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TabletPCBuzz.com Weekly Newsletter
For the week of May 4th, 2003

For this week's article, we have Part 2 of my two-part tale on mind mapping. This time around, I'm talking about how mind mapping relates to the Tablet PC, and telling you a little about an excellent new mind mapping application available specifically for Tablet PCs.

Mind Mapping and Tablet PC Users, Part 2
By Bill Mann

In Part 1 of this article, I told you how mind mapping is a great tool for anyone who needs to organize information and take notes. Organizing information and taking notes are certainly two of the primary activities of Tablet PC users, which says that mind mapping should be a natural for the people reading this article. You can to mind mapping on a Tablet PC straight out of the box. Just open Windows Paint and start drawing your map as if you were doing it on a piece of paper. You can create your mind that this way, including the benefits like the ability to erase branches in moved into new locations without running a hole through the screen. And of course being able to store virtually infinite numbers of mind maps on your Tablet PC should be carrying around stacks of yellowing paper.

Even so, this isn't a very elegant or satisfying way to use a $1500 piece of equipment. What you really need is a tool that can take advantage of all the processing power inside your machine to make mind mapping on your Tablet PC better and more efficient than doing it on paper.

If you have followed the Tablet PC news this week, you've probably figured out that the mind mapping tool I want to tell you about is the newly released product, MindManager for the Tablet PC (MMTPC). MindManager is an excellent computer mind mapping tool that I've been using for years now. MindJet, LLC, the publisher, has come out with MindManager versions for the PC, Palm OS devices, and Pocket PCs. While all those versions of MindManager work well and take full advantage of the platforms they run on, with MMTPC the product family has moved to a new level.

With MMTPC, you work much the same way you would if you're creating your map on paper. When you started new map, MMTPC starts with a place for you to enter the central theme of the map, sitting by itself the center of the map pane. As with previous versions of MindManager, you can use the keyboard 28 the central theme, add new branches, show relationships between branches, color code and prioritize branches, even create links to web pages, documents residing on the PC, or other mind maps. You can attach additional information to branches, expanded collapse them dynamically, and exchange information with Microsoft Office applications. If you can think of something you would want to do the mind map, MindManager can probably do it. But what makes the Tablet PC is its pen interface. Having to enter information with a keyboard just isn't the Tablet PC way. So switch MMTPC into pen mode.

Watching MindManager switch to pen mode is sort of like watching Clark Kent turn into Superman. It's still the same app, but the icons become bigger and the look bolder. These changes optimize MindManager for pen input by literally giving you bigger targets to hit. In pen mode, you can handwrite the theme and topics. If you can take notes using only the topic and branch structure of a mind map (you must still type any additional notes attached to a branch) you can get all the advantages of MindManager plus the convenience of entering information with the Tablet PC pen.

Taking notes on the screen with a digital pen is more natural than typing notes on a traditional notebook computer or PC. If the only thing MMTPC did was allow you to handwrite the short phrases or words that represent topics in a mind map, it would be useful. But MMTPC's collection of pen gestures really turn this into a full-featured Tablet PC application. MindJet has created 18 custom gestures for MMTPC. These range from "Insert Branch" and "Edit Branch" gestures to standard copyediting gestures to "Zoom In" and "Zoom Out." With these gestures, working on mind maps in MMTPC can be a "pen only" affair.

Another cool thing about Tablet PCs is that thanks to the pen, it's easy to sketch on the screen. MMTPC lets you create sketches while you're working on your mind maps, and incorporate the sketches into the map.

MindManager for the Tablet PC is definitely an application that any Tablet PC user should investigate. I use it almost every day, both for taking notes and for designing the books that I write. Microsoft Tablet PC division VP Bill Mitchell was right when he said, "The additional pen and ink capabilities developed using the Tablet PC platform provide users with a rich set of tools to enable more natural, free-form thought flow."

You can download a 21-day trial version of MindManager for the Tablet PC at the MindJet web site (www.mindjet.com).

Mind mapping may be the "killer app" for the Tablet PC. If so, you now have no excuse for holding off on buying a Tablet PC. And if you buy the machine, you should buy the book: How to Do Everything with Your Tablet PC.

How Do You Use Your Tablet PC?

Mike is a cartoonist. In fact, he's the cartoonist who does the comic strips at the Penny Arcade website.

Note: Despite the name, the Penny Arcade website isn't a place for young children.

TPCBuzz: Mike, do you use your Tablet PC in your creative work?
Mike: Yes. I now do all my drawings for the Penny Arcade strip on my Acer TravelMate, using Alias Wavefront's Sketchbook program.

TPCBuzz: Why draw the comics on the Acer?
Mike: It streamlines my work. I used to draw all the pictures for a given cartoon on paper, then scan them in to my desktop PC and finish them there. Now I don't have to deal with the scanner anymore.

TPCBuzz: So you can do all your work on the Tablet?
Mike: No, not all of it. While Sketchbook has all the tools I need, the screen resolution on my Tablet PC is too low to do finishing work (coloring and inking) on it. For that, I still need my desktop PC.

TPCBuzz: So the Tablet PC doesn't replace your desktop machine. It supplements it and makes your work more efficient.
Mike: Right.

And there you have it folks. A Tablet PC (with the right software) becomes an important part of the creative process. We're looking for more brave volunteers to share their experiences with the TabletPCBuzz community. Please email me at bill@techforyou.com and share your experiences.


Tip of the Week

Add your handwritten signature to e-mail messages (Microsoft Outlook):
A common question that gets asked is - How do I add my handwritting signature to Outlook XP? Well Microsoft has the answer in one of their tips on the Tablet PC web-site. I could explain it here, but I couldn't do any better job than Microsoft does. Check the tip out at - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/using/tips/signature.asp


Tablet PC Buzz Poll
Q: Are you considering/waiting on the second generation Tablet PC devices?
A:
Yes, waiting to purchase one:
51%
Yes, considering upgrading from a first generation device:
10%
Maybe, watching for more details:
15%
No, plan to stick with first generation for a while:
12%
No, buying a first generation device, can't wait:
9%
No, not considering buying any Tablet PCs at the moment:
2%
Total Votes: 491

This week's poll question:
Which first generation Tablet PC model do you like best?
Vote now at http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com!


Top News Story of the Week
CNET: Pentium-M Motion announced!
By Peter Rysavy (Dated April 29th)

Hot off the press here!

"Motion Computing plans to put a little more swing into its tablet PC next month. The Austin, Texas-based start-up plans to release the M1300, a tablet PC based on Intel's new 900MHz ultra-low-voltage version of the Pentium M.

The M1300, set for release on May 12, will offer a performance boost of up to 33 percent over the company's current tablet model, the M1200, Scott Eckert, Motion's CEO, said Tuesday."

"The M1300--a slate-style tablet that ships with a separate keyboard--will include a 12-inch screen and will weigh about 3 pounds. Customers will be able to configure their M1300 models with 20GB, 40GB or 60GB hard drives, as well as memory allotments ranging from 256MB to 1GB.

Motion has not yet revealed prices for the M1300. The company plans to provide that information and battery life statistics at the product's launch, Eckert said. The switch to the Pentium M did increase battery life, he said.

The new model is based on the same chassis as the M1200, which starts at $1,899 with an 866MHz Pentium III. Motion is expected to continue selling the M1200."

There you have it, Motion fans! I'll be very curious to hear the battery life announcement, especially given the pretty high performance increase.

More information is available in the full article, click the link below. Also, check the news headlines below for some follow up stories.
http://news.com.com/2100-1044-998739.html?tag=fd_top


Weekly Tablet PC News Headlines
May 04 2003 - The Daily Camera: Computer Games
May 02 2003 - The tablet's true calling, and doing as I say, not as I do; Part II
May 02 2003 - CNET: The tablet's true calling
May 02 2003 - The C110 is now listed on Acer's global site
May 02 2003 - NewsFactor: Are Tablet PCs All That?
May 02 2003 - WhatIsNew: Tablet PCs Not At Launch Events: Do as I say, not as I do
May 01 2003 - Pocket PC Techs releases WriteSHIELD screen protectors for Tablet PCs
May 01 2003 - 2,500 members and counting!
Apr 30 2003 - MindManager 2003 Review
Apr 30 2003 - Spammers - Go Directly to Jail (And don't collect that $200 dollars)
Apr 30 2003 - TabletPCBuzz contest reminder
Apr 30 2003 - Silicon Valley Biz Ink: New Mindjet Software Delivers on Tablet PC Note-Taking Promise
Apr 30 2003 - BusinessWire: Fujitsu Signs Multimillion-Dollar Tablet PC Deal With Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Apr 29 2003 - InfoWorld: Motion to ship Centrino Tablet PC in May
Apr 29 2003 - ABC News: Bill Gates Touts Digital Newspapers
Apr 29 2003 - CNET: Pentium-M Motion announced!
Apr 28 2003 - NY Times: Your body is your password
Apr 28 2003 - BusinessWire: Mi-Co Announces Mi-Forms Version 3; Extending User Flexibility for Mobile Data Capture with Support for Tablet PCs
Apr 28 2003 - MSN Tablet PC Chat ...

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