Tablet PC Buzz
Site Tools

Join Our Newsletter
Email:
Compare Prices on 1000's of products. Save money on your online shopping today!



Add Tablet PC Buzz headlines to your desktop. Stay up-to-date on the latest Tablet PC news and information.
Add Tablet PC headlines to your desktop.
TabletPCBuzz.com
Newsletter Archive

Untitled Document
TabletPCBuzz.com Weekly Newsletter
For the week of September 14th, 2003

Journal as an Editing Tool
By Bill Mann

Journal is a great tool for taking freeform notes. With its ability to import documents from many other applications, it also comes in really handy for those of us in the publishing industry. In recent months, that has been my primary use of Journal. Let me tell you about it.

When writing books or other documents for publication, you often find yourself redlining. No, not redlining as in working as fast as you possibly can in order to meet a deadline (Although that certainly happens in the publishing industry!). I'm talking about redlining as in marking changes and corrections (usually with a red pen) on a printed copy of a document. Before a book goes to print, the publisher generates "page proofs," images of the pages as they will appear in the printed book. The author usually gets a chance to review the page proofs and indicates any last-minute corrections by redlining a copy of them. The Tablet PC with Journal has really transformed this process for me.

Here's how it used to work for me:

1. One of the editors e-mails me a PDF of the page proofs for a chapter.
2. I print the PDF.
3. I review the proofs and redline the printed pages as necessary.
4. I FedEx the redlined proofs back to the publisher.
5. The editors review my changes, perhaps passing the printed sheets around or making photocopies of them as needed.
6. They make the changes and print the book.

It was a slow and cumbersome process, wasting money and resources (paper and toner) generating and transporting physical copies of the pages. Thanks to Journal (and the flexibility of the editors at Osborne/McGraw-Hill), here's how I handle page proofs now:

1. One of the editors e-mails me a PDF of the page proofs for a chapter.
2. From within Journal, I tap Import then select the PDF file. Journal momentarily opens Acrobat Reader and directs it to print an image of the page proofs as a Journal note, which appears within seconds.
3. I review the proofs and redline the pages on the screen.
4. I export the marked-up proofs as a TIF file and e-mail the file to the publisher. Windows knows how to display TIF files, so there's no need for fancy conversion software or file viewers.
5. The editors review my changes, perhaps distributing the TIF file to whoever needs to see it.
6. They make the changes and print the book.

This process is much faster and cleaner than the previous. I don't have to waste time and money printing hard copies of the page proofs. The publisher doesn't need to waste money paying to FedEx pieces of paper around the country. We all save time doing everything by e-mail. FedExing papers around is fast, but Journal combined with e-mail is faster.

NOTE: For some file types (Excel, PowerPoint, and graphics files for example) Journal will prompt you to manually open the application and print a copy of the file using the Journal Note Writer virtual printer to create a note that you can then redline in Journal.


Newsletter Sponsor

Introducing the Versa LitePad Tablet PC from NEC. This Tablet PC is a mere .6 inches thin and nearly a pound less than the nearest competitor. With added versatility, work standing up, sitting down, or just about anywhere. The Versa LitePad is equipped with pen-and-ink simplicity of Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, integrated wireless connectivity, and a sophisticated suite of productivity tools. For more information, go to: http://www.necsam.com/VLP25


Tablet PC Buzz Poll
Q: Which type of Tablet PC do you prefer?
A:
Slate:
32%
Convertible:
39%
Hybrid:
29%
Total Votes: 392

This week's poll question:
Do you carry a PDA along with your Tablet PC?
Vote now at http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com!


Top News Story of the Week
ActiveWords for the Tablet PC, Beta 3
By Spencer Goad

Some of you may have already heard of ActiveWords, but for those who haven't here is a short description.

"ActiveWords is patented technology that adds a simple and powerful attribute to your user interface, it turns words into actions. You enter or select any words in any context at any time, and are directly connected with services related to the meaning of those words."

So basically you can type a word (or an abbreviation) anywhere on your computer and by triggering that "ActiveWord" you can perform lots of different actions (open websites, programs, send e-mail, just about anything). This was great for computers with keyboards, and I was really impressed with ActiveWords in that regard. Well now the folks over at ActiveWords are bringing that same functionality to the Tablet PC. Using an ActiveWords "InkPad" you can enter your ActiveWords using the pen instead of having to use a keyboard. Right now this is still in beta, but they want Tablet PC users to try it out and see what they think. I've been using it for almost a couple weeks now, and it seems pretty nice. To download the beta, or for more information about it, click the read more link below.

Note: You must have ActiveWords PLUS! or ActiveWords ENTERPRISE version 1.9 or higher installed for the InkPad beta to work. The trial version of either of those will also work.

URL: http://www.activewords.com/awinkpadbeta.html


Weekly Tablet PC News Headlines
Sep 12 2003 - Ink AniEd updated to version 1.1
Sep 11 2003 - Looking for news team members!
Sep 11 2003 - ActiveWords for the Tablet PC, Beta 3
Sep 11 2003 - PR: eDirectGlass Introduces Industry First Mobile Edition
Sep 10 2003 - A BenQ Tablet on the horizon?
Sep 10 2003 - Pen&Internet; and Clevo team up to offer new, affordable 'pen laptop' tablet computer
Sep 10 2003 - Barnes & Noble Shelves E-Books
Sep 10 2003 - Natural Input Solutions
Sep 10 2003 - Jack Morton Worldwide Helps Microsoft Launch Tablet PC Demo Program

If you wish to unsubscribe, visit TabletPCBuzz.com and use the newsletter signup box on the left side of the page.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might be interested in its content.

This newsletter, its content, and design are
Copyright ©2003 Spencer Goad and TabletPCBuzz.com
All Rights Reserved

 


Newsletter Archive Home

Back to the home page Go To Top Of Page