March 2005 - Posts
What can you do with a high resolution screen?
If you have thought about a machine with a 1400 x 1050 resolution, you might have wondered how you might use it. After all, that is a lot of pixels on a 12.1 inch screen.
Link: Full Story
The two most common screen resolutions for Tablet PCs are
There have been new models released by Toshiba and HP lately. There was a great deal of anticipation that there would be improvements in the high resolution screen technology. This appears to have been wishful thinking as both manufacturers have come to market with larger screens but with the lower (but seemingly standard) 1024 x 768 resolution.
Rather than compare the technical aspects of the screens, I thought it might be useful to discuss what it is like to live with and use them.
Link: Tablet PCs and High Resolution Screens Part 1
After the second week of ownership with the Toshiba M200 I was ready to talk about it and draw some comparisons to the HP TC1100. I wrote this about a year ago, but I think that the observations have stood the test of time.
It seems that if you own either of these machines, you are probably a fan. If you have neither, I hope you like this, the second in the series.
Link: Toshiba M200 Review Part 2 with comparisons to the HP TC1100
Related Link: Toshiba M200 Review Part 1
Also: Rob Bushway has published his Interview with HP's Ben Thacker.
There has been lots of speculation about whether or not we will see a replacement for the Toshiba M200. For the present, it looks like we may be waiting for awhile but while there is some uncertainty about this, there are some great deals to be had on these fine machines. Here's a few comments I had about the M200 after the first week of ownership.
Link: Toshiba M200 Review (Part I)
...
Take my Tablet PC ... Please!- With apologies to
Henny Youngman Much to my surprise, a well known personality in the Tablet PC space wrote to me asking my opinion of the HP TC1100. I know that he is familiar with
The Tablet Rationalizer tool, and my first inclination was to suggest he use it.
Reading his note again; he did not ask which Tablet PC to buy, but rather:
"Do you like TC1100? Would you recommend it to others?".
Link: Take my Tablet PC ... Please!
Looks like I'm in for my 15 minutes of fame
I'm just downloading it now, but it seems that my humble little blog has drawn the attention of James Kendrick and Marc Orchant in their latest podcast.
http://www.thepodcastnetwork.com/tabletpc/
In a hurry? Here's a link to the tool they mention.
Link: Tablet PC Rationalizer
Here's an idea and a challenge for you.
If you share concepts in a live environment I have a little challenge for you. I'll share a diagram that I use to express some fundamental concepts for people who have little intrinsic motivation to understand them.
There's a fine balance between making something look simple and accessible without trivalizing it.
Get it right and it's well ...
- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke, "Profiles of The Future", 1961 (Clarke's third law)
English physicist & science fiction author (1917 - )
Link: Teaching - Mixing Metaphors
I think the Tablet PC platform is a winner because ...
It is for me the most transparent computing technology in my computing cluttered life.
It allows me to::
- To do real work without having to focus on the technology.
- When I do this in the presence of others (after the initial oooh ahhh phase), the technology does not intrude on interactions with the other people. Instead, it usually enhances it.
When I lecture walking around with my Tablet PC, what I do on my screen, including inking shows up on a projector or participants machines, in real time. This elicits a certain amount of wonder at first, but becomes normal very quickly.
Read the rest
Link: Tablet PC - Transparent Computing
The answer to this and other life's mysteries awaits.
Link: Have you lost it?
There are lots of new models of Tablet PCs lately.
I doubt that there has been a time when there were so many available.
I just finished a posting in a forum to someone who was trying to decide between the Toshiba M200 and the new R15. After 45 minutes of typing (I'm slow) I remembered a tool that I put together to help people work through the choices. Let me share it with you.
Link: The Tablet PC Rationalizer
-- click
For Fritz who wanted something in ink
I knew that one day my idiosyncrasies would mature into eccentricities. My penchant for pens and particularly fountain pens seemed a waif in the sea of technologies in which I was adrift. My direction set, I could not comprehend my desire for a visceral interface to the offset the sterility of the binary device.
Join me as I explore Uncapping the Pen
Pick up the pen to share an idea. That's fine if the idea is best expressed in words I guess. Pick up a pencil to sketch out a concept or a plan or a sequence of related events. Oh, I see...
When I pondered the Tablet PC, I wondered, “Do I need to be an Artist to take advantage of the pen?”
I am using the Tablet PC and some software tools daily to share ideas.
See: Graphics Software -Expressing yourself visually
Edit - a couple of hours later -
I've added some example images in the article
Do you think that it benefits anyone when writers consume bandwidth speculating about things that they cannot support with references?
See my mini rant: Rumours and Lies
After years of working in the context of others while using whatever nascent technology I had dragged along, it is a huge relief not to have to say:
“You are not going to touch my screen ... are you.”
(not a question)
These days it is:
“Here take my pen.”
Here are some ideas I put together to help you in those moments
see: How do you demonstrate your Tablet PC
Dr. Christopher James has a statement from HP UK cited in his blog.
"I can assure you that you are indeed correct, the rumors are not true. We certainly are having some component supply issues on the TC1100 mainly down to the shortage of faster 1.1 or 1.2GHz ULV processors, and making matters worse we also have display shortages on the Celeron model. TIP: If anyone wants a brand new tc1100 in a hurry ..." Read the rest in
Christopher's Blog (see the 13-03-05 entry)
Dr. Christopher James - fellow MVP - has just reviewed the HP TC4200 !
Where to start ... ? As a committed slate user I was not expecting to be too impressed with the TC4200, I assumed it would be big, bulky and heavy ... I was very wrong. The TPC looks like quite a nice and sturdy sub-notebook computer. It feels well made and quite 'solid' but it is not heavy and it is not big at all, in fact even with its 12" screen it is barely bigger than the TC1000 and TC1100 (with keyboard attached).
Read the full review HP fan or just curious about the TC1000 or TC1100, be sure to see the whole site
http://www.tc-one-thousand.com/
This is my new blog transplanted from a couple of other systems I've been trying. Glad you joined me here.
Over the next few hours, I'll be getting most of the material over here.
Why move here?
- It seems to look okay on a Tablet PC in slate/portrait mode.
- It's done in .NET - and I like that - more thoughts on this topic another day.
- There is a structure for non-time sensitive postings - Articles.
- At least in my current thinking, I am planning to devote more time to thoughts about Tablet PCs rather than news stories and the Articles structure supports this.
- Of course, there is the relatively standard blog structure as well.