CutMeLoose.com

GottaBeMobile.com launched!

2006-02-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

The surprise is over: Dennis Rice and I have launched our own commercial website dedicated to tablet pc and mobile pc called: http://www.gottabemobile.com/. It features InkShows, news, editorials, categories, and more that is in the works. This has been something in the works for quite some time and I’m thrilled to be doing something together with Dennis.

Currently on the site, we have an InkShow previewing TEO 3.0, OneNote 2007, and GoBinder 2006 – more coming soon.

I won’t be posting any longer to robbushway.blogspot.com, but I will maintain my own personal blog at http://www.robbushway.com/. Feel free to visit me over there.

The feedupdate should be transparent. If you don’t have it already, it is http://feeds.feedburner.com/robbushway

This page should autoredirect to www.GottaBeMobile.com within 30 seconds

Origami - the video

2006-02-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

If you are are following this whole Origami thing, check this link: http://kevintwodotoh.com/2006/02/25/hardware/origami-video-the-real-deal.html

I’ll take one of those for each person in my family….

Thanks, Warner

InkGestures 1.1 now available

2006-02-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Loren and the developers at Jumping Minds software have just released an update to InkGestures – version 1.1

If you have not given InkGestures a test run on your tablet pc, download it and see what you think.

blog.digitalgarage.org � New blog and Tablet PC

2006-02-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

Troy is a new Tablet PC user who just started a blog. He just purchased a Toshiba M200 2 ghz tablet pc.

I’m looking forward to reading how Troy takes to the M200 and what his first impressions are. It is always exciting to watch new tablet pc users start to explore. It’ll be an interesting blog to watch – great job on the design, too.

Engadget has some photos of the Origami Project device

2006-02-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Not sure if these are current, real, or what but Engadget is standing by their sources and posted pictures of the Origami devices might or do look like

Check out Engadget for more Thanks for the link, Warner

Origami Project? - What the heck is it?

2006-02-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a lot of speculation floating about around a new website that Microsoft just launched: http://www.origamiproject.com/. Not much detail at all on the site (quite a tease), but it tells folks to check back on 3/2 and then there is a 3rd week option, probably 3/9….will be interesting to watch. Meanwhile,

Scoble is saying that it is a “device”…. Speculation is running the gamut – read below for a list:

I do know that Origami is the code-name for a new kind of device. Oh, heck, here come the NDA police, gotta go! … – Scoble

Network World is running this article on it as well with supposedly with some info from a “source”: From Network World (where they link to Engadget who links to my article blogging the mobile brief). Network World also links to my article from here

Fortunately, we know someone who knows for certain. According to an industry source who has seen the thing and calls it "very cool," Origami is one and the same with this ultraportable "lifestyle PC" we were talking about here earlier today. This source is under NDA, an honest fellow and unwilling to share more than his help connecting the dots.

Earlier this month, the author of a blog called Engadget described the device this way: "According to at least one report, Bill Mitchell, Corporate Vice President of the Mobile Platform Division, showed a slide that outlined specs for the new PC category, including that it be wearable, always on, no larger than 10-inches, connected through 3G networks, pen-based, and have a suggested retail price of $500 or less. … One notable spec that could differentiate this one: Microsoft is apparently insisting that this run the full version of Windows." - Network World

Another commenter on Scoble’s blog claims that it a mobile phone.

Another commenter on Scoble’s blog says:

The buzz around is that this could be a specialised communicator device based on a National Semiconductor’s design originally presented during the COMDEX

Guess we’ll all find out soon. Meanwhile there are a lot of links coming in to my blog...

Screencast of the week!

2006-02-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

The folks at TechSmith selected my ActiveWords / TEO demo for Screencast of the Week award. I guess I need to find some room on my site for this nice new banner. I hope that you have found the demo useful as well. BTW: I’ve got some REALLY good screencasts coming up – stay tuned – about a week away……

Another "expert" article on Tablet PCs .....

2006-02-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

You know that an article written by “Expert Author” Mike Singh is going to be “really good” when he begins with this:
A tablet pc is a personal computer that has a touch screen. Much lighter and more manageable in small spaces than a laptop, a tablet pc is a truly personal computer.

While a built in keyboard is not standard on a tablet pc a keyboard may be plugged in if the user prefers.
Come on…can someone please get their facts straight before publishing an article like this, especially with a tag line “Expert Author”
Tablet PCs can have touch screens, but most do not.
Most Tablet PCs sold today are of the convertible type with the keyboard built in – Slate Tablet PCs are of the type that do not come with a keyboard.
Gotta love this one:
The handwriting is stored as a graphic….
The handwriting is not stored as a graphic – the ink is its’ own datatype, is searchable, but can be saved as a graphic if necessary ( sending a handwritten email automatically converts to a graphic, exporting to .gif for posting on a website, etc).

Blog:: Craig Pringle - Hands on Review of the M400

2006-02-22T05:38:00.000-07:00

Craig Pringle has posted the first “Hands On” review of the Toshiba M400 Tablet PC I’ve seen yet. He also posts some really good pictures. Great job, Craig.

Considering the M400? Check it out….

Four Things meme

2006-02-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Looks like Lora has tagged me in the Four Things meme floating around the blogosphere. Pretty fun stuff (thanks, Lora).

Here I go:

Four jobs I’ve had:

Jewelry salesman
Shoe salesman
Grocery store bagboy
Programming Manager for MAP International

Four movies I can watch over and over:

Because of Winn Dixie
Lord of the Rings
Gladiator
On Golden Pond

Four TV shows I love to watch:

FoxNews
24
Alias
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Four places I’ve been on vacation:

Pisa, Italy
West Cliffe, Colorado
Panama City, Florida
Chicago, Illinois

Four favorite dishes:

Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Deep Dish Chicago style pizza
Mexican Lasanga
Peach cobbler

Four websites I visit daily:

Google News
Tech page on MSNBC
http://www.family.org/
http://www.cnn.com/

Four bloggers I’m tagging:

quick update on the RC800 scanner

2006-02-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m writing my review on the RC800 scanner and trying to include as much data as possible, screenshots, and sample scans. It’ll be another week or two before it is ready, but I wanted to at least give you an update.

NuShield screen protectors reviewed

2006-02-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Geek.com has offered up a mini review of NuShield’s screen protectors for Tablet PCs. If you are in the market for one, check out the review.

If we build it....

2006-02-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

…they will come

hmm….

A tablet worth taking - Sahara i215

2006-02-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Age offers up a nice review of the TabletKiosk’s Sahara i215. Note: the prices in the review are Australian dollars.
Notebooks with fold-away keyboards seem to be the most popular tablet PC form, but slate-style tablets with the keyboard removed seem to offer more innovation.

The size of an A4 notepad and only 25 millimetres thick, TabletKiosk's Sahara Slate PC i215 pen is getting closer to our futurist vision of a tablet PC. Weighing 1.5 kilograms, the Sahara packs a 1.5 GHz Pentium-M, 512 MB of RAM and a 60 GB HDD. It sports a 12.1-inch XGA display and a Wacom electro-magnetic pen that slots into the unit, but a touch-screen version is available.

Working with ActiveInk

2006-02-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

Since meeting up with Steve Hoffman of ActiveInk Software during the Mobile Partners Brief several weeks ago, I’ve been playing with their forms based software on and off over the past couple of weeks. I’ll have a full review and a screencast coming up in a couple of weeks after I get a feel for how I would use the software in my day to day meanderings, but I wanted to tell you a little about what makes this company tick and why I think they will continue to be successful in the tablet pc space.

Before I do that, I want to fully disclose to you that Steve gave me an eval license of their software several weeks ago so that I could get a full taste of how it works, etc. I’m also evaluating this software for a client of mine that could have get some real-world benefit from it. I’ll be demoing it for them next week. I get a lot of eval software, some of it I write about, some of it I don’t. I never let that color my reviews. I’ll call things as I see them. That said, on with it…

Last week, I blogged about how Microsoft is relying too much on the TIP to solve inking interactions with the tablet and how it sends a bad message to the ISV market, not to mention their own internal product teams. Well, ActiveInk is a piece of software that helps with the user transparency experience.

First of all, it allows the user to very quickly create an ink-enabled form template directly from a Word file, Excel document, (name your source), or scanned image. Open the form template and start filling out forms (credit apps, patient file info, work orders, etc) – in ink without the TIP! then when you are done filling out the form, you can convert the ink to text or keep it as is. Use that same form template over and over. You can even tie those forms to a database or import the XML files directly into Excel and Access for common data collection purposes.

ActiveInk is a company that recognizes relying on the TIP to fill out forms (think PDF forms, Access forms, etc) is a bad move. They seized an opportunity and buck the trend in terms of ink-enabling software.

All of that said, there are some rough edges around the software that I’ve run into and communicated to Steve: their help system just plain stinks, several UI issues, and a few other weird bugs that I encountered. I’ll get more into that in my full review, but it leads to what I think will continue to make this company successful.

People like Steve Hoffman are running the company. Case in point: I shot off an email to Steve last night about some bugs I was finding. Early this morning (on a Saturday) I got a response with each item addressed. He then calls me to go over the issues more in detail. Later in the day, when he’s not able to duplicate my bug, we setup a GoToMeeting so that he can see exactly what is going on. All of this on a Saturday.

Now, I’m sure your reading this and saying: sure, you write this blog that gets a lot of exposure, you bet he’s going to follow up with you on a Saturday and give you all the attention you want. Sorry, but I’ve gotten to know Steve well enough over the past several years to know that this is how they run their company. If you are interested in their software or buy it – you will get a call from Steve and they will be there to help along every step of the way. That is the kind of differentiator that will make ISV’s like ActiveInk succeed. How I was treated this weekend is how they treat their customers. Bottom line.

There is another company like ActiveInk that understands customer support in the same way: Josh Einstein of Tablet Enhancements for Outlook. Ask anyone on www.TabletPCBuzz.com about Josh’s support follow through. Often times, he’ll email you within minutes after getting your support request.Why? Like Steve, Josh’s livlihood depends on you being a satisfed customer and they will go the extra mile to ensure that you are satisfied.

Josh’s TEO product is another fine example of seizing an opportunity to present the user with a TIP-less solution. I’m doing some testing with Josh on TEO 3.0 and it is going to rock your world. Look for something very special from me on TEO 3.0 in the next week or so. Come to think of it, look for something very cool and exciting from Dennis and I in the next week or so.

Well, I think you get my point here: ISV’s like ActiveInk Software and Josh Einstein are customer oriented and are providing solutions to meet some gaping holes. In addition, they understand customer service and go the extra mile. Check them out, download their trials, give them some feedback, buy their software if it fits your need.

What ride are we on?

2006-02-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure what this "blogosphere" is about and can't make sense of it all? Read Warner's most excellent essay. I'll take a Coke with that hot dog!

Is Technorati relevant?

2006-02-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve had a listing on Technorati for quite a while now and I have to say that I’m not that impressed with it.

Some rough numbers:

1) my stats say that I have 259 links from 54 sites. The problem with that number is that it has been the exact same for at least 3 months. I emailed technorati about it last week and have yet to receive a response.

2) I often post 2 – 3 times a day and ping technorati each time. However, when I click on the Recently Updated link, it’ll still show that my last update was 10 – 20 hours ago, even several hours or so after I pinged them. I posted some stuff last night and I still don’t show up on the list when someone types in Tablet PC on the search screen.

3) What is the deal with the authority tab? It is the default link when someone goes to a technorati keyword. What i’m finding is that anyone that includes a certain term in their technorati tags and has a very successful blog mainly concentrated on something else is listed as a high ranking authority on any subjec that they tag. Scoble, for example, hardly ever writes about tablet pcs, but is considered the #1 ranking authority on tablet pcs because he has a hugely successful blog and included the tablet pc technorati tag in his profile. Is Scoble the #1 authority on tablet pcs in the tablet pc blogosphere? I don’t think so.

I’m curious how many people actually use technorati and find it useful? Is it really relevant if the data is not updated and is so skewed? I know others have had issues with Technorati in the past – they seem to fix the problem (temporarily it seems) if you bring it to their attention, but then eventually you’ll either disappear again or become static.

Curious on your thoughts. If you don’t use Technorati, what is your most successful blog search tool?

OneNote Planner Plug-in 2.0

2006-02-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Tracy Hooten has posted version 2.0 of her OneNote Planner Plug-in. Looks like a good template to include in your OneNote system. She has also posted a good video on how to use it.

Join Microsoft's Mobile PC Advisory Council

2006-02-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in helping Microsoft affect the future of mobile computing, you might be interested in joining the Microsoft Mobile PC Advisory Council. I’ve pasted the letter below that I received from Microsoft.

Your knowledge and feedback are vital to our success! Microsoft’s Mobile PC User Research team is building a panel of customers who use mobile computers such as Tablet PCs in order to better understand what is important to you. This is a unique opportunity to give feedback that will affect the future of mobile computing.

If you’re interested in participating in this panel, please click on the link below to see if you qualify and join today! If you are accepted into the Mobile PC Advisory Council, you will receive a $10 gift certificate that can be used at Amazon.com. The survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

http://deploy.ztelligence.com/start/index.jsp?PIN=13869Q29VVQQK

Typically, we will send you six to twelve surveys per year. In appreciation of your time, at the completion of each survey, you’ll be entered in a sweepstakes to win cash awards.

Join our elite group and have a direct impact on the development of some of the world's most popular software.

Sincerely,
the Microsoft Mobile PC User Research team

Outlook missing from Home / Student Editions - the larger in terms of Tablet PCs

2006-02-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

I want to chime in on what Marc Orchant is talking about on his blog regarding Outlook missing from the Home and Student Editions of Office 2007. Marc makes a very good case on how this is good move on the part of Microsoft, especially when you consider Vista’s much improved Windows Mail client.

Here is where I think Microsoft has messed up: part of the Out of Box experience with buying a tablet pc is inking an email and sending it to a friend. Outlook does a fairly good job with that and it raises the “wow” factor tremendously. Think about students as well – sending an email to a fellow student in ink – word gets around “ I gotta be able to do that”. Most folks who go buy to Best Buy and CompUSA to buy a Tablet PC will usually pick up the cheapest version of Office they can get by with: the Home / Student Edition. It will be the edition I buy for my clients who get home PCs and tablet PCs.

Considering that Microsoft is trying to increase the “lifestyle” usefulness of ultra mobile and tablet PCs, don’t you think that ink-enabling Windows Mail for Vista would have been a priority? Getting ink across basic OS apps is a must to increase the transparency and out of box experience for new tablet pc users. Instead, the user is faced with using the TIP to ink an email, or worse, the keyboard. The new tablet pc enthusiast immediately begins to think: inking just isn’t an integral part of using a computer yet. I can’t even ink an email. The wall immediately begins to go up.

I believe that Microsoft is making a huge mistake by relying too much on TIP input for basic OOB expeience: search, windows mail, etc. They also send a message to the ISVs – relying on the TIP is fine. Follow our lead. Relying on TIP input for your apps is wrong. Transparent computing begins with allowing ink to be an defacto input and handlng the recognition automatically without needing a separate interface or need to press another button.

If Microsoft isn’t going to include Outlook in their Home / Student Editions, they MUST ink enable Windows Mail. While Vista is a huge step forward in terms of personalization and tablet pc functionality, the most glaring miss here is Windows Mail, which will be the defacto means of communications with ones peers, especially for those who buy the Home / Student Edition of Office 2007. Including ink as part of that standard experience would do nothing but increase tablet pc awareness in huge ways.

OneNote 2007 and drawing tools

2006-02-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Chris Pratley discusses the new drawing features for One Note 2007, especially good news for non - tablet pc users. Thanks, Bill the intern.

As we pondered drawing tools, we had to decide whether they would be typical Office drawing tools or something more natural for OneNote. One thing that is different for OneNote is that we support ink already (on all PC types, not just Tablets). The Office drawing tools which you see in Word, Excel, etc. have a lot of functionality but also live in a different "layer" which OneNote wouldn't get to interact with much. That would mean for example that ink you draw on a page would not be able to interact with the drawing objects. Ink tools such as the eraser and lasso would not affect the drawing tools. Also these objects would not have awareness of other things on a OneNote page such as text that you might want to type on them. It's hard to explain the subtleties of the issues here but suffice it to say in the end we decided that having native drawing tools would be a better experience for our users.

M400 thoughts - Brrreeeport

2006-02-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

I spec’d out an M400 Tablet PC for a customer – 2.0ghz, Core Duo, 100gb 7200 rpm harddrive, Dual layer CD / DVD, extended battery. $2744. I purposefully wanted as much tablet pc as I could get. Why get a 5400rpm harddrive when I could get a 7200rpm.

WOW! That is a lot of money for tablet pc. Granted I could have spec’d it lower, but the price differentials just didn’t seem worth it.

After sitting on it for a day or so, I canceled the order. Just for grins, I spec’d out an M4 Tablet PC (see both specs below. Same specs all around except for the following:

100gb hard drive on the m400 is 7200 rpm, 5400 rpm on the m4
2.0 ghz Core Duo on the M400, 2.0 Pentium M on the M4
Integrated Intel 950 on the M400, Dedicated GeForce 6600 on the m4
12” screen on m400, 14” screen on the m4
667mhz FSB on the m400, 533mhz FSX on the M4

M4 price: $2211. Price differential: $533

So for $533 more, I get the Core Duo, faster memory, smaller unit, faster harddrive, but integrated video instead of dedicated card.

What would you do?

Toshiba Tecra M4-S115TD Tablet PC Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP 2005 Tablet Edition, 1024MB (512MBx2) 533MHz PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM, 14.1" Diagonal SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) display, NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 TE with 128MB DDR SDRAM, 100GB (Serial-ATA, 5400rpm), 8X DVD Super Multi-drive (Double Layer), WinDVD Creator software, Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth® (Ver 2.0 + EDR), Li-Ion Battery (6 Cell, 4700mAh), 1-year Standard, Limited Warranty,

Toshiba Portege M400-ST9113 Tablet PC Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC 2005, 1024MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (512MBx2), 12.1" Diagonal SXGA+ Wide View Angle Display (1400x1050), Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-128MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory, 100GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial-ATA), Ultra SlimBay DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive, Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth® Version 2.0 +EDR, Li-Ion Battery (6-cell, 4700mAh),

Brrreeeport

OEMs and the flattening of the press world

2006-02-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Scoble has a fantastic post on the “flattening of the press world”. His post is a must read by PR firms representing OEMs and ISVs.

He picks up really well on what I posted earlier about my problems with OEMs and their PR firms. I’ve been experiencing this problem from day one with OEMs. If you represent PC Magazine, you are in, otherwise give up. The good news is that the PR firms are starting to recognize the changing landscape and we will begin to see changes.

Are we seeing the death of the exclusive? I hope so. That’s what I’m fighting for. The “Z list” should have access to info as soon as the “A list” does.

I just want NDA rules that apply the same to everyone. What do you think?

Frank Gocinski and his 55 minute wait

2006-02-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Frank Gocinski has posted an excellent example of the problems that still plague mobile users: how much time it takes to get connected to the stuff we need when mobile. I'd encourage you to check out his post. Sound familiar? He closes it with this plea to the mobile developers:

As the world goes mobile we as developers have to start considering how to build truly first class mobile pc applications. I realize this starts at the platform level and Windows Vista is the platform to empower us. If you haven’t contemplated the mobile aspects of your pc application, please check out what Windows Vista can do for you and your customers. Help me get my 55 minutes back http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista

OneNote 2007

2006-02-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Chris Pratley has posted an entry on his blog announcing the new official name of the Office 12 packages. The best part is that OneNote is now included in some of the Office packages: Office Home and Student. That makes perfect sense considering how well OneNote is situated for students.

Unfortunately, it will not be included in the Standard, Professional, and Small Business versions; however, there is a business level of Office that includes all of the regular Office Apps + Groove + OneNote: Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007.

The upgrade price for current OneNote users: $99.

Pricing and other press items are found here

Microsoft Tablet PC Partners Having Increasing Impact on Patient Care

2006-02-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Nobody can deny that the healthcare vertical market has been one of the most successful for Tablet PC OEMs like Motion Computing and Fujitsu. If you follow the medical industry, you might want to check out this press release from Microsoft where they talk about their successes in the medical space and also highlight some of their partners:

The steadily growing number of Tablet PC solutions created by Microsoft partners and powered by Microsoft(R) technologies is having a positive impact on patient lives, medical worker efficiency and the balance sheets of healthcare organizations, Microsoft Corp. today announced during the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2006 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

Source: Sys-Con Media

The Student Tablet PC: Student Apps Demo (#1)

2006-02-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

Tracy has offered up her own Tablet PC demo of GoBinder, MindManager, and few other apps. Great job, Tracy!

Who knew the cascading effect I was going to create ( JK and Craig have them posted as well) when I posted my ActiveWords / TEO demo. I have to tell you, I really like this new way of demoing apps much better than standard screenshots. I think prospective Tablet PC users will like them, too. I’ve also learned a great deal from watching these other folks do their demos. Nothing like seeing ink in action on the web.

Trust me – you are going to see much more of them very, very soon……

MathJournal 2.0 coming soon

2006-02-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

I had a good email conversation with the folks from xThink this weekend. Look for the beta testing on MathJournal 2.0 to begin soon - March!. New features and functions to look forward to.

I'll plan on doing some beta testing for them and am really looking forward to it. Watch the xThink site for more information.

UPDATE: removed wrong link.

Talking to Stephen Torres

2006-02-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

I was just talking to Stephen Torres (HPClean on TabletPCBuzz.com). He runs www.TabletPCCorner.net

He shot me this link of him doing an interview with some schools (its’ in French).

He also shot me this link of the two schools set-up. Would you have loved to have those Tablet PCs in your school?

Using OneNote in the day to day

2006-02-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Warner Crocker has posted an excellent entry on using OneNote, PDF Annotator, and web cam via a Tablet PC to do the theatre audition. Well worth checking out.

Thanks for posting this, Warner. The more practical experience we offer the community, the better.

James Kendrick joins the DualCor BETA

2006-02-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to James Kendrick on joining the DualCor Board of Expert Technical Advisors. It looks like DualCor is doing the right things and bringing people who will properly guide DualCor:
I am pleased to say that I have accepted a position on the DualCor Board of Expert Technical Advisors (BETA). The DualCor BETA is a group of well-known people in the mobile technology sector that have been gathered to advise DualCor on technical matters having to do with the upcoming cPC.

Toshiba M400 Tablet PC - Large Pics

2006-02-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Toshiba marketing rep sent Dennis and I these high res shots of the M400 Tablet PC. Click the image to view higher res shots:

Samsung collaborate with Intel for "Ultra-mobile PC" ?

2006-02-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Intel collaboration news on ultra mobile pc just keeps coming. From Digiens (via Lora) The feature a photo what they are calling Samsung’s Ultra Mobile PC. I don’t see where it lines up with Microsoft’s Lifestyle PC spec, but it still looks pretty interesting. Samsung as an OEM would be a good choice. They make great ultra mobile devices. I’d love to be at CeBIT!:

Samsung Electronics will collaborate with Intel for the next generation PC: "Ultra-mobile PC". Ultra-mobile PC will have all kind of mobile communication capabilities embeding WiFi, GPS, WiBro, and HSDAP chips.

Samsung Electronics announced on 8th that they will commercialize the Intel's "Ultra-mobile PC" concept for the first time. The prototype will be open to public at the "CeBIT" exhibition, which will be held at Germany next month.

P1510 tablet PC reviewed

2006-02-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

TabletPC Corner offers a nice review of the P1510. It is in French, so use your favorite translator.

Warner: OEM's, Evangelists, Transparency, And Moving Forward

2006-02-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Warner has great follow-up to my OEM post and offers his own editorial on the subject

Here's how I see this. I'm perfectly aware that the competitive nature of this business requires a certain amount of secrecy as new products are being developed. I'm also perfectly aware that the PR and marketing games require a certain amount of favor dispensing and the larger, more established resources get the juice. Unfortunately in many cases, the access granted these resources usually only churns out retreaded press release info and rehashed marketing pitches and there seems to be very little follow up to correct bad, incomplete, inaccurate, and in some cases just uninformed information that gets published. The Tablet PC platform has certainly been a victim of that as we still see today in articles where the writer has obviously not really put hands on a Tablet PC. So who is that approach helping?

Handwriting On The Wall For Tablet PCs - Must Lighten Up

2006-02-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Prettyinteresting article from Investors Business Daily on the next slew of lighter mobile devices. As you read this article and other bits slowly coming out from TG Daily and mine and Dennis’ reporting from the Mobile Partners brief, you should be getting a pretty good idea of what’s at play now.

Some other interesting tidbits from this article:

Makers of tablet PCs -- machines that run on the tablet-PC flavor of Microsoft's Windows operating system software -- aim to broaden the category with "ultramobile" tablets that are smaller than current tablet PCs but larger than today's handheld computers or personal digital assistants. Microsoft (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) and its partners expect to unveil such products this spring.
About 75% of the tablet PCs sold today are convertibles. The rest are slate-type tablets that don't come with attached keyboards.
Toshiba is the leading seller of tablet PCs. In the third quarter in the U.S., it had 34% market share in the convertible category, IDC says. No. 2 Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ - News) had 23%.
Tablet PCs accounted for 1.5% of notebook PCs sold worldwide last year, says International Data Corp. PC makers shipped nearly 1 million tablet PCs in 2005 compared with 64.8 million notebook PCs total, IDC says. It expects shipments to nearly double to 1.9 million this year and make up 2% of notebook sales.

Something new coming soon...

2006-02-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Picking up Dennis’ post, I wanted to put the “tease” out there for something new in the air as well…watch both of our blogs for more details later…

Ink in Infopath Screencast

2006-02-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

The MVPs are on a tablet pc demo kick. Check out Craig Pringle’s demo of ink in Infopath.

jkOnTheRun Audio Edition #11- Tablet PC demo video

2006-02-10T01:12:00.000-07:00

James Kendrick has outdone himself this time. He has produced a MUST-SEE demo video of the tablet pc in action. He covers all the apps – active words, journal, sticky notes, mindmanager. The music is huge!

Head over there NOW

Modified Apple Tablet Computer 12" iBook on eBay

2006-02-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the modded 12” iBook / Tablet that got so much press last year? Well, the guy who did all of the mods is selling it on eBay. Check it out:

Eric Mack is looking for some help on monitor / resolution issues

2006-02-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Eric Mack is looking from some help from those who use high resolution monitors with their tablet PCs. Head over to his blog and post your thoughts:
http://www.ericmackonline.com/ica/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/the-best-external-monitor-for-tablet-pc-mind-mapping
Are you using a very high-resolution (greater than 1280 x1024) monitor with your Toshiba Tecra M4 (or other) Tablet PC? If so, I'd like to hear from you. You see, I'm planning to purchase a very high resolution monitor for mind mapping use and I've been researching various options. The productivity benefits of using multiple displays are significant. At one time, back in the CRT days, I had 5 CRT's on my desk and it was great.

The challenge is finding and selecting an LCD monitor that matches the Tablet PC output at its native resolution. Any mismatch and the monitor will likely shrink or stretch the video, resulting in a blurry image. Further, according to the tech notes I've been reading many Tablet PC video cards will not put out the full range of display resolutions to the external port. That's why I'd like to hear from anyone who's currently using (or thinking about using) a Tablet PC with an external monitor at 1280x1024 or higher.

Short update on using the DocuPen RC800

2006-02-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

I’m putting the scanner to good use this week, as I meet with clients, scanning things on the go.

I plan on posting a more detailed entry about the entire workflow from scanning, importing, etc. For right now, I just wanted to let you know some of my initial findings:

1) scanning small items like business cards is a real pain because there is nothing to grab a hold of in order to scan the top part of the business card.

2) my wife absolutely loves this scanner. Kathi is all about removing clutter from a home. I think I might end up having to purchase of these for her.

3) The paperport software that comes with the scanner is pretty cool. I can import all / select images from the scanner have them go into a single PDF or create separate pdf pages.

4) Using the b / w mode, saving a scan to the memory card takes about 4 – 5 seconds

5) I have not tried scanning books, but I’m suspecting that the RC800 will not be the “best” solution for that, simply due to the binding issue.

6) Importing directly to OneNote is a breeze. Enough said on that due to blogging restrictions.

7) Had I not goofed up the installation, the out of box experience would have been great. I couldn’t get the drivers to install properly because I couldn’t find them. Tech support was fantastic and very quick to respond via phone and email.

8) The scanner is very, very light. However, it is a bit to tall for a shirt pocket. I keep mine in my bag.

9) I’ve found the color scans to be quite acceptable for my purposes.

10) The docupen control screen, which is used for selecting the images to import, needs an option to delete the images after importing. currently, the only option is format the disk

11) I’d highly recommend ordering either the 128 or 256 mb expansion card. The internal 8mb flash storage won’t last long.

Custom option on M400 tablet pc

2006-02-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you looking to order the Toshiba M400 tablet and go the custom route, you may have noticed that it has been down the last several days.

That option is now up and ready to for you to use. Customize it to hearts content: 100gb 7200 rpm harddrive, 2.13 Core Duo, 2gb of ram, etc.

If any of you order the new m400, I’d love to hear how you like the unit.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?seg=HHO&coid=-30603

Intel's Ultra Mobile PC on track for Q1 release | TG Daily

2006-02-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

Interesting news from TG Daily, especially coming on the heels of Microsoft’s Lifestyle Computing “ideal” specs released last week. I'm not sure of the validity of the report, but certainly worth following up on:
Intel is gearing up for the release of its handtop computer platform later in this quarter: The first "Ultra Mobile PCs" (UMPCs) will arrive with a standby time of a week and include WWAN and GPS capability. A second batch of UMPCs will follow in the second half of this year and come with Windows Vista preinstalled, TG Daily has learned.

There is so much buzz around Intel's recently launched Core Duo processor and Viiv entertainment platform, one could easily oversee the firm's next major product launch. And no, we do not talk about Intel's next-generation microarchitecture due in September of this year; we are talking about the UMPC.
Sources now indicate that Intel is on track to take the wraps off the platform sometime this quarter: Samsung, Asus and Founder will the first companies to launch UMPCs.
The company previously stated that the first run of UMPCs will not be commercially available before the second half of this year. If the three vendors are able to ship the UMPCs then this is a clear indication that Intel is well ahead of schedule and is pushing the platform for an accelerated market adoption. The "breakthrough" of the UMPS so far has been targeted for the 2007 and 2008 timeframe.
For the second half of 2006, Intel expects a second wave of UMPCs that will include devices from LGE, Acer and Averatec and run Windows Vista.

The winners of the 2005 Engadget Awards! - Engadget

2006-02-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Lenovo’s X41 Tablet PC won the Readers Choice and Engadget’s Choice for Tablet PC of the Year for 2005.

Fujitsu ST5022 Tablet PC for sale

2006-02-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

I have the following tablet pc for sale for $1250 . I’ll cover ground shipping.

Fujitsu ST5022

1.1ghz
Indoor / Outdoor 12.1” screen
1024 x 768
40 gb harddrive
512 mb ram
standard battery
all recovery CD’s, pen, and extra tips
Intel 802.11 b/g wireless

no scratches on the screen (which is fantastic by the way). This tablet pc is in fantastic condition. I picked it up from someone last week to show a customer the Fujitsu model.

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

The M400 Tablet PC is posted on ToshibaDirect.com

2006-02-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

Check out and order Toshiba’s new M400 on ToshibaDirect.com!!!

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?seg=HHO&coid=-30603

The custom version - has option for 7200 rpm harddrive, choice between 1024 x 768, 1400 x 1050 resolution; and up to 2.13 Core Duo processor. 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter, 3-USB (2.0) ports, i.LINK™ IEEE-1394, TV-out (S-Video), 10/100 LAN port, V.92 modem port, RGB monitor port, Microphone jack (monaural), headphone jack (stereo) , Intel 950 integrated graphics

Motion Computing responds to my OEM post

2006-02-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

My OEM post has been up since last Friday and guess who is the first to respond: Motion Computing. I’ll be doing an interview with Scott Eckert, CEO of Motion Computing, within the next two weeks. If you have some particular questions that you would like asked, post a comment to this thread.

Still working on the review unit issues.

Thanks for listening, Motion.

| Office Evolution - Marc Orchant

2006-02-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Time to update your RSS feeders, everyone. Marc Orchants new blog, Office Evolution, is now live.

Marc, see what you can about getting full text subscriptions. I understand the advertising issue, but surely they can put ads in the RSS feed. I much prefer a full text subscription.

Just received my DocuPen RC800

2006-02-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I just received the RC800 pen based scanner that I purchased the week before last. Out of the box, it is much lighter than it looks, but it is much taller than what will fit in a shirt pocket.

I post later this week on my findings: installation, out of the box experience, scanning, and importing directly to OneNote.

jkOnTheRun: Building a virtual cubicle

2006-02-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Great article by James Kendrick on building a virtual cubicle. Well written, and looks like he is setting it up for a series.

The backbone of the virtual cube is the Tablet PC for me. I must have all of my applications, PIM functions, and documents no matter where my work takes me and using the Tablet PC is the main foundation for my work. Countless times I am plopped down in an empty cube at an office and in minutes I am set up more productively and comfortably than many who actually work there full-time. A convertible Tablet PC lets me set up as either a notebook computer or a slate depending on what I need to accomplish. The ability to ink is crucial to me as I constantly need to sign documents that are sent to me for return, mainly legal contracts. On the Tablet PC I can open the file up in PDF Annotator, sign it, and email it back to the sender. No muss, no fuss. I can also use the slate to take handwritten notes in meetings, secure in the knowledge my ink is fully searchable and my notes are thus retrievable in the future. For me it's the Tablet PC or nothing.

Looking forward to it, James.

Activewords and TEO screencast

2006-02-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have produced a screencast demoing how well ActiveWords and Tablet Enhancements for Outlook work together for the Tablet PC user. I created the screencast using TechSmith's Camtasia .

I plan on creating some more of these, demonstrating various tablet pc apps, productivity tips, etc. I’m curious if you, the Tablet PC community, will find them useful as you evaluate various apps. Any helpful hints, criticisms, etc are welcome.

Dennis Rice's "Naked Conversations" mini review

2006-02-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Dennis Rice, a Tablet PC MVP, has just posted a nice mini review of Robert Scoble and Shel Israel’s book Naked Conversations.

Dennis just started actively blogging, so it is refreshing to read his review.

Neek Talk : An Interview with Fritz Switzer

2006-02-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

The girls from Neek Talk are back, and this time with an interview with AbletFactory’s Fritz Switzer. Should be a very interesting show.

For those of you who don’t know, Fritz is a Tablet PC developer who has written multiple apps involving tablet pc dictionary tools, special interest dictionaries, and OneNote applications for the medical arena. Fritz is also a Tablet PC MVP and is one great guy.

Downloading now.

OnTheRun with Tablet PCs #12-is posted

2006-02-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

James and Marc are back with Tablet PC Show #12. Take a listen. According to the show notes, they reference several things that I blogged about this past week ( Ultra Mobile Lifestyle PC, OEM's, etc).

I’m downloading it now.

The DocuPen RC800 winner announced

2006-02-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

I’m ready to announce a winner to the DocuPen RC800 contest!

To start off with, I want to thank everyone who submitted an entry. I’ll be honest, I did not expect such high quality submissions. I also did not expect so many submissions (160 +). Many of the submissions were long essays. Some were quite funny. We even had a fantastic video submission from Mr. Warner Crocker himself. I received a high number of submissions from students, teachers, missionaries, seminary students, several from business professionals, several from medical professionals, etc. Lots of vertical markets represented. Several “higher ups” at Microsoft told me that they were really impressed with the mobile lifestyle case studies presented. Look for some more high quality contests like this in the future. I’ve got something really big up my sleeve, but it will be little while before I’m ready. If you are game for it, I am too. More details later.

I’d also like to thank everyone who linked to this contest and helped promote it. You made a significant contribution in making this contest a success. This contest was a success because of the community involvement.

Before I announce the winner, I want to also let you know that PlanOn, the makers of the DocuPen RC800, have stepped up to the plate in a huge way. They have been so impressed with the quality and number of submissions that they have offered to pay for the RC800 pen. I didn’t learn of this decision until Thursday, but I gladly accepted their offer! In addition, they are making an offer for any of my readers who want to buy an RC800 digital pen scanner: a free leather case ($35 value) and a free 128mb expanded memory card ($35 value). Send an email to annb@planon.com with the promo code of CML02060 if you are interested. This offer is valid through Sunday, February 12. FYI: I have no vested interest in you buying a scanner from them. Until last week, PlanOn did not know I even existed.

Now for the winner:

I read every single submission. Several of the submissions were neck and neck. However, I kept going back to one that consistently stood out: Aaron’s post. The whole entry impacted me, but the last sentence summed it up greatly:

Honestly, the number of uses within our setting is almost countless, but like I said, it's not about just impacting a current digital lifestyle as trying to create one for some good kids.

His entire entry was focused on impacting a digital lifestyle for those he cares about: his learning challenged students. I honestly wanted to choose a winner who could best state his case, show the impact, and presented an honest need. Aaron, I hope you put this scanner to some good use. I’d love to hear back on how you are using it and would love to see a picture of you and your kids with the scanner. Congratulations!

His entire entry:

How would a pen based scanner like the RC800 impact your digital lifestyle?

This actually kind of a hard question for me to answer as my hope would be that for me, it's not about impacting my digital lifestyle as much as trying to create a digital lifestyle for my students.

I work as a science teacher with emotionally disturbed (ED) students -- kids with bipolar disorder, severe depression, anxiety disorders, severe ADD and ADHD, school avoidant kids (plus many of our students have learning disabilities on top of this) -- and we're a small school; only 36 kids in the entire school! My class size is between 3 and 7 kids! But, this also means we don't always have the tools that large public schools have the budget for. I'm the only science teacher for the entire school, and the youngest (25) so a lot of the integrating technology part of education falls on me since many of the other, older teachers simply aren't that knowledgable.

I try to integrate technology into my lessons, not just for learning's sake, but because our students have been left behind in tradional methods that aren't eye-catching because they are so internally distracted and because they are frequently more visual learners who do better with things like powerpoint, videos, and internet tools. At the same time, I try to teach them study skills that they can carry back to public schools if they make it there, and eventually college. This has meant talking to them about effective computer use (Google is great but doesn't write the report for you, just gives you resources :) )

So, I try and show them tools that are out there that they can take advantage of. Kids hate reading textbooks, but make a webpage out of it, and they're there. They'll lose their homework and misplace study guides, but know where all their documents are saved on the computer. We have a handful of computers in the classroom for them to use, but the tools to get their normal written work onto the computer so easily?!?! It would blow their mind. I think that if a lot of our kids knew they could go totally digital, they would. Their generation simply prefers it. I've even had in depth discussions with them about making their next computer a tablet pc (although we can't afford those for the school) just so they could do MORE digitally. They always love that idea.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'd use it too. Being able to scan their papers to show good examples to the class, keeping electronic copies of papers after I hand them back so that I can refer back to them, and scanning student documentation! You'd be amazed how much paperwork we copy, file, and write for every single student. Some of these students have their own file cabinet drawer (2 feet deep) of documentation on their disabilities, therapy notes, and case histories. Every teacher keeps a copy of the student's Individual Education Plan and other paperwork, but imagine if we could go digital! Not to mention scanning examples from old texts for future use in presentations and the like.

Honestly, the number of uses within our setting is almost countless, but like I said, it's not about just impacting a current digital lifestyle as trying to create one for some good kids.

Thanks for the chance at this.

--Aaron

OEMs - participate in the conversations

2006-02-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

I attended CES last year with a single goal in mind: establish relationships with OEMs in order to provide better content for my readers and the Tablet PC community. I attended CES this year with that same goal in mind. That content includes reviews of new units when they are launched so that the many of the “how big, how fast, screen angles, usability” questions could be answered right away. A big problem I’ve noticed the past couple of years, is that we have about a 6 – 8 week wait in order to get a decent review of a new tablet.

My experience with Motion: I’ve been trying to get an interview with the CEO, Scott Eckert, for about a year and I keep getting told “ We can’t get you Scott, but maybe a VP level person.” I thought, ok, I’ll take what I can get. A year later and still no interview with a VP. Emails either go unanswered or I’m told they are working on it and promise to get back to me soon. Obviously, they don’t think it is important to get out and talk to the community. Motion, however, has been kind enough to give me briefs of upcoming products, about a week or two before the launch. No matter how hard I try, though, I have yet to get a review unit – before or after launch. Any units I’ve gotten, I’ve purchased. Motion is one of the few OEMs to actively participate in the on-line community. No interviews, no review units.

I made a great contact at HP last year who provides me some good background info and is pretty forthcoming with me. Still no review units, though.

With my emails to the contacts I’ve made at Fujitsu, I’m sent to the PR folks (like Motion does) and I’m basically told that I’ll be put on a list for review units, but don’t look for anything to happen. A year of emails and nothing has happened.

Martin Smekal, of TabletKiosk, is the most accessible of all the OEMs. Obviously, they are smaller then HP and Fujitsu, but Martin recognizes the value of involving himself in the commmunity. He is active on TabletPCBuzz.com and will gladly send a review unit to influencers. There is no PR wall between TabletKiosk and the community.

Dennis and I finally made a good contact at Toshiba. He’s been forthcoming with data and it is much appreciated. It is a relationship that Dennis and I will continue to cultivate. Requests for review units, however, are lost in a black PR hole.

What I’m finding is that the OEMs do not grasp the importance and size of the on-line community and establishing the relationship with influencers in that space. If you are PC Magazine, however, the Red Sea will part for you. I have found that all of the OEMS frequent the influencers blogs and TabletPCBuzz.com and follow everything that goes on. They just don’t participate in the conversations – big mistake. Read Scoble’s Naked Conversations. Don’t create a PR wall between your company and the community. Break that wall down and start participating in the conversations.

OEMs ought to be seeking out folks like myself, Warner Crocker, James Kendrick, Marc Orchant, Dennis Rice, TabletPCBuzz.com and engaging themselves in the community. I’m going to post something tomorrow that will show how one company totally gets the community and steps up to the plate.

Single, most important takeaway from the Mobile Partners Brief

2006-02-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Mobile Partner brief in Redmond was fantastic. Chock full of information.

As I reflect on the brief, the single thing I take away from it is:

ISV's need to begin concentrating on mobilizing their apps, especially considering Microsoft's blue print for the ideal Lifestyle / Ultra Mobile PC.. Depending on the focus of the app, it includes many of the following issues:

ensure your app is good citizen in regard to power management.
Design Your apps to accomodate for smaller screens like the LS800, DualCor, etc..
the fresh look at your UI in regard to touch. Instead of an array of small buttons, consider contextual menus, in order to give the user a fuller screen to work with. when using buttons, make then larger and provide enough room between the buttons for touch.
take a look at sync possibilities, providing a way for users to work seamlessly when mobile.
for pen enabled apps, try to use the tip less and allow for direct inking in to field and recognize on the fly or one command.. As more laptops come out that have tablet is a feature your apps need to be ready for pen.

I'm sure that others might have a different perspective, but that is the primary thing I walked away with.

Chris Pratley's OneNote Blog : OneNote "12" and the Tablet PC

2006-02-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

Chris Pratley has just posted a great blog entry regarding OneNote 12 and the Tablet PC. A must read for Tablet PC users. Here is an excerpt:
I promised some time ago to write about the Tablet experience in OneNote 12 and how it has changed. This is a tricky topic to cover since there are still a lot of people out there who think OneNote is only or primarily meant to be used on Tablets. I still feel I have to make the point that OneNote was designed for all PCs and also to take advantage of tablets when used on a Tablet.
FWIW, the % of OneNote users with a Tablet has been steadily climbing even as the overall size of the OneNote user base grows steadily - up from ~5% in the first few months after OneNote 2003 launch (winter '03-'04) to almost 15% now. We also know that a significant majority of Tablet users own a copy of OneNote - so our "attach" to that platform is very strong. Another way to say it is that although we sell a significant majority of OneNote "units" to the 98% of people buying non-Tablets, every time a Tablet PC ships it nearly always results in a OneNote sale.

Apple's patented the Tablet Mac (part II) - Engadget

2006-02-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Looks like we are getting closer to that Apple tablet pc, via Engadget. Lets’ release it already…

Download Mobile Ink To-Do Starter Kit

2006-02-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

if you have not done so already, be sure to download the Mobile Ink To-Do Starter Kit from Microsoft:
This Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET Starter Kit is a complete Mobile PC and Tablet PC application. The starter kit contains a semi-transparent form for taking notes and keeps them synchronized through a Web Service. It also supports battery awareness and online and offline data, two key features of a great Mobile PC applications. The project comes ready to compile and run and it's easy to customize with only a little extra programming.

Frank Gocinski - Mobilizing your Windows apps

2006-02-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Frank is giving a good talk on mobilizing applications for mobility and tablet.

Bottomline: ISV’s need to be optimizing their applications for the tablet experience, especially as tablets go mainstream and become a feature of all notebooks. Mobile PCs are becoming the primary pc purchase, outselling desktops. ISVs also need to be designing their apps for smaller screen devices: 8 – 10”

Tune your applications for mobility: power management, screen sizes, touch

Review the Mobile APIs within the new Windows SDK

Take advantage of rich Windows Vista frameworks in your applications

Take advantage of the marketing opportunities: handango, DevX, Windows MarketPlace

Let the Mobility team know what you are doing:

tabisv@Microsoft.com

Meeting with the OneNote team

2006-02-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Chris Pratley and his OneNote team were gracious enough to take some time out of their day to meet with Fritz, Dennis, Loren, and I. What an opportunity to meet the programmers and lead programmers writing the application we are using.

They are doing really good stuff with OneNote 12. Their team is really small (12) and it is that way on purpose – keeping the team small in order to rollout service packs and new features more quickly.

Certainly one of the highlights of my trip.

Here is a picture of Chris Pratley and Owen Braun. Chris is holding the instrument “onenote” – it only plays one note.

Poster board where OneNote team members were suggesting names for OneNote when it was in the conceptual stage:

Lifestyle PCs - Making Windows Personal

2006-02-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ken Hardy is talking more about the Lifestyle PC - making Windows Personal

Lifestyle devices

Small Enough to go anywhere
Simple enough to be used naturally
Fashionable enough to be carried
Devices stop becoming bits and hardware, they are about the music collection, the pictures
Often times, converging devices is difficult - example - ROKR, adding calendar items to iPod, etc
Ultra mobile PCs are becoming a reality, however:

Windows is hard to use on the go
Not optimized for a small screen experience
Personal information is buried
Not aware of the user and their environmen
Windows and windows apps needs to be more personal

Simplicity

Never more than a couple of clicks from primary action
Users can purchase a device that matches their taste, represent personal experience, used casually without looking

Simplified convergence

Custom UI that offers 2 - 3 scenarios
Scenarios are tightly integrated
Hardware supports scenario and style

Simply personal

Luxurious screen sizes deliver strong focus, full screen media, rich presentation, minimize menus (transparent)
Flexible devices allow for natural interaction

Reach out and touch the screen
Write with a pen

Making Windows about people, places, and things

How many clicks does it take to get to what you care about
Highly Personalized desktops, large buttons for touch (audio books, movies, music, photos, TV) - great screen shots (I'll post the Powerpoint screenshot when available)
Devices that have a flowing theme - Eddie Bauer type of device for outdoors people, etc.

Lifestyle PCs at the Mobile Brief- Arnie Lund

2006-02-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Arnie Lund is talking about the new Lifestyle PCs at the Microsoft Mobility Brief

His major talking points - a must-read to understand where Microsoft and the OEMs want to go with these ultra mobile / lifestyle device. These points paint a really good picture….

Definition of lifestyle

About individualism
A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group - The American Heritage Dictionary
Lifestyle design - the design of the shell, the scenarios supported, and the industrial design work together and are optimized for a particular lifestyle
Build a platform that addresses many different lifestyles

Design Trends

Personal, mobile, organized, connected, powerful, expressive, efficient, collaborative, entertaining - all wrapped around the heart.
Lifestyle PCs and devices-

People who use tablets talk about the personal nature, interactive aspect
PDA's speak to it as well
Entertainment companion - iPod, PSP, portable DVD player
Shouldn't need a help button
Cell phones - want to be connected all day, fashionable element

Making an Iconic Design

iPod - immediately draws a mental image
Razr – people know what it is
this lifestyle pc needs to have that iconic design

Making the connection

Intersection of self expression and intimacy,
User Values

Ages - 16 - 25 - Social, unique, whimsical /playful, environmentally conscious, globally influenced
Products - diverse colors, personal experimentation
Where is mobility happening?

Research Plans

Form factors are critical to Lifestyle mobile PCs

Fit to user

1 to 2 hand use
Physical size

Fit to activity

Focus on usability

Fit to heart

Focus on desirability - want to carry it with you everywhere

Mobility Center on Vista

2006-02-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Although not a direct replacement for Control Panel, Vista will feature Mobility Center – a single place users can go to in order to change mobility settings like: display brightness, sound muting / volume, battery, wireless connection, rotation, syncronization and presentation mode.

Microsoft is working with OEMs to make the Mobility Center hardware button enabled.

Much like the Motion Dashboard and the Access IBM button.

Another blog to follow on the mobile brief

2006-02-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Dennis Rice is doing a heck of a job blogging the Mobile brief. Checkout his blog

http://mobilethink.blogspot.com/

Ultramobile Lifestyle PCs coming

2006-02-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Look for the following device to be announced very soon

From Bill Mitchell's slide:

The ideal Lifestyle Ultra-Mobile PCs will be

wearable
all day battery life (12 hr on-time)
$500 msrp
always on
connection through 3G
instant use
10”
Pen based
full windows based

There will be trade offs of the above featues to hit the $500 mark, but the $500 is critical this new device that will be announced soon. You won’t want to leave home without it – like a cell phone.

Windows SideShow - Vista

2006-02-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

The auxillary display that was talked about at WinHEC last year is being called Windows SideShow – look for it in remotes, smartphones, a device you can remove from the display of your tablet pc (the size of a small pda). The smartphone can act as a remote control to your tablet pc.

you can get your email, calendar, contacts, photos.

more later…

DualCor PC notes

2006-02-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just spoke with Steven Hanley, President and CEO of DualCor. Look for the DualCor PC to start taking orders in the first week or so of February, shipping March 1.

Toshiba M400 and glass

2006-02-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Dennis and I are sitting next to the Toshiba rep and he told us that the M400 with the intel 945 graphic chipset has been certified by Microsoft for Aero glass.

Windows Live Messenger invites available

2006-01-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have 4 Windows Live Messenger invites available….first 4 to respond get them.

Include your email address

The ride in from the airport

2006-01-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of riding with Steve Hoffman of Active Ink Software. We had some really good discussions about the tablet pc market place, his software, and the “ink” marketplace. He confirmed my feelings that the tablet market place is taking off.

Active Ink’s software lets you build ink-enabled forms utilizing your existing printed or Word based forms and tie the results of the forms to a database in the background. If you are a company wanting to ink-enable your forms, you need to check them out.

MobileTrax 2006 Awards

2006-01-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

For a great list of mobile software, hardware, and accessories, checkout the 2006 Mobile Trax awards.

A couple of highlights:

Lenovo X41 Tablet PC – Intel Pentium M 758 (1.5GHz), 12.1” display, 512MB of RAM, 3.2 lbs. No built-in optical drive, however. Lightest convertible on the market.
Motion Computing LS800 - Approximately half the size of most tablet PCs, the LS800 slate system has an 8.4-inch display, is less than 1 inch thick and weighs 2.2 lbs. Great for vertical markets in which people stand or walk around.
SoundDock by Bose - Sound system accessory for the Apple iPod (all models). Provides classic Bose tabletop speaker system to play music from your Apple iPod.
Sling Box by Sling Media - Allows you to view your TV (and TiVo) anywhere remotely using any PC or your notebook or a handheld (certain models).
iGo everywhere130 by Mobility Electronics – One power adapter with different connectors for your notebook, cell phone or iPod. It can also can access power on airplanes via custom power connectors.
Palm Treo 650 Wireless Headset – Model 3206WW, lightweight, adjustable Bluetooth-compatible headset offers cordless, convenient, hands-free communication. Easy set up for the Treo 650.
Palm GPS Navigator - Bluetooth GPS Receiver, TomTom Navigator 5 software and maps of the United States and Canada, vehicle device cradle with windshield mounting bracket and suction cup pad, USB charging cable for GPS Receiver, vehicle power adapter for your Palm handheld or Treo SmartPhone and GPS Receiver. Adding navigation to wireless handhelds allows user to take navigation into any vehicle in which they are riding.

Tablet PC count while in the airport

2006-01-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting in the Colorado Springs airport on my way to the Mobile / Tablet PC Partner Briefing at Microsoft.

Looking around, I see 8 Laptops, 1 12" powerbook, and 1 ThinkPad tablet PC - mine. None of the laptops are convertibles. 3 of the laptops are 14" Thinkpads. 1 of the laptops is a 12" ThinkPad.

5 ThinkPads out of 10 devices spotted. 1 out of 10 is a tablet PC. 4 out of 10 are 12" devices.

Paperless Challenge, Part 2

2006-01-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

Eric Mack and Tracy Hooten have posted part 2 of their Paperless Challenge podcast. Take a listen.

These paperless challenge podcasts are must have resources for mobile professionals and tablet pc users....especially those entering my docupen contest.

Marc Orchant is moving to ZDNet

2006-01-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Marc Orchant has just posted on tabletpcs.weblogsinc.com that he will be moving on to posting at ZDNet. The following post will be his last on the weblogsinc.com website (click to read more):
Congratulations, Marc. You will do very well over there. Be sure to check him out at his new blog.
This will be my last post here at The Office Weblog. I've been invited to contribute at ZDNet where I will be writing under the title "Office Evolution". Don't click just yet - I'll be back online sometime in the next few days, once the wires get twisted together and the lights start blinking.

I've had an incredible time writing here at Weblogs, Inc. I jumped when Jason Calacanis invited me to join a handful of other bloggers. Back then, the promise of this network was just that - tons of potential and and a lot of big dreams. These past two years I've had the great fortune to work with some fantastically talented people, make more than a few good friends, and have had a chance to speak with, interview, and pick the brains of a number of scary smart people.

MyScript Notes

2006-01-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here is another notetaking application for Table PCs: MyScript Notes by Vision Objects. What stands out to me? the conversion of the notes and keeping bold, colors, and styles with the text that was handwritten. Cost: around $72 (49.94 EUR)

While you are there, check out their SDK products for building your own ink enabled. forms

Via HPClean

jkOnTheRun: What would you change on your Tablet PC?

2006-01-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

James Kendrick asks “what would you change on your Tablet PC?” What one thing would I change? the video output. Without using extended display I want to rotate my tablet into landscape mode and have the output stay the same way on the external monitor. Major usability problem.
If you had a magic wand what one thing would you change about your Tablet, either the hardware or the software? My wish is simple and may be addressed already by Vista- I wish the floating TIP icon would not constantly get in my way when I'm working. Let me know what you would change and when we get enough responses we'll take a look at what we know about Vista and see which ones are already addressed.

I am so enjoying this contest...

2006-01-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

These entries that are being submitted are sooooo good. You are guys are making my job very difficult.

In those posts contain some of the best scenarios for mobile computing – students, teachers, doctors, people traveling – all using tablet pcs and wanting to get the most out of them by taking advantage of a great device like the RC800.

Keep up the good work. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Gateway M280 on HSN

2006-01-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting here watching the Home Shopping Network ( don’t ask ). Gateway and the HSN rep are demoing the M280 Tablet PC.

They are doing a pretty decent job of demoing actual tablet usage, spending a lot of time on the Experience Pack, Journal, Sticky Notes, and Equation Writer.

Gateway is really hitting the masses with the M280. Great job, Gateway!

SnagIt 8 released

2006-01-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

SnagIt 8. has just been released by TechSmith. SnagIt has become my new screen capture program, replacing the snipping tool. What’s new?

Capture webpages with links
Add interactivity to the captures
Save as PDF
Redesigned UI

Check out the video: Watch What's New in SnagIt 8 video

A sad day

2006-01-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Our local Krispy Kreme is closing...

Tracy Hooten: I'll give OneNote one more shot

2006-01-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Looks like Tracy and I have something in common – dropping GoBinder 2006 in leiu of OneNote and the promise of OneNote 12 .

With the public beta of OneNote 12 coming up soon, this is a good time, Tracy. I’m LOVING OneNote 12!!!!!!!!

Win your own DocuPen RC800

2006-01-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

Ready for a contest every mobile professional will love?

I’m giving away a brand new DocuPen RC800 pen based scanner worth $299!

I just landed a very nice contract and was able to order my own RC800. So I was thinking, why not bless someone else who might not otherwise be able to afford one.

Answer this question as a reply to this thread: How would a pen based scanner like the RC800 impact your digital lifestyle?

A few guidelines on this contest.

I won’t award a winner unless I receive a minimum of 50 entries. That means that if you post an entry and would like to see a winner awarded, then get the word out on this contest. I’m not looking for link love, I’m looking for great content for my readers that will benefit other readers and help us all with mobile computing.
This contest will run until February 3. Any entries after Feb 3 will not count.
I’ll pick a winner based on my own judgment.
The winner gets to pick their own color pen, but if they want an expansion card, then I will ask the winner to pick up that additional cost.
Leave your email address in the post.
1 entry per person
I’ll throw in a copy of Michael Linenberger’s book “Total WorkDay Control using Outlook” and a copy of his interactive training CD.

UPDATE: The minimum of 50 entries has been met, but the contest doesn't end until 2/3. So, keep the entries coming. A winner will be awarded! Lets' get as many entries as possible.

Excalibur Online - Taking notes, version 2.0

2006-01-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Great article at Excalibur Online on taking notes using OneNote and using the tablet pc functionality built-in. Wait until the author uses OneNote 12!

Its ‘write anywhere' capability takes some time to master for those of us who are accustomed to using a word processor. Each time you write on a page, you create a new ‘ink box' to hold your input, and until you get used to writing in this way, these boxes can become confusingly overlapped. Even so, you can write, draw and annotate.
I found OneNote to be very useful in group meetings. You can type anywhere on the screen, which is a freedom not afforded by typically more structured word processors. It is as flexible as writing on a piece of paper, but with features that can only be expected on a computer.

Pete Wright: Using a pen in Vista

2006-01-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

Pete Wright continues his great blogging of using Vista and the LE1600 Tablet PC. He also some good screen shots of the tablet pc functionality and a good account of the big bumps in the road.

WindowsWithInk blog

2006-01-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

Very cool homepage for the Windows With Ink blog. Can’t wait to see what else he does with it. I love the simple notepage look.

Via Loren.

The Feature Bob Invented

2006-01-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

Jensen Harris blogs about the story behind the ribbon in Office 12 and how one of the features made it in. Thank you, Bob!

Paperless Challenge Podcast, Part One

2006-01-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Eric Mack and Tracy Hooten. have recorded part one of the Paperless Challenge. Take a listen. I’m downloading it right now.

These will probably be must have resources for Tablet PC and mobile professionals.

Uber Tablet: a Tablet PC Talk Spot!

2006-01-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

Be sure to checkout Hugo Ortega’s new Tablet PC blog, courtesy of Dr. Neil, a fellow Tablet PC MVP.

Dr. Neil successfully evangelized the Tablet PC to Hugo, and now Hugo has taken off on his own. From his profile:

Hugo 'poogie' Ortega is one very misguided geek. Knowing that Tablet PC take up in Australia has been very unimpressive, to say the least, he has single-mindedly begun preaching to anyone, willing or unwilling to listen, about the merits of Tablet PC.

In UberTablet.blogspot.com we will share our Tablet related experiences and thoughts. With your input we'll make talk'n Tablet a daily occurrence.

Chad Essley's Tablet Pc SketchBlog: ArtRage 2.0 - The Review:

2006-01-25T00:09:00.000-07:00

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to link to Chad Essley’s ArtRage 2.0 review. He does some comparisons to Alias Sketchbook as well. This is the first time I’ve seen these two products reviewed, and Chad does a great job.

Does ArtRage 2 stand up to Sketchbook Pro in 2 terms of quality / features? In the following review, I do a side by side comparison between the two products, and a highlight of some of ArtRage 2.0's new features.

Via The Buzz

Will Core Duo Notebooks Trade Battery Life For Quicker Response? | Tom's Hardware

2006-01-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

Good article at Tom’s Hardware on battery life and the new Dual Core processors:
According to vendor reports, the battery life for the new dual core platforms in notebooks using Intel's integrated graphics core isn't supposed to decline at all, when compared with the previous generation (Sonoma). Our first measurements on a prototype device with a dedicated graphics chip (ATI X1600) paint a completely different picture, however, and this detracts from the positive impression that the new technology's improved performance creates. We can only guess whether the relatively modest battery lifetimes we observed in our test system are due to the graphics subsystem, the chipset itself, or a combination of these elements. That said, as we'll prove later in this article, this new CPU is definitely no energy hog.

Still using the Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC as my only unit

2006-01-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been almost a month and I’m still using the X41 as my only computer. I turned on my T42 last week because it has some compiler programs that I had yet to install on the X41 and that has been my only need to use the other computer.

Honestly, this thing is performing like a champ. I have not noticed any performance issues at all. I can’t recommend this tablet pc more. Having looked and played with the X60 notebook at CES, I can’t wait for the X41 to be refreshed into that model.

What is the only upgrade I would even consider? A faster harddrive. Not necessary, but it would be nice.

Media Center PC question for readers

2006-01-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

If you were buying a media center pc today, which would you buy? I’m currently looking at the HP Z555 on eBay as strongly encouraged by my good friend Dennis Rice.

Being a total newbie to Media Center PC, I’m a bit behind the curve in regards to this technology. I know I could get a tower pc much cheaper, but asthetics is very important to my wife and it must look like a DVD or else it is not going in our cabinet.

Your input would be most appreciated.

My next gadget - the Docupen RC800

2006-01-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m starting to save my money for my latest gadget – the Docupen RC800. It is a pen based scanner that will scan up to 400dpi, a full page at a time. I’ve tried using my camera phone as to take care of portable scanning issues, but the clarity just isn’t there. I still run into a lot of paper situations even though I use a tablet pc, and my goal is to touch the paper one time and store it directly into OneNote for indexing. I love how the device can charge itself using the USB of my tablet. After I get it and use it for a while, I’ll post a review.

Cost: $299. Some more specs:

Pen Size	8.9" X 0.5" X 0.5" -200mm x 20mm x 227mm
Weight	2 oz. (56 grams)
Scan Width	8” (205 mm)
Resolution	100-400 dpi
Memory	8 MB Flash Memory Upgradeable with optional MicroSD memory cards to 128MB, 256MB
Batteries	Lithium Ion: Rechargeable Battery through USB cable
Battery Life	Virtually Perpetually Charged and ample to scan and fill 8 MB Flash memory
Charge Time	50 minutes to full charge
Scan Speed	4-8 seconds per page
Interface	Twain
Connectivity	USB 1.1 and 2.0 through integrated USB connector cable
Scan Mode	24 Bit, 12 Bit Color, Greyscale, Monochrome

What a week...

2006-01-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve been heads down programming for the past week wrapping some some VB projects and web projects. I am soooo exhausted. I got to the point yesterday that I just couldn’t think anymore. That said, I love it when I’m in that groove.

I’m headed off to Redmond next week for the Microsoft Mobile Platforms Division Partner Briefing. Much of the meeting will be NDA, but I’ll pass on whatever I can.

The mobile tablet scape is getting very exciting. 2006 will be a good year.

Travelin' with Tablet Guy! - Dennis Rice's new blog

2006-01-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Dennis Rice, a Microsoft Tablet PC MVP, has started a new blog: Travelin' with Tablet Guy!

If you follow Tablet PC news, this will be a blog that you will want to follow and subscribe to.

An Office 12 UI blog - Jensen Harris

2006-01-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

If you want to follow Office 12 developments, then you need add Jensen Harris’ blog to your reader. As beta testers, we are not really allowed to talk about Office 12 and its features. However, you can follow Jensen’s blog to get just about everything you ever wanted to know about Office 12 and its new UI.

Xplore adds EV-DO to their Tablet PC

2006-01-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

Engadget has spotted the iX104 Xplore Tablet PC with built-in EV-DO at the FCC site.
Built-in EV-DO is such a welcome addition to new Tablet PCs. Look for more OEMs to do the same as the year rolls on. (picture via Engadget)