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.
Want
to know how to do everything with your Tablet PC? Here's the book
that shows you how.
Happy
Birthday to.... TabletPCBuzz!
Dated August 21st,
2003 By Spencer Goad
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)
Tablet
PC Buzz Poll
Q:
What would it take for you to upgrade from a first generation Tablet PC
to a newer model?
A:
Processors
over 1.6Ghz:
3%
Processors
over 2.0Ghz:
3%
Battery
life over 6 hours:
7%
Battery
life over 8hours:
9%
Both
faster processor, and longer battery life:
38%
Other:
40%
Total
Votes: 477
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!
Lack
of newsletters...
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)
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in its content.