One
of the big advantages of Tablet PCs is their mobility factor. With
the original devices ranging in size from 10 inch to 12 inch screens,
all Tablet PCs were smaller than most laptops. Some newer units
now go up to 14 inch screens, although most are still 12 inch or
less. Personally, I think the smaller the better.
I would
really like to see a device such as the OQO (http://www.oqo.com)
running Windows XP Tablet PC edition. For me, this would be a killer
device. Sure, the screen is small, but still easily readable at
800x600. Of course I do have to admit I have 20/20 vision with contacts
or glasses, and I always surprise people about how far away I can
read things. So for me, small text is not a problem.
The
smaller you get though, the harder a device is to use on its own
as your only PC. For a small device like the OQO, I think a dock
with an external screen is essential. But, if a setup such as this
was available, it is quite easy to "grab-n-go" with your device,
and have all your up-to-date information at your fingertips. Sure
you can do this with a PDA, but with something like the OQO you
not only have that, you have a full powered computer in your hands.
Like
everything with Tablet PCs, I'm sure this is a personal preference
thing. Some people will want lots of horsepower, and a larger 14
inch screen for development or gaming. Others will want a 10 or
12 inch model for just basic everyday business use (Office apps,
e-mail, etc…). While others like me would just as soon shrink it
into as small a package as possible, to maximize mobility. One thing
is for sure though… size does matter!
Well,
I tried the ink thing for a while... and while I love the idea,
my handwriting is just way to rough to show to you every week. :-)
So I'm going to try text here again for a while, and see how it
goes...
Not
a huge amount going on this week in the world of Tablet PCs. Probably
the biggest event of the week was the release of a new beta build
of Windows XP Service Pack 2. The new build brings the Tablet PC
2004 (Lonestar) update into Service Pack 2 for the first time. So
far quite a few forum members have installed it without difficulty,
and have been posting about it in the software forum. If you are
interested in Lonestar, you might like to check those threads out.
As
an off-topic fact, today is Sunday, February 29th... the 5th Sunday
in February and leap year day! The next time there will be 5 Sundays
in February will be 28 years from now, in the year 2032. By then
I should be running this site from the moon colony, and sending
out weekly newsletters to Mars. :-) Hey... I can dream can't I?
Wireless
TV on a Tablet PC – WAY up on the cool factor scale!
Every
day someone seems to discover something “cool” you can do on a Tablet
PC. Two weeks ago I ran across this
thread by Buzz forum member James
McCall asking a question:
“Are
there any cables with built in converters/video cards that would
enable the TC1100 to be used as a TV?”
Hmmm,
interesting thought. Well, people have been watching TV for a long
time on PC’s, so the ability to do so on a Tablet is not that innovative.
Of course doing it wirelessly would be cool though! Forum member
Wirespy enchanced that thought in the thread with this post:
“I
FOUND THE KOOLEST APP FOR TV on these tablets! I can walk around
my house and wirelessly watch full screen TV on my TC1000 tablet
(any channel, any program) and here's how - I have a TV Tuner in
my home PC and a Wireless Access point that I connect my tablet
to my home network. I saw this product annouched at the CES last
month and WOW! Goto http://www.snapstream.com
and follow the links to create an account and download BEYONDTV
(formerly known as WinPVR). The account sets up your Program Guide
preferences (which will download automatically) - load this 20 day
demo on your PC that has a TV Tuner (supports even a $40 ATI TV
Wonder VE) and check it out. By default, the software creates a
video streaming web service which will allow you to be able to watch
TV on any other PC (i.e. your Tablet) on your network by pointing
to http://pcwithtunerpcaddress:8129 and it allows you to watch Live
TV or Previously recorded shows. The show opens in the browser by
default, but doubleclicking it makes it go full screen and pretty
good resolution too! This software is great too, it's like having
a featured TIVO on your network - PVR, commerial skipping, time
shifting, rich recording features and the ability to compression
to PDA size files...crazy!"
Now
I don’t know about you, but that reaches at least a 9.5 on the TabPCMan
cool scale! So, being the gadget geek that I am, I had to give it
a shot. Sure enough, I downloaded the app, put a TV Tuner card in
one of my desktop PC’s, and went out on the front porch to watch
TV. Then I went in the kitchen (my turn to do dishes that night),
and so on, and so on!
Now
I know you could do this on a notebook PC as well, but it is so
much cooler on a Tablet. Now I can watch TV in the – ahem, “Reading
Room”! :-)
Nice
find Wirespy!
Next
week – Crossword Puzzle Powertoy info / update!
Q:
For you, what is the most valuable Tablet PC accessory?
Microsoft chief software guy (that is the official title ;-)
), Bill Gates, is making a tour of several university campuses
talking to computer science and engineering majors. His first
stop was the University of Illinois where he told the students
-
"Software
is where the action is," Gates told several hundred students.
"The hardware people are doing their job, they are going to
give us the opportunity. But will it be useable? Will it be
secure? ... That is certainly something that the software
industry needs to deliver on." Gates' visit with computer
science and computer engineering students here was the first
stop on a five-campus tour."
Of
course he had to work some recruting in... but not specifically
for Microsoft. More for the software industry as a whole -
"Gates
issued a recruiting call for his industry. He said enrollment
in computer science has been down in recent years and there
aren't as many women and minorities in the field as there
should be. "My view is that the next 10-15 years, computer
science really will be magical," he said. "The impact is really
hard to exaggerate."
He
also makes a prediction for the mobile computing area -
"Research
also is making it easier for computers to respond to handwriting
and speech, rather than entries typed on a keyboard, he said.
"We'll be taking it for granted that every portable PC is
a tablet-type PC in the next two to four years," Gates said."
Personally, I'm not sure it will happen quite that quick,
but I feel certain it will happen. And by doing a little connecting
of the dots, I can really see that there is tremendous potential
in software designed for Tablet PC devices. If I were to pick
an area of computing that will grow the most over the next
5 years, I would have to say it would be this area. Right
now there isn't a whole lot happening, but I expect we will
start to see some amazing stuff coming out for Tablet PCs
over the next year or so.
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