Colin Walker over at Random Elements has installed the latest build of Vista on his Acer Tablet PC and reports a number of great new features have been added. The two I am most excited to hear about are an auto-complete function in the TIP and press-and-hold functionality to extend what you can do with the Tablet PC hardware buttons. Check out the complete list.

”...the X41 is the successor to my laptop choice last year, the fabulous x40. IBM added a few tweaks here and there but mostly addressed my single biggest issue, the lack of Tablet functionality. Now that’s been addressed and the x41 is a killer system. It’s the first Tablet PC I’ve used where there is no penalty at all for the Tablet OS feature. It just works as a great notebook and when you need it in Tablet mode (like in that middle seat in coach on the way to CES) it’s just there for you.”

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Join James Kendrick and me as we take our weekly stroll through the Tabletscape.  Buzz Bruggeman of ActiveWords stopped by my house on his cross-country road trip to Seattle and we just had to sit him down for an interview.  Buzz describes the devastation in New Orleans he witnessed as he visited the city on his way across the country and explains it’s impossible to fully understand the problems there until you see them for yourself.  He had some good things to say about his visit to Motion Computing and his impressions of the diminutive LS800.  He broke some news that ActiveWords will work on the soon-to-be-released DualCor cPC that will debut at CES in a few weeks.  Of course we discussed ActiveWords at length along with the InkPad for Tablet users.  Buzz takes us on an audio trip through the benefits of ActiveWords on the Tablet and it is a great show you don’t want to miss.

Buzz generously offers a FREE copy of ActiveWords to anyone listening to this show so listen carefully to see how to claim your free copy.  This is a $50 value and we thank Buzz for his generosity for making this offer to our listeners. The offer is good through 12/31/05.

Special thanks to Tiedye Keith for the great song “Vulnerable” with vocals by Tony Lindsay of Santana.

This weekend we'll be performing some system maintenance here at Weblogs, Inc. and the commenting feature of this blog will be turned off at midnight Eastern time tonight and will remain off Saturday and Sunday. We'll still have posts both days, but unfortunately you won't be able to leave your comments and questions until Monday. Thanks for your patience.

I had the opportunity over the past couple of weeks to try out the Adesso CyberPad, a device that records your handwritten notes and sketches and allows you to import them to your PC. If this sounds Tablet-like, it is. Think of the CyberPad as a distant cousin to the full digital ink experience offered by a Tablet PC.

The CyberPad, physically, resembles a clipboard with a small LCD display  and a row of buttons running down one edge. It uses plain paper, unlike the Logitech IO pen and other handwriting capture systems which require the use of special (and rather expensive) paper that uses a metallic grid printed on the surface to track the pen's position as you write. That's a huge advantage over time.

Adesso has put together a nice package. In addition to the CyberPad clipboard, the system includes a high quality leather (or at least leather-like) zippered portfolio, the special pen (which uses standard ink refills and runs on a single AAA battery - also included), a battery recharger for the included 4 AAA batteries that power the CyberPad, and a nice collection of software including EverNote, RiteMail (which provides the ink to text conversion capability), tools for using ink in Office documents and PowerPoint presentations, and a photo editing and painting application.

Marc's editorial note: Ryan is a new Weblogs, Inc. blogger writing for the growing team at The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog. Occasionally, he's posting to The Tablet PCs Weblog and The Office Weblog as well. I think all my talk about how great the Tablet PC is has inspired him to seriously think abut taking the plunge into pen-based computing. Help the guy out and give him a recommendation.

So, forgive me, but I still don't own a Tablet PC. I think they are an awesome idea, and I would love to get one. I am thinking about getting one soon, but I don't know that much about them. I was wondering if any of our readers have great recommendations for someone who doesn't know that much about Tablet PCs. I want to get a good balance of features and price. I don't need anything top of the line by any means, but I would like some upgradeability, and some low to mid-range specs. Are there certain things to look for; are there certain models or manufacturers to avoid? Any ideas, thoughts and opinions you have would be greatly appreciated. I have read reviews of Tablets, but I trust the people who have actually used Tablets for work and every day life more than any article.

By now you've probably already got yourself a Tablet PC, especially if you're reading the Tablet PCs Weblog. Hey, believe it or not I have a Tablet PC myself ;-). Yet for those of you who haven't made your purchase, I suggest checking out TDavid's blog of the last 356 days using a Tablet PC. Also for us veterans you might find his list of useful programs helpful.

My son plays on a Nintendo DS. He's been a Nintendo fanboy for a long time, having owned every console and handheld they've ever released. Finally, I can respond to his incessant complaints that Joystiq - a blog he loves reading - doesn't gve his handheld platform of choice the props it deserves. Today, Joystiq presents DS Fanboy.

OK Jason? You satisfied now? Great - he's ignoring me again (an all-too-common habit of the 14-year-old gamo-sapien). Oh… he's already reading.

Loren Heiny builds some pretty amazing stuff. SearchTIP is a proof of concept for embedding te Tablet Input Panel (TIP) into a web page. There's a fascinating story about why he built it and why he's ultimately concluded it's probably not needed. It is, however, a great demo of both the Tablet PC OS and Loren's creativity.

SearchTIP requires Internet Explorer and the .NET Framwework.

Join James Kendrick and me as we go traipsing through the Tabletscape.  I just returned from a week-long training session and I explains how I used the Adesso CyberPad on the plane flight and in class.  A new Tablet PC is discovered on a Dutch website with a German distributor and the new slate looks very much like the Sahara.  Hmmm.  Rob Bushway demos 5 different Tablet PCs for a client and their reaction may surprise some listeners.  Mindjet has released another plug-in for MindManager, the Tablet Extensions, that are both very nice for Tablet users.  Microsoft adds two new languages to the Enhancement Pack for the Tablet PC.  We also talk about the newly refreshed OQO Model 01 with the active digitizer in a form that will fit in a pocket.  Enjoy the show and leave us feedback so we know how we're doing.

Special thanks to Tiedye Keith for the great song "Vulnerable" with vocals by Tony Lindsay of Santana.

NOTE:  James doubled the bit rate of the MP3 file so it is twice as big as usual.  Please let us know if you think it sounds better than past shows.  Thanks!

Links to subjects discussed on the show:

• Adesso CyberPad

• AceCad DigiMemo

• Paceblade Technologies' SlimBook

• TabletKiosk's Sahara

• WordLogic

• Rob Bushway- 5 Tablets compared

• Tablet Extensions for MindManager

• Tablet PC2's List for Santa

• Microsoft Enhancement Pack for the Tablet PC

• OQO Model 01

Listen or download on the Podcast blog (37 MB, 53 minutes) or

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TDavid at Make You Go Hmm, Warner Crocker at Life on the Wicked Stage, and Lora Heiny at What Is New all weigh in the pros and cons of buying a newly released Tablet PC model, sticking with an older, proven model (which can pften be had at a substantial discount), and buying new vs. used. Yes, there are a lot of things to consider and a number of options available to aspiring Tableteers today.

Of course, I went ahead and bought the brand new Gateway convertible not too long ago. I plan to use this Tablet PC for at least two years - that's my hope with every PC I acquire. The M200 I had been using lasted about 18 months so I missed the mark on that unit before gadget lust kicked in but I could have easily done a RAM and hard drive upgrade and remained quite satisfied with the Toshiba. I have zero regrets about switching to the Gateway but I understand Warner's point about waiting until Vista's release gets closer to see what the next generation of Tablet PCs will bring to the table.

Based on everything I've learned, I think Vista will run just fine on the Gateway. I left a RAM slot free for a second GB of RAM when Vista is available. The video on the Gateway may be marginal for the full-blown Glass experience but, based on what I've been enjoying with WindowBlinds 5, I suspect I'll have options to enhance what Vista can do if the eye candy I get from the next-gen OS isn't sufficient.

If you're considering a new Tablet PC, all three of these posts will give you something to think about.

Agilix has released a new public beta of GoBinder 2006. This release allows you to import your binder data from GoBinder 2005 - a feature I've been anxiously waiting for. If you're a Tablet-toting student or are looking for an outstanding information manager that is focused on ink, this is a tool you should be evaluating. I'm on the road this week with limited connectivity but plan to download the new build and import my old GoBinder database into this new version as soon as I can.

GoBinder provides an excellent environment for "printing" all of your important information from other documents into a single environment that also synchronizes well with your Outlook information. The ink support in GoBinder 2006 is based on their new InfiNotes engine and provides a great experience.

Hat tip to Tracy Hooten at the Student Tablet PC blog.

From the folks who bring you joystiq comes our latest blog for fans of World of Warcraft, WoWinsider.com brings you the latest news and information about this popular game. Check it out by visiting their website!

James Kendrick and I begin this week's podcast by acknowledging some great Tablet PC related blogs and introduce a couple of new ones that have recently started up.  I provide a Gateway update and mention a thread on Tablet PC Buzz about problems with Gateway support that are quite different from those I have experienced.  Craig Pringle catches HP with their hybrids down and I talk about the Adesso CyberPad I'm evaluating.  We challenge Motion and TabletKiosk to develop a hybrid version of their slates to replace the now defunct HP tc1100.  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.

Links of interest from the show:

• LIfe on the Wicked Stage Act 2

• The 1st Annual Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards

• The Student Tablet PC blog

• The secret life of an MS Author

• Pimp my Tablet

• PDF Annotator

• Craig Pringle takes on HP

• Gateway support thread on The Buzz

• Piel Frama tc1100 portfolio

• Tablet Kiosk

• Motion Computing

• Adesso CyberPad

• AceCad DigiMemo

• OQO Model 01

Head over to the podcast web site to listen or download or

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Warner Crocker is celebrating his one year blog-iversary writing Life on the Wicked Stage and has put together a fantastic list of recipients for his first annual Ink Blot Awards. I'm honored to be included as "Tablet PC Podcast Guy #2" along with my partner James Kendrick (I abdicated my initial TPCPG #1 designation to James since the show was really his idea and he continues to do the heavy lifting of production and hosting). What's even better is my award for being the "Best Tablet PC Batman Fan". That's an honor I'll treasure always.

BTW, I named my new Gateway convertible "Tumbler" on my company's domain. If you're into bats, you'll get it.

Thanks Warner. Congrats on your first year of blogging and thanks for all you contribute to the Tablet PC community!