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TabletPCBuzz.com
Newsletter Archive
TabletPCBuzz Newsletter
TabletPCBuzz.com
Weekly Newsletter
For
the week of April 6th, 2003
Welcome to
the new TabletPCBuzz e-mail newsletter. I would like to thank Spencer
for bringing me onboard to work on this, and hope that you'll find the
newsletter interesting, useful, and maybe even fun.
For the first
article in this first issue, I want to address all you TabletPCBuzz members
who are still trying to decide if you should buy a Tablet PC. We all know
that these are cool machines, but they're not right for everyone. Here's
my take on who could benefit from owning a Tablet PC. Hopefully it'll
help you decide whether they're right for you.
As anyone
who subscribes to this newsletter is well aware, the Tablet PCs are finally
here. We've been hearing about them for years-small, light (some weigh
less than 3 pounds) computers that you can write on as if they were a
pad of paper or a personal digital assistant. These tiny powerhouses run
a version of Windows XP, so you can use them like high-end notebook computers
and run all your favorite applications. But you can also use them like
virtually endless digital notebooks or sketchbooks, entering information
with a special pen in environments where a desktop or notebook computer
just won't cut it. You can even talk to them.
Since their
launch in November 2002, Tablet PC sales have exceeded even the most optimistic
predictions. Clearly the portability, usability, and sheer coolness of
Tablet PCs are striking a chord with users. They've been particularly
well received by doctors, lawyers, real estate professionals and artists.
The question is, "Should your next PC be a Tablet PC?" The answer to that
question depends on how you work.
Do you spend
a lot of time taking notes in meetings? These days, most people frown
on anyone using a laptop computer during a meeting, and many organizations
have outright banned them from meeting rooms. But taking notes on a Tablet
PC is like taking notes with pencil and paper. There's no annoying click,
click, click of a keyboard, and no screen standing upright between its
user and everyone else. Using a Tablet PC in meetings causes no such disruptions
(once everyone stops gawking at it).
Do you take
lots of handwritten notes, only to find that you have problems locating
the right piece of information when you need it? With a Tablet PC, you
don't have to worry about losing your notes, as they're all safe and sound
in the computer. Even better, while you write the Tablet PC recognizes
your handwriting and creates an index of key words in your notes. This
allows the computer to search your handwritten notes for you. While handwriting
recognition on the Tablet PC is by no means perfect, it does work reasonably
well and greatly improves your chances of finding the information you
need.
Do you need
to use your computer in places where it's not practical to sit down and
type? You can use a Tablet PC just like you would a pencil and paper,
holding the computer in one hand while writing on the screen with the
pen. It's a natural and practical way to work that lets you work on the
move and beats the heck out of trying to type while balancing your computer
in your lap.
If you're
an information worker that doesn't spend the day sitting in one place,
or a "corridor warrior" who spends your time going from meeting to meeting,
perhaps your next PC should be a Tablet PC.
Want
to know how to do everything with your Tablet PC? Here's the book
that shows you how.
Note
from Spencer
Welcome to
the first issue of our new TabletPCBuzz newsletter! Each week at this
time we will be bringing you the latest in Tablet PC news, tips, and information.
I hope that this content will be interesting and useful to you. If you
have any suggestions for this newsletter, the web-site, article ideas,
tip ideas, questions for "Ask the Buzz", or just have a general
comment, feel free to send me an e-mail at: spg@tabletpcbuzz.com.
Thanks for inviting us into your inbox!
How
Do You Use Your Tablet PC?
This is a
new feature we'll be starting shortly. In it, we'll examine how one of
the TabletPCBuzz newsletter subscribers uses their Tablet PC. We're looking
for interesting and unusual uses of course, but considering that this
whole Tablet PC thing is new, most any way you use your machine will be
interesting and unusual for the rest of us.
Consider
this an official call for volunteers. If you're willing to tell the world
(or at least the other readers of this newsletter) about how you use your
Tablet PC, just email Bill at bill@techforyou.com. Give me a sentence
or two on how you use your Tablet PC and we'll get this started.
"Ask
the Buzz"
Here
is the Question for this week's Ask the Buzz:
RepoMan:"What's the best way to clean your tablet's screen? Damp cloth? Camera
lens tissues? Windex? It's worse for tablets because the screen's always
getting touched...."
TabletPCBuzz:
The best way to clean your Tablet PC's screen is with LCD anti-static
wipes, unless some other method is approved by the manufacturer. You can
find these wipes at office supply and technology stores such as Best Buy,
CompUSA, Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples.
For the
Compaq TC1000 only: The screen on the TC1000 is glass, therefore a
rag moistened with your normal household glass (Windex, etc..) cleaner
will also work. This method is listed in the TC1000 owners manual. NOTE:
Be careful not to get any liquid on your keyboard, or in other ports and
slots.
For Acer
Tablet PCs: Acer Tablet PCs ship with a small cloth designed for cleaning
the screen. This method will usually work best for Acer units, although
LCD anti-static wipes will work as well.
"Special
for New England TabletPCBuzzers"
I (Bill)
am going to be co-hosting The Computer Report Radio Show on Sunday, April
13 from 12 to 2. We'll be talking about Tablet PCs and giving away some
copies of my book for part of the show, and generally chatting about computers
the rest of the time. If you live in the Greater Boston area or Southern
New Hampshire and would like to join in, tune your radio to WGAW, AM 1340
in Gardner, MA, or to WOTW, AM 900 in Nashua, NH. And if you do call with
a question or comment, go easy on me!
Tip
of the Week
If you regularly
work in certain locations, and make dial-up connections to your ISP from
those location, you can simplify your life by defining dialing rules for
them. Tap Start | Control Panel | Printers and Other Hardware | Phone
and Modem Options | Dialing Rules to open the Phone and Modem Options
dialog box. On the Dialing Rules tabbed page, define a Location for each
place where you regularly use your dial-up modem. When you're ready to
dial in from one of your defined locations, just select it in the Phone
and Modem Options dialog box and you're ready to make a connection.
Tablet
PC Buzz Poll
Q:
How much, if any, do you think market prices will change when second generation
Tablet PC devices come out?
A:
Increase
of $3000 +:
0%
Increase
of $2000 - $3000:
1%
Increase
of $1000 - $2000:
54%
No
change, or within $1000 dollars:
32%
Decrease
of $1000 - $2000:
8%
Decrease
of $2000 - $3000:
4%
Decrease
of $3000 +:
0%
Total
Votes: 459
This
week's poll question:
Which Tablet PC input method do you use the most? Vote now at http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com!
Top
News Story of the Week
New
Research Machines Centrino powered slate Tablet PC
By Spencer Goad
RM (Research
Machines) claims to have the first commercially available Centrino powered
Tablet PC. This is brand new information here, apparently published on
RM's site yesterday. RM is of course the UK company who builds their Tablet
PCs for educational use. The design of their new Centrino powered Tablet
PC is almost identical to their older P3 model. It is priced at £999
pounds, which translates to around $1,563 US dollars, and is available
for order on RM's website right now.
Some of the
specs of the new unit include - 900Mhz Pentium M processor, Integrated
802.11b, Modem and Ethernet (The Centrino chipset). The unit also includes
a 20Gb hard drive, 256Mb RAM (upgradeable to 768), and has 2 USB 2.0 ports
(upgraded from 1.1 on older models). Other specs are pretty much identical
to the older models - 10.4 inch screen with digitizer, CompactFlash slot,
PC Card slot, Firewire port, Fingerprint ID sensor, and a VGA port.
RM claims
around 1 hour increased battery life because of the Centrino technology
- "Our new Centrino version of the RM Teacher Tablet PC extends the standard
battery life from up to 3 hours normal use to up to 4 hours. Using the
extended life battery the life increases from up to 5.5 to up to 7 hours
normal use; a full working day from one charge." Also available are upgrades
to the built-in wireless, allowing for 802.11g and 802.11a. More information
is available on RM's website; click
here for a direct link.
Hopefully
this will encourage other Tablet PC OEMs to get their devices out on the
market a bit more quickly. Looks like the second generation Tablet PC
devices are just around the corner!