CutMeLoose.com

Mark Payton posted this for his favorite tablet PC Buzz post. I remember that one and after reading it again, I thought it was worth posting here For those of you who were not around the buzz in 2004.. Gotta read it. It is hysterical

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:54 PM 0 comments

I have not seen the engadget article quoted below, but definitely worth keeping a look out for

Mumbai mirror: Apple has however filed in three patents for something called 'Vingle', according to the Apple Insider blog. The product patent describes the Vingle as being able to play media files while being able to be used as a device to access Web pages and chat online. One of the patents even describes the Vingle as a PDA.

According to Engadget and Apple Insider blogs, Apple also plans to launch a lightweight notebook next year, probably a tablet PC. Unlike anything we have seen before.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:32 PM 0 comments

Bob Heiny points us to Neek Talk a podcast by two teenagers. They talk about tablet pcs and school. Worth a listen, especially since they are Heiny teenagers!

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:07 PM 1 comments

James Kendrick has posted a reminder on his website that he and Marc are not the cohosts of the Tablet PC Show as hosted by TPN. He has made several requests of TPN to remove his and Marc’s name from the host information, but it still has not been done. I agree with James, it is very confusing to listeners for TPN to still have their names as the hosts, and it is not fair to Perry, the new host.

James and Marc continue to host their own OnTheRun With Table PCs show .

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:34 AM 0 comments

A very entertaining and well written article by Tony on the benefits of going mobile with a Tablet PC vs "Lapzilla" (via whatisnew)

My first laptop, a Toshiba 17" wide-screen P4 desktop replacement (appropriately referred to as “Lapzilla”), became my web development project centre, as well as the heart of my new songwriting and recording studio. Over the past year, I found that with its base weight of 10lb., (not including the power adaptor and other accessories such a beast requires), I did not have as portable a solution as I had hoped for. First, Lapzilla just about covered my desk. Second, its battery lasted just over two-hours on a full charge. Finally, the intermittent cooling fan sounded like a jet engine on take-off.

The problems became even more evident when I started taking Technical Writing classes at BCIT; the sound of the fuel-injected cooling fan drowned out the instructor. At the same time, I had a personal awakening: I had too much information stored between my various computers, as well as in several paper notebooks and journals. I felt the need to “defrag” myself, and that a smaller notebook computer was the answer. At the time I wasn’t even looking for a tablet, but was fascinated by the imagined potential of the technology.

Within a month, I found a recertified Toshiba M200 tablet PC convertible listed for less than half the retail price on the website of Consumer Computer Services, a Toronto company that handles all of Toshiba’s recertified and refurbished products. My first impression was that the M200 looked like a PDA—a REALLY BIG PDA, with more than enough power to synchronize my schedule—this machine would eventually consolidate my life.

I decided to call it “The Consolidator”.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:25 AM 0 comments

Charlie Russell writes about how to pick the best computer to Support Vista and get He most out of Vista.

So you’re getting ready to buy a new computer, and you want to make sure that the computer you buy now will work well with Windows Vista. Well, the good news is that just about any new computer you buy today will work fine with Windows Vista. Because of the way Windows Vista is designed, it will work well across a broad range of hardware. However, to get the best Windows Vista experience, there are some basic system requirements and suggestions you need to know about. In this column, I’ll take a look at how to make decisions now that will leave you in the best possible position when Windows Vista ships. The examples I’ll use below cover the products that are available as of beta 1 (July 2005).

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:01 AM 0 comments

Forbes article on the upcoming CES show :

While most people are still sleeping off the effects of their New Year's Eve debauchery, more than 130,000 industry gearheads and 2,500 hopeful exhibitors will flock to Sin City for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. CES is a buzz-filled mecca, where the latest and greatest electronic wares are hyped by small startups and global conglomerates alike.
With more than 1.6 million square feet of space crammed with wires, chips, plastic, booth babes and various attention-grabbing gimmicks, the show is a true circus. No, not Circus Circus, but still the biggest show in town. In fact, the show floor has expanded this year to encompass not only the entire Las Vegas Convention Center but also the Las Vegas Sand's Sands Expo near the Venetian.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 3:16 AM 0 comments

Watch James Kendrick review the OQO!

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 1:54 AM 0 comments

Engadget points to Alienware’s newest ultraportable – M3400. Somehow, Alienware and ultraportable just don’t seem to go together. Great specs on this guy, I especially like the built in camera. I’d love it my tablet pc had one built in.

• a 1280 x 768 14” screen
• 4.5 lbs
• a built-in 1.3 megapixel digital camera
• gigabit Ethernet
• 1394
• four USB 2.0 ports
• S/PDIF out
• a 4-in-1 memory card reader
• and a VGA port

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:46 PM 0 comments

Barry Doyle has posted his first look review of the Acer C200 Tablet PC – a full review coming soon.

With its innovative new sliding display mechanism, this convertible tablet feels very much like a slate when you want it to! Most convertible models are more "notebook" than "tablet", the C200 changes the rules.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:38 PM 0 comments

I’m giving away a Billionton Fingerprint reader (PC card based) with the Omnipass Software.

Point to your favorite post on www.TabletPCBuzz.com and tell me why it is your favorite. I’ll pick the winning entry on January 8 and announce the winner.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:50 PM 6 comments

I’m giving away 2 copies of Michael Linenberger’s book “Total Workday Control – Using Microsoft Outlook”. The contest will be open for until Jan 6. I’ll announce the winner on January 9.

Share your best Outlook productivity tip. I’ll pick two winners and give them each a copy of Michael’s book.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:00 PM 7 comments

Lora  posts the important booth locations for CES, from tablet PC and mobility perspective.

Great list to have.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:17 AM 0 comments

I carry one bag for almost everything I need when I go mobile. I also put my tablet pc in there as well. What do I keep in my bag that I consider essential?

A USB Crossbox connector
Retractable ethernet conector
PC Card based compact flash adapter
Very small 4 port USB hub
a spare wacom cross pen
small moleskin with 2 pens

Thinkpad Tablet PC with extended battery
1 gb flash drive

When I go on the road for days or weeks on end, I’ll also bring my portable wap / router, a portable USB harddrive, retractable modem cord, and my regular Thinkpad T42 laptop as well (for rendundancy purposes).

What am I missing that you carry?

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:59 PM 7 comments

Craig Pringle is talking about what corporate customers are wanting and that with educating the customer, the slate or hybrid begins to become an attractive choice for them.

I do agree with Craig – with proper education, the corporate customers I have demoed slates and convertibles to, tend to lean to a slate or hybrid choice. However, a lot of this has to do with the type of corporate customer.

One corporate customer moves about the office and warehouse, but rarely goes mobile outside of the office. In their environment, the slate with a docking station is a good choice. However, with another corporate customer, who is highly mobile, needs dependable keyboard accessability when mobile. A slate only device wouldn’t work, but they have achieved good success with the TC1100. They are looking with great interest at my Thinkpad X41.

Educating your customers is key and the importance of demoing a set-up to them can not be overstated – especially when it comes to slate or hybrid solutions.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:04 PM 0 comments

Guess who's gonna be a daddy?. – Josh Einstein! Major congratulations! Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 3:09 PM 0 comments

Any of you guys going to CES? I’ll be there from Jan 4 – Jan 7.

Checkout Layne Heiny’s post and repond – maybe we can set-up a meetup of some type.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:45 PM 0 comments

JK points to this USB adapter for Cardbus based 3G cards – this is wonderful news and something that will provide an option for the ultra mobile computers that don’t have a pc card slot (like Motion Computing’s LS800). Anticipated release: February 2006.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:49 AM 0 comments

I hope your Christmas Day is filled with wonderful memories and laughter.

In our home, we will be enjoying a peaceful time together with Grandparents and kids, and remembering for Whom we celebrate this wonderful day.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:21 AM 0 comments

Thought you all might enjoy this bit from today:

My father, who is becoming quite the computer geek, is visiting for Christmas. After arriving he quickly bought my M200 Tablet PC.

My son, Dax, is now using the TC1100 Tablet PC

My daughter, Maggie, is using a TC1000 Tablet PC that someone graciously gave her.

My mother-in-law just purchasd a Gateway M280 Tablet PC and she is loving it.

I’m using a Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC.

My two youngest girls use either Dax’s or Maggie’s computer – depending on which is free at the time.

During periodic moments throught the day, I could see Dax browisng the Lego website on his TC1100, my mother in law was journaling, Zoe was coloring on Maggie’s tablet, my dad was taking the Tablet PC tutorial, my father-in-law was on-line using his Dell pocket pc, and I was working on MindManager maps.

Were we engaged with each other? absolutely – I’d go over to the couch and see what Zoe was coloring and help her out, my dad would ask me to come over to the kitchen table and help him with the tutorial, Dax would tell his grandmother to come look at a game he was playing – the thing to notice here is that we were all together in the same room engaged in technology in some form, but interacting with each other as a result.

Gotta love technology…

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:20 AM 0 comments

Good interview with John Batelle  on the future of on-line search. It is mostly focused on Google, but still good.

Here is an interesting quote:

"Search is one of the hardest computer science problems in the world."

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Barry Doyle points to this innovative tablet pc design by Lenovo.

This multi-functional laptop is realised through the inclusion of an innovative soft hinge technology support that allows for three modes of self locking position: as a general laptop, tilted at 300 degree angle as a table display screen and bent over at 360 degree angle as a drawing pad. In keeping with the flexibility of use and transport, the Yoga laptop is designed with a detachable keyboard and wireless mouse. Yoga laptop, finished in tactile leather material has an inherent built-in visual identity technology programmed to automatically identify its owner. This makes it an object that is personal and secure.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:45 AM 0 comments

Pete Wright has another fascinating post, this one being focused on living with a slate. Pete has had some time now to put the LE1600 through its paces and offers some great insight on how living without a keyboard definitely has its pluses and forces you to focus on applications and working much differently. Well worth the read, especially if you are considering a slate tablet pc purchase.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:07 AM 0 comments

Michael Parekh is talking about my M200 vs X41 comparison and offers his own summary. Good stuff.

Kevin has some good stuff to say as well. He reminds us that

"You see, a Tablet PC purchase puts more “P” in the acronym “PC”. Computing devices are becoming a more personal choice than ever. "

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:08 PM 0 comments

Pete has written this amazing rendition of Twas the Night before Christmas – but is themed entirely on tablet pcs and vista

Here is the intro:

'Twas the year before Vista, and all of the slates,
Were quietly whirring, not noticing the date.

The energy blue theme had become standard fare,
While a few souls chose WindowBlinds, a brave few who dared.

You really need to head over to Pete’s blog and read it the whole thing.

Thanks, Warner.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:03 PM 2 comments

Warner has been using this term a lot lately and I couldn’t resist turning it into another acronym: Man of Many Tablets : MMT.

I think I’ll start using that as an official designation after my name since it comes officially handed down by Warner.

Rob Bushway, MMT

:-)

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 6:58 AM 0 comments

Looks like Brad Covelle was a winner in the OneNote PowerToy contest (via JK). His power toy:

The PowerToy is an Add-In to Microsoft Word that lets the user send either text from Word or the entire Word document to a section in OneNote named Word Documents. The PowerToy will enhance the OneNote user's ability to manage and organize their notes.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 6:52 AM 0 comments

For you OneNote usres, checkout AdminID.com  which is a blog detailing a collection of OneNote Power Toys, many of the semi-finalist and finalists of the OneNote Power Toy contest. Some of the winners omay not be on there as I’m sure that Microsoft has the rights to distribute them.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 6:00 AM 1 comments

hmm.. I wonder when HP decided to relist theTC1100 Tablet PC? I wonder if it is short lived until the end of the year…interesting.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:21 AM 0 comments

I just love technology. I especially love getting my hands on gadgets, playing with them, figuring out what works / doesn’t work – especially for my customers.

I’ve been putting the Thinkpad X41 Table PC through its paces since last Friday and then running some working scenario comparsions against the Toshiba M200 Tablet PC. For those of you looking for a spec review, this is the wrong article for you. There are plenty of articles that have matrixes comparing devices. I’m mainly looking at feature comparisons and working scenarios – what works for the mobile professional like myself.

My needs: light, long battery, pretty decent performance, and very dependable keyboard. I currently use my tablet pc as a secondary unit, but it has to be capable of picking up the slack should my main computer go South on me. In the end, I’ve reduced what I’ve really been looking for down to: I want the LE1600 as a convertible tablet. I believe I have found that in the X41 Tablet PC.

I tried to dedicate days to using either the X41 or the M200 and then some days to seeing which one I would tend to pick up. While heading out the door, I leaned more toward the X41 simply because of battery. A couple of times, I would pickup the M200 and then think – is my spare battery charged? not sure – better take the X41 instead just to be safe.

In many ways, the M200 is simply a much better tablet and notebook: better scroll options (bidirectional vs only vertical), faster processor, 7200rpm harddrive, higher resolution. Price wise, it also competes really well against the X41. So, if the M200 is so much better of a machine than the X41, why would I dump the M200 in favor of the X41?

What I don’t like about the X41?

• the pen – the pen is growing on me, but it is difficult to slide in the slot since one side is squared off.
• the scroll button – only vertical scrolling support
• the harddrive – I wish there a 7200rpm option for the size drive it is.
• the video card – the Nvidia card on the M200 simply outshines the Intel 915GM in terms of extended display options.
• I don’t like the push / pull plastic latch that holds the screen to the tablet when closed.
• I wish the screen were completely flush with the casing – it is almost there and is certainly better than the LE1600, but it doesn’t compare at all to the TC1100 in that regard.

What I like about the X41?

• the keyboard and track stick – I just don’t like touchpads, especially the M200’s. I’ve struggled with their touch pad since I owned the M200 last year. The trackstick and the keyboard on the X41 simply feel so much better to my fingers. It doesn’t feel like I’m going to rip the keypads off the keyboard accidentally, if that makes any sense.
• I like the grips on the battery and on the thin side of the tablet. They provide a nice way for me to grasp the tablet whichever way I pick it up.
• I like the slight angle that the tablet sits at on my desk so I can see the screen better and write easier.
• I know the latest M200’s have a better wide screen angle than the one I had, but the X41 wide angle make writing on a flat surface much easier. To use my M200 that way, I had to prop it up against a book so I could see the screen.
• I’m finding that on a 12” screen, I like the 1024 x 768 resolution better. I didn’t realize how tiny the icons and text were on the M200 until I started using the tablets interchangebly.
• I really, really like having 6 hours of battery at my disposal without having to think about it. It is built in – I don’t need an extra battery charger or to remember to bring something with me. I also like that Lenovo sells a slice that fits across the bottom of the tablet to give me an additional 3.5 hours - that is 9.5 hours of battery!. It adds about a pound of weight.
• I really like having a finger print reader built in. It is also in a great spot on the screen – lower right hand corner – perfect for the right thumb. I have a pc card finger printer reader that I used with my M200, but it took up the only pc card slot. That mean that I couldn’t use it if I was using my EVDO pc card. There were many times I found myself surfing while using the EVDO card and I couldn’t use the finger print reader. That is not a problem with the X41.
• I like the IBM feature of Location Profiles. This a real plus for me and will be for my customers. XP really likes having the local DNS server in the DNS server settings for log in purposes. Other wise, it just sits and cranks while looking for the server on the Internet. Setting the location profiles, i can set the DNS properties for where I am working. No more rekeying that information when I travel, especially to places that require me to have a dedicated ip address. What is also nice is that the location profiles allow me to set my default printers per location. The Location Profiles feature is a huge benefit.
• I like the way it looks. When I took it to church and to the conference, it didn’t look like a shiny computer – it was solid black and very thin and inconspicuous. Perfect for taking notes in church or at a meeting where you don't want to draw attention to yourself.

If I were looking for a Tablet PC to be my only computer, I would probably choose the M200 over the X41 due to performance reasons and the type of work that I do. However, my tablet is a secondary machine for me and the X41 will perform just fine with what I need. That said, the X41 should also be a fine performing tablet for the average user. Dollar for dollar, spec for spec, a person will get more tablet for their money with either the TC4200 or the M200, and maybe even the T4020. However, you need to really consider your needs, your working style, and then pick the tablet that works best for you. The most powerful tablet and best spec’d one out there is not always the best fit. How does it feel when you carry it, what are the extended battery options, how does it feel when you write on it and view it, and other built-in features that speak to how you work (location profiles for example)

My main gripe with the LE1600 was the convertible keyboard – it was the main reason I opted to purchase it in hopes that Motion had a great solution – I was wrong – it ended up just causing me a lot of headaches for going mobile, especially when it came down to dependability. However, I grew to love the wide angle on the LE1600 and especially the long battery life. All along, I’ve been looking for what the LE1600 offered, but as a convertible. For my needs, the X41 is a great fit. I believe I have found my LE1600 convertible tablet pc in the X41.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:26 PM 9 comments

I’m primarily using the M200 as my tablet pc today as my comparison to the x41 continues.

I dug in to the Nview desktop / extended display and fixed a lot of extended desktop problems I was having – WOW! Nvidia has fixed a lot of the issues I was having with my previous M200, such as remembering where windows should open up, displaying all the icons and desktop on the extended monitor, etc.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:43 AM 3 comments

If you have been beta testing GoBinder 2006, Agilix has just released build 1601.

Agilix didn’t bother warning anyone, so I’m hoping to alleviate a little bit of pain for those of you who are testing GoBinder 2006:

This beta release will uninstall GoBinder 2005 – without warning and without any options to not uninstall 2005. Up until this release, Agilix left the installation of GoBinder 2005 alone – this was good because it at least let us continue beta testing GoBinder 2006 and using a stable release in GoBinder 2005. Up until now, the 2006 database has been pretty unstable. I’ve got a big performance issue with my database that still has not been addressed, thus I can’t use 2006 on a daily basis yet.

Now – you can go back and reinstall 2005, then 2005 and 2006 will co-exist together just fine. In addition, your 2005 database remains untouched. For me, that means reinstalling version 1, then 2005. I sure hope the next beta releases don’t uninstall that reinstallation!

I don’t recommend you do this beta upgrade if you are on the road or not at a point where you can get to your 2005 install. Other users are still reporting a lot of sync problems between 2006 and Outlook.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 1:59 AM 0 comments

checkout the very interesting designs at http://www.startsomethingpc.com/ (passport required to view). In the personal productivity category, there are some very interesting tablet designs.

I espeically like the full circle notebook under the Communications / Mobility category – very cool. Device is 3 in 1 - laptop, projector, tablet pc

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 1:42 AM 0 comments

WebPro News posts this great article on the history of Tablet PCs. Well worth the read..

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 1:33 AM 0 comments

I have a question for the readers of my blog:

For those of you who own a Tablet PC, is your Tablet PC your main computer or is it a secondary computer?

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:40 PM 21 comments

Something very interesting to follow from Information Week:.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:22 PM 0 comments

I had given my son, who is 11 years old, my Gateway M280 to play around with last month. He loaded some games on it and went to town. He came back to me last week and told me it was just too heavy.

I then handed him the TC1100 I had been playing with. That boy is one happy camper. He took it to Boy Scouts tonight to jot down some notes. What does he like about it? He likes the eraser pen, he likes how he can take it just about anywhere, and he likes that doesn’t look so big and bulky. He especially likes how he can remove the keyboard….

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:14 PM 0 comments

Buzz Bruggerman talks about the power of podcasts and how the demand for ActiveWords since appearing on the Tablet PC show has been overwhelming. It certainly doesn’t hurt when you offer a free copy to all the listeners!.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:04 PM 0 comments

Warner is talking about his use of the high res screen on his M200 tablet pc and why it is a very important part of how he works.

High resolution is mostly important to me with two applications – MindManager and browsing when in portrait mode. Otherwise, 1024 x 768 is just fine. I’ve learned to adjust the zoom percentage in MindManager so that it is less of an issue. I’m more intererested in a video card with more built-in memory, though.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:36 PM 0 comments

TabletPCReviewSpot.com has a “First Look” at the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. A full review is coming later this week. Looks like an interesting device, but I think I’ll wait to see how the cPC from DualCor works out.

Hopefully Nokia will have one of these at CES that I can try out as well.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:53 PM 0 comments

I’ve sold off some of the LE1600 that I posted earlier. Here is what is left and what I’m asking (not including shipping):

Motion LE1600 – $1700
1.5ghz, 60gb harddrive, 1.5gb ram
View Anywhere
Write Shield screen protector
Microsoft OneNote 2003
Streets and Trips
Extra Pen (2 total)

Convertible Keyboard – $100
Field Case with bluetooth wireless keyboard – $120
Executive Portfolio – $50

If I don’t sell these other items by Wednesday, I’ll post it on eBay.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:06 PM 0 comments

If you have been waiting to buy a copy of ActiveWords, your wait just ended. On the latest Tablet PC podcast, Buzz Bruggerman offers a free copy of ActiveWords to anyone listening to the show – you have to listen to the show though to hear how to claim your free copy.

Buzz also talks about the LS800 and how ActiveWords will be bundled on the DualCor cPC.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:36 PM 0 comments

James Kendrick has some exclusive details on the DualCor cPC obtained through an interview with DualCor’s CEO. Well done, James. This is definitely looking like a device I will want. check out James site for the exclusive details.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:12 PM 0 comments

Looks like Robert Burke is having some fun with controlling his xBox 360 controller using his Tablet PC pen (via seattlePI.com).

Don Box posted some code that lets you communicate with a wired XBox 360 Controller that's plugged into your PC using Managed DirectX. Too cool! I don't have an XBox360 (yet), but I own an XBox360 controller now ;)

On the way into town last night, I coded up a simple app for my Tablet PC that lets you rumble the XBox controller around by moving your pen across the screen. It just maps the x- and y-axes of the screen to the intensity of the controller's left and right rumble thingies respectively.

This newfound power was promptly put to use by those of us in the pub by getting the controller to vibrate its way across the table and back.

Great craic! And does anyone else find that their controller's left-side vibrator can rumble a lot more vigorously than the right one?

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 4:19 PM 0 comments

It has been a fun weekend using the Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC. I’ve been to one conference at church, taken it with me on various outings, and then used it at church. I’ve also spent the day with it on the couch watching football, watching 24 at night, etc.

I struggled early on with sluggish performance – TIP delays, a lagging mouse, etc. It then hit me that that for most of the time, I was using this tablet on battery. I examined the battery settings and the cpu performance was set to Lowest. I upped it to Highest (which seems to have very minimal impact on battery life BTW) and boom – the performance bumped right to a very acceptable level. I have noticed very little lag.

Since making that change, this Thinkpad Tablet PC has been very pleasant to use. In fact, I have found that I don’t really miss the high resolution of the M200. I ordered a 1gb chip which will come in next week, so that that will be a good test as well.

I really enjoy carrying this tablet pc. It has two very nice grip features – one on the back of the extended battery and the other on the back of the tablet, but on the thinner side. The extended battery also provides a nice grip while holding the tablet in portrait mode and cradled in my arm

When writing in landscape, the thinkpad has a very slight angle – not as much as the gateway, but enough to provide a nice writing angle. Unlike the Gateway tablet, writing in portrait mode while flat does not create a problem.

Next week will be interesting as I put the M200 and the X41 side by side and determine which one I want to take with me when I go mobile. Having solved the performance issue, I have a feeling that I will lean toward the X41 simply due to battery life.

There are some things that I don’t like about the X41, but I’ll cover those next week after going through my week side by side with the M200. I’ll give you a couple of hints – in many ways, the M200 is a much finer tablet pc and a person will get much more tablet for their money with the M200.

I can already tell you that I like the X41 much more than HP’s TC1100. After using the TC4200 for about a week this past year, I like the keyboard and the thinnness much better than the TC4200 as well, even though the TC4200 is lower priced and better speced.

All of that said – the experience of using the Thinkpad is winning me over vs higher end specs.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 4:12 PM 3 comments

Great article by Owen Braun on the expanded extensibility of OneNote 12. As I continue to work with OneNote 12 and the ESV Bible, the new API looks very promising. That said, I might need to look at redoing the Bible – by making it text based instead of printed text. It might give me some more options for navigating.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 3:47 PM 0 comments

According to www.msmobiles.com, the image below and not the image they previously posted is the real cPC as produced by DualCor Technologies. I can’t wait to see this thing at CES in January – should be a load of fun.

A phone and a tablet pc – can’t wait…

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:42 PM 0 comments

I picked this up from MsMobiles.com – DualCor cPC: Pocket PC Phone Edition and Tablet PC in one! Now this looks like a device I could really get into.

There is an article on Engadget.com as well (the source that MsMobiles.com got the picture from)

.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:34 PM 0 comments

As I’m trying out the Thinkpad Tablet PC, I’m going to be comparing it to my M200. Of course the M200 is faster (2.0 ghz to 1.5ghz), but I really want to see how the two compare to each other weight wise, battery, resolution, auto rotation, location profiles, generally how they feel, keyboard, etc.  In general, I’m looking for an overall – which do I prefer to use from a mobility perspective.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:17 PM 1 comments

There is a latch at the top of the screen that you have to push through to close the laptop screen or push in the opposite direction to close in tablet mode.

I can already tell that the latch is going to be highly susceptible to breakage, plus it just creates an extra step when opening the screen and going to tablet mode, and it makes this loud clicking noise when you push / pull it. I wish it were a magnetic latch that just stay out of the way until needed and were a quiet solution. So much for transparent computing.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:02 PM 2 comments

Motion LE1600
1.5ghz, 60gb harddrive, 1.5gb ram
View Anywhere
Write Shield screen protector
Microsoft OneNote 2003
Streets and Trips
Extended Battery
Convertible Keyboard
Extra standard battery (has a little scratch on the rubber part)
Bump case
Executive Portfolio
Docking Station
Extra Pen (2 total)
External Battery Charger
Field Case with bluetooth wireless keyboard

$2200 + shipping

email me at rob at zoeinc dot com if you are interested.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 1:25 PM 0 comments

My wife purchased a most wonderful present for me for our 15th wedding anniversary – a two year apprenticeship with the Christian Writers Guild. I am really looking forward to this.

It is basically a two year program that takes someone who is interested in writing (novels, non-fiction, poetry, articles, etc), pairs them up with a mentor, and teaches them how to write. Then there is another level – the journeyman course – that helps that person finetune their skills. The Journeyman level is a one year course.

I’ve been writing on and off for 20 years – dumping my personal thoughts to paper in various forms – poetry, journaling, essay’s, etc. I’m very excited about seeing this hobby of mine grow to a new level.

For right now, I’m mainly interested in helping my daughter, Maggie, write her book. We want to do it together. Should be a lot of fun.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:06 PM 2 comments

What a great story and video of this man catching a three week old baby thrown from an apartment that is on fire.

CNN.com - Man catches baby thrown from third-floor window - Dec 15, 2005.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:08 AM 0 comments

Frank points us to a Code Magazine’s Focus on Tablet PC and Mobile development. Best thing is the price – free. If you are developing table pc and mobile applications, you will want to check this out.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:46 AM 0 comments

Craig Pringle has a great article on making sure that your app is Tablet friendly. Well orth the read.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:37 AM 0 comments

MobileTechRoundup #13 is out. Checkout the show with James Kendric, DAVID Ciccone, and Kevin Tofel. This weeks show looks really good: a new HP SmartPhone, the first dual-core notebook, and Kevin is giving away a Palm Treo 650.

.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:50 PM 0 comments

On digitizing books – from MSNBC:

U.S. publisher HarperCollins said on Monday it plans to convert some 20,000 books in its catalogue into digital form in a bid to rein in potential copyright violations on the Internet.

The move comes as the U.S. publishing industry is bringing lawsuits against Web search leader Google Inc. over its effort to scan copyrighted books in libraries — a move the industry fears would set a dangerous copyright precedent.

Chief executive Jane Friedman said HarperCollins, a division of News Corp., had no immediate plan to raise revenue from the digital copies of the books but it had concluded it was a vital move to protect its authors' rights.

HarperCollins to digitize 20,000 of its books - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:25 PM 0 comments

I picked this up from HPClean who points to an article about HP  incorporating indoor / outdoor screen technology into the TC4200 as made by White Electronic Designs. That will be a welcome addition to the TC4200. Especially if it is what Motion Computing is using …

I wonder if Motion Computing is using  the White Electronic Design technology for their View Anywhere option because the picture on the WEDC website is appears to be the M1400. Now, whether it is the VA version or the M1400 with the WEDC technology implemented – I don’t know .

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:18 PM 0 comments

Greg Michetti writes the column on cnews and he has this quote about tablet PCs costing double that of notebooks of similar performance running XP home. I guess he has not seen the Gateway Tablet PC, the Averatec, HP’s TC4200, Toshiba’s R10, R15, and M200, etc.

For example, a good, portable business notebook that uses the Windows XP Tablet PC operating system is usually about double the cost of a retail model running a larger item running Windows XP Home.

Translation: Prices range from $2,500-$3,000 for the former to $900-$1500 for the latter.

He also talks about the X41 Tablet PC and mentions the light that illuminates the normal ThinkPads. The problem is that that the X41 does not have that light.

I can’t tell you how many frequent flyers I know who rave about one thing on the ThinkPad: The little white on/off light at the top of your open lid. It allows you to see the full ThinkPad keyboard without having that annoying overhead cabin light on; meaning others can watch the in-flight movie while you struggle away on tomorrows exciting PowerPoint presentation on how Sarbanes-Oxley affects your company.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 6:14 PM 0 comments

Loren talks about a new search tool that he is building:

Incremental Blogger: A Tablet search tool.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 3:24 PM 0 comments

From MSNBC:

Aesop's fables came beaming across the classroom and landed in Eva Hernandez's Palm handheld. On the bottom floor of Ridgeview Elementary School, she sat scrolling, using her stylus to navigate through through "The Flies and the Honeypot."
"Hmmm," said the 12-year-old. "I think I can animate the flies."
Eva, a sixth grader, is part of a new generation of kids using handhelds to read, write, do math, take pictures of the human eye or research Egyptian hieroglyphics — all as a regular part of their curriculum.

Gradeschoolers learning on handhelds - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:10 AM 0 comments

James and Marc do another great job with the Tablet PC podcast.  They talk about my 4 tablet pc trial.  I appreciate you guys.

Just to clear something up: I have not demoed the Thinkpad Tablet yet. It comes in next week and I’ll bring it by to them when I receive it.

Great idea on the CompUSA corporate buy – However, they won’t be retooling their current technology until sometime next year.

I’ll be selling off most of the tablets later this week – check back later for more info.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:28 PM 1 comments

Craig Pringle talks about taking a lot of tablets in to a customer for evaluation as well. His results are very similar to mine. Take a read. 

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:24 PM 0 comments

The Motion LE1600 that I picked up for my customer to trial has these egrip adhesives on the back that make holding and grasping the back of the tablet much better – they give your hands something grasp on to.

In addition, they provide for some very nice traction while the slate is sitting on a table or even an angle.

 For slate tablet pc users, you really need to check these out. The grips can be used for phones, pda, cameras, etc, with a wide assortment of colors and skins. The website is not organized very well. You’ll find the best assortment of grip patterns under the Universal category.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:13 PM 0 comments

For quite some time, I’ve been moving to using MindJet's MindManager to take most of my day to day notes and also handle my weekly planning. Inking your mindmap is wonderful. Prior to using a tablet pc, I struggled with the keyboard approach to mindmapping.

With version 6, it was really good to see MindJet add the ability to do ink notes for a given topic. However, the functionality is a bit lacking and makes free form notetaking frustrating:

1. no multipage support for notes
2. can’t mix text and ink on the same page. They split their text and ink up into separate views
3. scrolling is bit buggy
4. no flag / symbol support
5. no support for copying and pasting ink to / from other applications

I’ve had several email discussions with Hobie at MindJet about these issues. I’m convinced that their notetaking module would be vastly improved if they implemented the Agilix InfiNotes control. I’d also love to see their brainstorming module ink enabled.

What are your experiences in regard to their notetaking module?

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:37 AM 1 comments

Very interesting meeting with my customer today. I didn’t expect the owner of the company to pop-in, but I’m glad he did – I ended up getting some more programming work out of the meeting – always good. He and the comptroller were pretty taken with all the tablet PCs. It is not often that you get to play with 4 totally different tablet PCs without attending a trade show.

They were both immediately taken with the TC1100 – their overall favorite. They were majorly bummed when I told them that HP had discontinued the model – they loved the size and hybrid aspect. After the TC1100, their attention turned to the LE1600.

The Gateway M280 didn’t even raise an eyebrow for them – much too heavy and big.

The M200, although powerful enough, just wasn’t as “sexy” as the LE1600 and the TC1100. I get the feeling that the Thinkpad and TC4200 will go over like the M200 – nice unit, but it doesn’t “grab” them – too “me too” like. They mentioned “small” and “spy like” a lot . I explained the LS800 to them and they seemed kind of interested in it – although the performance was going to be a hinderance for them. They loved the fact that the extended battery of the LE1600 was “built in” – nothing to full with or worry about – I like that, too.

They will be retooling their entire operation next year and from what I gathered, Tablet PCs were probably going to account for 90% of their new computers., with the other 10% going to be high end Alienware notebooks for engineering purposes.

What I took away from the meeting is that slate tablet PCs with full docking station support will be important to them and will likely be where they end up. Most of the users will be customer service folks, purchasing managers, inventory managers, ceo, and comptrollers – lots of meetings and walking around the manufacturing floor. What I also took away from the meeting was that HP has REALLY messed up by not sticking with the TC1100 platform, addressing performance issues, and taking the platform to the next level.

Both men picked up the TC1100 by themselves without my handing it to them. After I handed the other tablet PCs to the them to hold, play with, etc, they would put them down and then move back to the TC1100. Very interesting.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:09 PM 3 comments

Lora has resposted an article from www.WhatIsNew.com about how to use your Tablet PC to send Christmas cards. Check it out.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:27 AM 0 comments

For those of you looking for another source of Tablet PC news, be sure to check out TabletPC.6LN.com  .

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:23 AM 0 comments

I picked up a new Thinkpad X41T Tablet PC last night for a great price (including 8 cell battery). I’ll be adding it to the mix and will take it to my client later next week. I’m really looking for to putting my hands on one.

My gut tells me that my customer will either go for the LE1600 or the Thinkpad. The TC1100 won’t be fast enough, and the Gateway will be much to heavy for toting around the manufacturing floor. If he goes for the LE1600 or Thinkpad, I don’t think he’ll go for the extended battery – he’ll be going for light weight. Both the LE1600 and Thinkpad have the same screen resolution and 12” screens.  The Toshiba M200 resolution will be too small for his eyes.

I’ll let everyone know how it goes.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 8:29 AM 1 comments

I’m blessed again this year to be able to attend CES in Las Vegas from January 4 – January 6. Like last year, I’ll be scoping out the mobile devices (handhelds, convertible tablet pcs, slate tablet PCs, touch tablet PCs, etc), touching base with OEMs, and gleaning what I can from Microsoft, etc. I’ll blog all my findings, up close pics, and get the latest on any newly released tablet PCs.

I had a ball last year – came back exhausted from all the walking. 

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 2:01 AM 0 comments

I present all 4 four tablet PCs to my customer tomorrow for him to review. What am I presenting him?

HP TC1100
Gateway M280
Motion LE1600 (with docking station)
Toshiba M200

I don’t have the Thinkpad tablet yet – I decided to hold off and see which way he was heading. I’ve been having a lot of fun with this whole set up. I have them all set up in my office. I’ve worked with each one at least several days each.

My set-up is as follows: I have a thinkpad laptop that I do all my crunch work on, and then a tablet to the right that I do all of my notetaking on and take with me when I go mobile. It is how I prefer to work. I keep the laptop and tablets in sync using the sync powertoy.

Each day, I look at the collection of tablets and I ask myself “which one am I going to take with me when I leave to go on the road.” It is an important question to ask because it shows where things are leaning and my thought process as I ponder the issues. Because of the way I work (I am very mobile), I ask myself the following questions:

• which one will last me the longest on battery,
• which one will provide me the most flexability,
• which one can allow me to deal with various working conditions
• which one is the most inconspicuous

Where do I go? customer site to do VB programming, church to take notes during a sermon, a meeting in a conference room for web design, on site for networking issues, working in my office, working at home at the kitchen table, working at home in bed, working at the doctors office.

When I look at the M280, the first thing that crosses my mind is: I don’t want to carry that with me all day. It is flexible and has great battery life, but I just can’t get past the weight and the size. The screen is awesome, especially when doing mindmaps. I defintely wouldn’t carry it with to conferences. I can’t imagine carrying the M280 on an expo floor. BTW: my mother in law is buying an M280 for Christmas – she absolutely loves it.

When I look at the TC1100, it satisifies most of the bullets except battery. I remind myself to bring the ac adapter (just in case). After using some faster tablets, I’ve come to notice the lag issues with the TC1100. Pretty irritating when you are not used to dealing with them. The screen real estate is starting to feel a little small. That said, it is especially a wonderful device for places like church or conference room meetings. It is a very professional, executive looking device. Too bad it won’t be around any longer.

For the LE1600, I have a lot of experience with it, but I needed to present my customer with it – hands on is everything. So, I picked up another one with a lot of accessories. For the way I work, there is too much I have to remember to take with me to be successful (keyboard being the primary factor). For other folks, it might the perfect solution I have a feeling that my customer will be leaning toward this device. For the way he works, it will be perfect – he is mostly deskbound and isn’t mobile outside of the office. however, he walks around the manufacturing floor a lot, taking notes, etc. Having a keyboard when mobile is not a big deal. The docking station will be ideal for him. The extended battery support is nice, but not critical in his job role.

Now to the M200 – this has been the device I have consistently gone back to when I’m about to go on the road. its’ relatively thin and very flexible. The thing that it lacks is battery. The battery will last about 3 + hours. As you might know, the resolution is killer: 1400 x 1050. Its’ also very fast at 2.0ghz. Taking a convertible to church, though, just doesn’t feel comfortable. I still prefer something like the TC1100 or the LE1600 for those purposes. Heck, even the LS800 would work great in that screnario, if it had pc card support. The thing that throws me back to the M200 is that I have much less to worry with when I go mobile - and that is important. I just want to get up and go. They keyboard is there ( and it will work ), it is fast, it is light, and it will do what I want when I want without much thinking at all.

The thing I like about the Thinkpad tablet is the extended battery support. I could justify a drop in performance and resolution for extended battery support. If I felt like my customer was leaning this way, I would go ahead and pick one up for him to trial. If he goes toward the M200, I’ll likely talk him into trialing the Thinkpad tablet first. To me, the Thinkpad Tablet appears to be the most flexible convertible on the market – decent performance, wireless, thin, built-in keyboard, and very long battery life. The Thinkpad might be the most flexible, but for the money, the TC4200 shines. It has more bang for the buck - but I have to say it - it is just not as sexy of a tablet. Having used a TC4200 for a while this past year, they keyboard is ok, but it just doesn't touch the Thinkpad. The Trackpoint is just not the same either. For extended battery support , the wedge goes on the bottom, making it quite thicker. The Thinkpad remains thin with its battery protruding out the back.

Should be a lot of fun tomorrow. He should have a lot of his employees in there as well. I should have some tablets for sale sometime next week. If anyone is interested, be sure to check back.

UPDATE: read the results of the meeting here

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 12:06 AM 1 comments

Looks like a couple of the Tablet Guy’s (“person”) are getting settled at home:

Tracy Hooten

Colin Walker

Take care of the little guy!

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:15 PM 0 comments

www.TabletPCPost.com was down for a couple of days to a faulty router. They are now back up.

For those of you who may not know, www.TablePCPost.com is they place to download the latest in tablet pc software.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:20 PM 0 comments

From Business Wire:

WordLogic Launches Tablet PC Predictive Software: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

WordLogic Corporation (OTCBB:WLGC - News) today announced the release of the Tablet PC version of its critically-acclaimed software -- WordLogic Predictive Keyboard(TM) v4.2.

The on-screen WordLogic Keyboard is an innovative way to accurately and quickly enter information without the use of cumbersome keyboard layouts or extra hardware. By predicting words and phrases while inputting, WordLogic allows the user to easily and quickly enter information into a Tablet PC anytime and anywhere. Its colorful and efficient interface saves time and effort as text is entered in any application.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:28 AM 1 comments

I’ve been beta testing GoBinder 2006 for several months now. Fortunately, Agilix has not put us under NDA for talking about their GoBinder 2006 product. I’ll start off by saying that the team has done a tremendous job. The beta has gotten much better over time and it feels like things are finally coming together for a solid release.

This new version is a total rewrite of there succssful product – GoBinder 2005. They still have a lot more work to do, but overall the applications feels much cleaner and has much more flexability in its’ display, toolbars, flagging, pen colors then before. Even if you are not a student, GoBinder 2005 and GoBinder 2006 should be on our list of notetaking applications to trial. The app can be totally customized to remove the student aspect.

The upgrade to GoBinder 2006 will be free – if you already own GoBinder 2005.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:54 PM 3 comments

Frank Gocinski is blogging again. Glad to have you back, Frank! Looking forward to reading more about ISV’s and Tablet PCs.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:22 PM 0 comments

Thanks to Andy Lin for pointing out the new FireFox OneNote Extension . With the new GeckoTIP (which works wonderfully BTW), and this new OneNote clipping tool, the FireFox community is really coming around to showing support for Tablet PCs and its often used software. Way to go.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:42 PM 0 comments

OnTheRun with Tablet PCs has posted show #6. This one is a really good show.

Marc gives an update on his Gateway Tablet PC, and they gave cover a lot of the new tablet pc blogs, and also give their unique editorials. Motion Computing and Table Kiosk should take a listen.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:56 PM 0 comments

It appears that Microsoft has a fix available for the hibernation / memory bug that keeps your system going into hibernation if you have more than 1gb of memory. The error that would normally pop up would be “Insufficient System Resources Exist to Complete the API”. The computer would then lose the ability to go into hibernation until it was restarted. The fix applies to

•	Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, when used with:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional     Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
•	Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
•	Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005

Unfortunately, you have to call into Microsoft to get the fix or just wait for it to appear via Windows Update. I have not called in or applied the fix, but I’m very happy to finally see this appear. I’ll likely be doing so in the new couple of days and will report back what I find.

Thanks for the heads up, Wnewquay.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:40 PM 0 comments

Paul Mooney has it right when he says that a Tablet PC with a good headset for VoIP calls is looking like the best option compared to Windows Mobile Smart Phone, the Pocket PC, or the Blackberry.

I’m not convinced by Paul’s argument in regards to Wi-Fi, though. I’m seeing it more of a strength in regards to EVDO.

VoIP combined with an 8 inch Tablet PC is attractive for mobile professionals, especially when you embed an EVDO chip . I’d be shocked if the next version of the LS800  and the LE1600 doesn’t have embedded EVDO.

These converging technologies is what really allows mobile professionals to be cut loose.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:16 PM 0 comments

Tracy reminds why the simplicity of Journal on the Tablet PC is sometimes the best tool to use.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:39 PM 0 comments

Warner Crocker, a fellow Tablet PC MVP, has created the Ink Blot Awards, celebrating the Tablet PC Community. What a great idea. Warner again pulls out the stops and shows his wonderful creative side.

Also – congratulations to Warner on his 1 year annivesary of blogging. Your blog is one of my favorites and I look forward to every refresh of Onfolio to see what you have blogged next.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:50 AM 0 comments

The testing I’ve done with the beta testers for a OneNote 12 version of the ESV is going very well. Most of the feedback is that OneNote 12 is proving to be a very worthwhile toolset for marking up and reading the ESV Bible, and it is meeting the needs of the testers. Many of the positives are some that Chris Pratley has already discussed: the ability create your own internal hyperlinks, much better inking experience for Tablet PC users, searching the printed text, and organization by having a separate notebook.

All of the above has convinced me that with a GoBinder version and a OneNote 2003 version, there will be no need to develop my own stand-alone version. I could certainly do so, but there is no way that I can match the feature sets that GoBinder and OneNote already offer – it would just take me too much time.

So, I’m already printing the rest of the ESV Bible for OneNote 12. Why not OneNote 2003? A OneNote 2003 section of Genesis printed on the lowest image quality setting of 100 x 100 is 32mb zipped up. To make the entire Bible available at the lowest quality setting, I would be looking at a distribution of a 1.5gb file for a very low resolution copy. I just don’t feel good about doing that. I can’t discuss the file size and print quality of OneNote 12 for NDA reasons, but trust me, it is not an issue with OneNote 12.

So, if you would like a OneNote 12 version of the ESV (and possibily other versions of the Bible), I’d suggest that you get the next beta release of OneNote 12 (assuming that it will be a public beta).

Cost? I can’t very well charge for the OneNote version when I’m giving away the GoBinder version. So, it will be free as well. Donations to help cover my time, hosting costs, current and future licensing costs, will be gladly accepted, though.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 6:50 AM 1 comments

Craig Pringle has a great post on his interaction with HP at a conference and discussing the demise of the TC1100 Tablet PC.

Good stuff, Craig.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:28 PM 0 comments

Linda Epstein, a fellow Tablet PC MVP, has just launched the 2005 edtion of Tablet Pc 2 2005 List for Santa. Linda always does a good job with this list, and this years list looks to be even larger. If you are looking for some possible gift ideas, be sure to check out Linda’s site.

Great job, Linda.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 11:28 AM 0 comments

Picking up where James Kendrick left off, I also just received my copy of Michael Linenberger’s new book: Total Workday Control. Michael also wrote the great tablet pc productivity book: Seize The Workday.

I spent about 30 minutes flipping through it this evening and I came away with the thought: finally, someone who can show me how to properly utilize the Task functionality within Outlook.

I don’t think I’m the only one out there when I state that Outlook’s built-in task management is pretty poor. But given Michael’s understanding of it, how folks work, and how he has been able to customize the heck out of Outlooks Task system, it appears that there could finally be some hope.

I’m picking up 5 copies for some of my customers for Christmas.

I’ll write more after I actually read the book, but if you are interested in reading more, click here.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:17 PM 0 comments

I saw this on our local news last night (vide0) and my stomach just dropped. Denver Window washers platform got caught by the wind and began crashing into a glass building.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 10:07 AM 0 comments

CNET has a good review of the Flybook: touch convertible notebook. I love those colors!

Here are the specs from their website. I’d look for the Tablet PC os to be added to this device soon.

Operating System	- MicrosoftR Windows® XP Home or Professional Edition
Wireless WAN	- Built-in GPRS - Frequency : Tri Band ( 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz ) - Antenna : Built-in
Bluetooth	- Built-in Bluetooth Version 1.1 - Antenna : Built-in
Wireless LAN(WiFi)	- Built-in 802.11b Wireless LAN function - Antenna : Built-in
Processor	- Transmeta Crusoe TM-5800, clock rate:1GHz - 64K L1 Instruction Cache; 64K L1 Data Cache - 512K L2 Write-back Cache - Built-in NorthBridge to support DDR/SDR/PCI interface - LongRun Technology to extend Battery usage - Support full SMM(System Management Mode)
Chipset	- ALi 1535+
Graphic Chipset	- ATi Radeon Mobolity high performance low power chipset - Built-in 16MB VRAM - Support VGA-out and Video-out - Support DirectX® 9.0
Main Memory	- 512MB DDR
BIOS and Flash	- Phoenix FB BIOS/512KB
Display	- 8.9" wide-view 16:9 display - LTPS technology - 1024 x 600 (Wide-XGA) high resolutions - Highest color to 32-bit - Touch Panel overlaid for full screen touch control
External Display	- XGA (1024 x 768) (highest to 32-bit color) - SXGA (1280 x 1024) (highest to 32-bit color) - Highest resolutions to 1800 x 1440 (highest to 32-bit color)
External Video	- NTSC/PAL
PC Card Interface	- Support PCMCIA Cardbus Type-I/II
Hard Disk	- 2.5" Ultra DMA 66/100; 40 GB
Wired connection	- Built-in Modem (56K) (RJ-11) - Built-in LAN (10/100Mbps) (RJ-45)
LED
I/O	- One mini-VGA - One Video-Out - Two USB 2.0 - Two 1394 Firewire - One LAN (RJ-45) - One PSTN(RJ-11) - One PCMCIA Type-II Slot - One pair of earphone/Mic - Built-in WiFi antenna - Shared Bluetooth antenna - Built-in WAN antenna - One external wireless WAN antenna connection socket
Audio	- AC 97; built-in two speakers (stereo)
Keyboard	- 80-key standard keyboard
Fast Keys	- Two sets of Mouse Emulation buttons - Direction/Confirm Knob (Trackpoint) - Hot Keys
Power	- Support ACPI for Power On/Off, STR, STD and power management.
Battery	- 3-cell Li-Ion rechargeable battery - Built-in very-low cut-off/Overcharge/Over-Temp/Over-Current protection; - Fastest charging time : 2 hours; - User swappable
Security	- BIOS/Power On/Hard Disk user name and password
Mechanical and Dimensions	- Clam shell and tablet convertible styles - Landscape/Portrait display - Dimensions:235 x 155 x 31 (mm) - Weight around 1230g
External Power	- 100~240V / 50-60 Hz

From the CNET review:

A Taiwan company called Dialogue has placed a new dot along that curve with an intriguing micro laptop called the Flybook. It's a full-blown Windows XP computer, complete with touch screen and stylus, that's not much bigger than a DVD case (9.3 inches by 6.1 inches and 2.7 pounds).

The Flybook offers all the traditional utility of a Windows laptop, but its bright, touch-sensitive wide-screen display (1,024 by 600 pixels) does something that your laptop probably doesn't: It rotates and folds back against the keyboard, so you wind up with a tablet. It's great for scrawling notes, making sketches, checking off boxes in a database or tapping links on Web pages. (You can rotate the image 90 degrees, as the goofily translated manual puts it, "clockwise or anti-clockwise.")

That's not to say the Flybook runs Microsoft's Tablet PC operating system; it doesn't (yet, says the company). But it duplicates most of the functions of an official Microsoft Tablet PC, and in the case of the handwriting recognition--printing or script--far surpasses it.

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 9:54 AM 0 comments

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that the Enhancement Pack For Tablet PC was released, supporting 6 lanaguages. The Tablet Team has now upped it to 8.

The Enhancement Pack includes:

•	Ink Desktop
•	Snipping Tool
•	Send to Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
•	Hexic Deluxe for Tablet PC
•	Energy Blue Theme

The Snipping Tool is my favorite of all the tools.

Download the Enhancement Pack in:

•	Chinese Simplified
•	Chinese Traditional
•	French
•	German
•	Italian
•	Japanese
•	Korean
•	Spanish

# posted by Rob Bushway @ 7:37 AM 0 comments