Jason posted this over at TUMW. Microsoft Research
in Beijing have developed software that can process handwritten text (in English only, at this point), and clean it up,
making it neater and easier to read.
It's still a research project and not yet available as a consumer application. This research could have some pretty
exciting potential for the Tablet PC platform. I know it would certainly help me read some of the hastily scrawled
e-mail messages, OneNote pages, and Messenger Live notes I get from my Tablet PC-toting buddies.
Microsoft Research solving bad writing?
ArtRage 2 coming "real soon now"
If you've installed the Tablet PC Experience Pack, you have
probably discovered the great Ink Art program that's included. It's one of my favorite applications to demo the
capabilities of a Tablet PC. The developers of Ink Art, Ambient Design Ltd.,just announced that Art Rage 2 (the
program's non-Experience Pack name) will soon be released with an enticing set of new features and enhancements
including:- Faster & More Accurate
- Improved Graphics Tablet Support
- Tool Controls
- Canvas Control
- Custom Papers
- Custom Color Pickers
- Native Photoshop file format (PSD) Support
- Tracing Image Control
- Online Updates
- Windows and Mac OS X versions
Maybe the coolest mouse idea yet
Check out the Mogo Mouse. Introduced this week at CES, fits into the PC Card
slot on your Tablet PC (or plain vanilla notebook) where it charges. Eject it from the slot and it pops open to give
you an anywhere, anytime mouse. If you prefer using a mouse to a trackpad or pointing stick, this might be just the
ticket. No word yet on pricing or availability.Via digg
Oh... to be in Vegas
Now I am soooo sorry I couldn't figure out how to get to Las Vegas. Rob Bushway posts a sampling of those who attended the Tablet
PC meetup at the Aladdin during CES. I'll be sure to quiz James about how much fun he had (and I missed) hanging with
this bunch in our next podcast. It's a veritable who's who:
- Kevin White of Agilix
- Fritz Switzer ( Ablet Factory)
- Betsy Weber from TechSmith (SnagIt)
- Trevor Claiborne
- Chris Pirillo
- Robert Scoble
- Ken Collura
- All of the Heinys (Lora, Loren, Layne (his daughters), Bob and his wife
- Dennis Rice
- Arjay
- Steve Beller
- James Kendrick
- Chris DeHerra
- Linda Epstein
- Buzz Bruggerman
- Renee Roberts
- Rick Segal
- Sierra
- and many others…
Gateway shows off dual core notebooks - no word on Tablets (yet)
Engadget reports that Gateway has announced two dual-core notebooks at CES today: the business-oriented M685-E and NX860. Both will be powered by Intel's Centrino Duo processors, and will include 17-inch displays, nVidia GeForce Go graphics controllers, and will weigh roughly 7.7 pounds. Both models are due out later this month. Gateway will also roll out a series of consumer dual-core laptops later this quarter, including the NX560, which will feature a 15.4-inch widescreen display. No word on dual core convertibles (Gateway code for Tablet PCs) yet.
Lots of Tablet PC news comng out of CES
There's a veritable army of Tablet PC bloggers attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week
and the news has been coming out fast and furious. Here are a few highlights if, like me, you've been momentarily
distracted by other stuff.- OQO announced a new configuration of their tiny handheld PC that runs the
Tablet PC OS. James Kendrick is all
over this story, of course.
- Toshiba will be releasing a new Tablet PC - the M400 - as a refresh to the somewhat long-in-the-tooth M200 model. While it has much goodness to get excited about including Dual Core processor, choice of display resolution (1400 x 1050 or 1024 x 768), a removable CD / DVD (the bay supports an extra hard drive, not a battery), and support for a thin extended battery on the bottom of the Tablet there's some bad news as well. Toshiba has somehow decided that on the eve of the most demanding OS yet from Microsoft yet, that they will switch from the Nvidia dedicated graphics card offered in the current M200 to the Intel GM945 integrated chipset. They claim it's due to the inclusion of the optical drive. Sounds like some penny-wise thinking to me and, like Rob Bushway who's been all over this news, I think it will come back to bite them. Rob has some great side-by-side shots of the M400 alongside his Thinkpad X41 Tablet.
- A prototype of a new Motion 12" slate that is both penabled and touch screen (requires Vista) - also reported by Rob.
- James also has the scoop on the DualCor cPC dvice that is both a Tablet PC and a Windows Mobile device in a very sweet, very small package.
- The Acer C200 (the Tablet PC with the funky sliding screen) seems to be pretty popular.
- No news yet from the Tablet PC meetup at the Aladdin orchestrated by Lora Heiny but I'm sure much fun was had by all who made it.
OQO now with the Tablet PC OS
Engadget has the scoop on OQO's
announcement today at CES that the handheld PC is now available with the Tablet PC OS. James has the full details on his blog and will
undoubtedly be negotiating for a review unit if I know my podcasting partner ;^)Specs are otherwise identical to the current OQO model: 1Ghz Transmeta processor, 30GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, a 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel display (now with rotation), a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, WiFi, USB 2.0, and FireWire.
Tablet PC MVPs... the envelope please
This years Tablet PC MVP awards were announced today. I'm honored to have been selected - the recognition is
really appreciated. What's really cool is that the "freshman class" I'm part of also includes Tracy Hooten, Craig
Pringle, and my Outlook hero - Josh Einstein, the TEO man! What great
company to find myself in!
OnTheRun with Tablet PCs #9
Listen here (17.4
MB, 50 minutes) or
Subscribe to the show with this link (RSS)
James Kendrick and I take a fresh look at recent events in the Tabletscape on this week's show. Happy New Year to all our listeners! James elaborates on the free QuickLook utility from HP for tc1100 owners and I explain the WMF security exploit and why we should all be very nervous about it. Mini-Tablet PCs like the Motion LS800 and Fujitsu P1510D will soon be able to use EVDO and EDGE high speed cards when the USB Adapter for Cardbus Wireless cards is released in February. Video podcasts get a mention- maybe there will some day be a video edition of this show? And don't forget Rob Bushway's blog is now called CutMeLoose. James is heading for the CES and will be bringing back all the Tablet news he can carry.
The Tablet PC Show on TPN that James and I originated has started up again with host Perry Reed. It's great to have another source of Tablet PC information so check it out.
Enjoy the show and let us know what you think.
Special thanks to Tiedye Keith for the great song "Vulnerable" with vocals by Tony Lindsay of Santana.
Thurrott shows Vista Tablet PC features
Paul Thurrott has been doing yeoman's duty on his SuperSite for Windows documenting the forthcoming releases of Windws Vista and Office 12. He has just posted an extensive set of screenshots that show how the Tablet PC features of Vista are shaping up in the recently released December CTP (build 5270). Some of this has shown up before in one place or another but never such a comprehensive set of images in one place.
JK offers a video review of the OQO handheld PC
James continues to push the envelope on his *casting adventures with a video review of the OQO
handheld PC. This may be your first chance to see the face of the man behind the cartoon folks.Solving the dual screen problem - Toshiba style
Michael Sampson offers a solution to
acronym master Eric
Mack on how to get a dual display setup
working properly with the Toshiba Tecra M4. The answer is simple - spend a bit of money and invest in Toshiba's
Milti-Dock II, an expensive "bit of kit" that allows the Tablet PC to works as a display or a Tablet using
its flexible tether cable. The displays remain independent and you can use the Tablet in landscape-rotated mode while
you desktop display remains in a usable state.When I was using the M200, I opted for the less expensive port replicator dock but having seen this demo, I might have spent the extra dollars to get the Multi-Dock.
Gateway offers covertibles as freebie for large purchases
Joe Wilcox of Jupiter Research writes at Microsoft Monitor about a network admin friend who
picked up two free Gateway CX200 convertibles as premiums for buying 10 systems from the company (one free for every 5
systems purchased). I'm not sure if this is a widely available promotion, but it's another example of how Gateway is
pushing the envelope to promote their new entry in the Tablet PC space.Joe goes on to extol many of the Gateway's virtues and hits many of the high points that led me to choose the small business version of this Tablet (the S7200c). Great display (widescreen 14" with WXGA resolution), DVD burner, and a great price.
Joe repeats a suggestion he's made in the past - Tablet PCs should come with a pen-oriented task center to give new (and experienced) users immediate access to the ink-enabled applications on their systems. It can be a bit of a chore to figure out many of the cool things you can accomplish with a Tablet PC if you're a novice user. Rather than turning the Tablet experience into a scavenger hunt, why not put it right out in front of the user?
It's a family (Tablet PC) affair
Rob Bushway (who recently rechristened his blog
CutMeLoose.com) relates how three
generations in his family share a preference for the Tablet PC. From his mom and dad to his daughter and son,
everyone gathered in the Bushway home this holiday season is inking away. Gotta love it...We're back...
Hey... we're back. Sorry for the quietude - there's been some major magic going on behind the scenes here at Weblogs,
Inc. these past few days. Regular blogging will resume this afternoon. Comments are back on.
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