have sent the very first episode of The techAddiction Show live for all of your listening pleasure.

The techAddiction Show is hosted by two guys completely and utterly addicted to technology…James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel. So if you love your tech and would like to know whats its real benefits are for you, head on over and to the site and check out the show .

"

Web site gets goods to troops: "

When it comes to supplying an army in the field, there are thousands of materiel specialists, quartermasters and supply officers. And then there are the "special forces" -- like the Horn family in LaPlata, Maryland. Their Web site -- AnySoldier.com -- enables people to send a taste of home to troops overseas.

"

I've got several corporate clients that I've set up for testing with FireFox. The results have been mixed.

1) They like the speed and tabbed browsing
2) Several sites just don't work with FireFox.
3) To make FireFox work, they would also need to keep using Internet Explorer as well. That doesn't work well in the corporate environment. They need one browser that they can use all the time. Not switching back and forth to different browsers depending on their need.

So - for right now, I'm keeping them all on Internet Explorer. They are willing to put up with the security holes and weekly patches, as long as they have a good anti-spyware installed.

Well, the Macintosh switching appears to have some momentum, at least in my neck of the woods. In the past 2 - 3 weeks, I've had several customers ask me about how a Macintosh would integrate with their network and could I help with the setup.

Looks like I'll need to get a Mac Mini to learn how to set it all up and support them. Getting a Powerbook will require too much investment, although I'd love to have one.

Come on, Apple, come out with the iTablet (Tablet PC equivalent for the Macintosh).

Great article for those needing offline storage and access to remote storage.

HOW-TO: Use your Gmail account as a personal file server - Engadget - www.engadget.com

I have a customer that fried his TC1100 tablet pc by spilling some milk on it. Well, in the process of getting it fixed ($950 btw), he determined that he didn't really use the tablet functionality that much and opted to 1) get the tablet fixed and hand it down to another employee, 2) "upgrade" to $1600 15" Dell Latitude notebook . He wanted more performance for the money.

I think if the TC4200 were available, I could have given a good argument for getting it instead of the latitude.

So it goes....