What You Think About Tablet PCs
By Bill Mann

Several months ago, I posted a request for help on an article I was writing about Tablet PCs for TECH Edge magazine. That article "Tablet PC The Ultimate Test" is finally in print. It appears on page 70 of the July issue of TECH Edge magazine, which due to some printing problems, is on news stands now.

The bulk of the story came from 10 TabletPCBuzz members, who told me what they liked and disliked about their Tablet PCs. While I can't reproduce the entire story here, I can tell you the five areas where my contributors gave their Tablet PCs high marks, and five areas where there's room for improvement. The five areas where Tablet PCs scored well are:

• They save time
• They go where notebooks can't
• They unify and organize information
• They break down barriers
• They reduce the need for paper

The five areas where Tablet PCs didn't score well are:

• They have general first-generation technical problems
• They have limited processing power
• They lack integration with existing Windows applications
• They had assorted display issues
• They cost more than notebooks

If you want more details on what the contributors had to say about these issues, please check out the July issue of TECH Edge. If you do get a copy of the magazine, you'll see a picture of my daughter Jenn at the top of page 71, hard at work designing something or other in the Burlington Mall in Massachussetts. And no, I don't know the woman on page 70. That's a publicity shot provided by Acer for use in the story.

That's right... as of today TabletPCBuzz.com is 1 year old. I started this site a year ago with a couple of members and with an excitement over the upcoming launch of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. We had some discussions start to pick up when Acer released their C100 in September/October, but when the Tablet PC officially launched on November 7th things really started to grow. We are now rapidly approaching 4,000 registered members, and are averaging over 5 million hits a month.

Thanks to everyone who visits and especially those who are members, you are really what makes this site what it is. Also special thanks to Justin Stigall, Dennis Rice, Peter Rysavy, and recently Christopher Coulter who all help out with forum moderating and keeping us all up-to-date on the latest Tablet PC news. (Uggh... this is starting to sound like a speech at an awards show.) Thanks to all of you for a great 1st year here, and I look forward to another great one this year! (Link)

This week's poll question:
If you are considering a Tablet PC, but have not yet purchased one, what is your reason for waiting?
Vote now at http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com!

The last couple of weeks there has not been a TabletPCBuzz newsletter sent out. I would like to personally apologize for this, and to let you know that this is not going to be a regular happening. I have been very busy here with end of summer visits and vacations, but am now back in full force. We are resuming newsletters this week, and hopefully there won't be another break for a good long while. Thanks for inviting us to your inbox! ~Spencer

Microsoft has announced the official launch date for the new Office System 2003. The product will be launched and available at retail stores on October 21st. MSDN subscribers and those with volume liscense agreements will be able to get the product slightly earlier, starting in October. Microsoft has also announced the pricing on the 4 editions of Office 2003 that will be released -

- Office Standard Edition: $399
- Office Professional Edition: $499
- Office Small Business Edition: $449
- Office Student and Teacher Edition: $149

More details on what is include in each of the editions is available on Microsoft's web-site. Individual office products will also be sold seperately and those prices are also listed. Of interest to Tablet PC users will be that Microsoft OneNote will cost $99 for registered users of Office 2003, XP, 2000, 97, and many versions of Microsoft Works. For those who are not users of any of those products, the price will be $199. Also, OneNote will not be bundled with any other Office packages. (Link)