Tablet PC Buzz

Windows Anywhere

I'll be attending the Windows Anywhere conference in San Francisco 2/6 - 2/10. I've heard that there are going to be several announcements, so be sure to check back for the latest news coming from Windows Anywhere.

Here is the list of Tablet PC specific exhibitors:
http://www.microsoftwindowsanywhere.com/exhibitors.aspx

Gates, his scribbles, and OneNote

Something a little humorous to send us off to the weekend:

"After already having drunk its own Elixir, Microsoft on Friday passed the bottle around.

Speaking to a crowd of Office developers, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates showed off Project Elixir--an internal effort that lets Microsoft's sales force use Outlook to access customer data from a Siebel database.

"Office is the software that is used more than any other at work," Gates said. Gates also touted the benefits of interoperability among programs, making many of the same points that he did in an e-mail on Thursday.

Gates also showed his lighter side, poking fun at the doodles he recently left behind at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Handwriting analysts, who thought the sketch was from Tony Blair, said the scribble indicated the writer was either "struggling to concentrate" or "not a natural leader" or "frustrated and tense."

Gates showed a fake copy of his sketch, which had messages like "So hungry--need cheeseburger" and "I miss Clippy."

But then, he was reduced to pad and paper instead of a Tablet PC running OneNote, a note-taking application that Microsoft debuted with Office 2003.

"If I'd had OneNote, it would have been a lot better," he said. "

url: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5563873.html

Holman Christian Standard Bible coming to the Tablet PC

Broadman & Holman and Zoe Technologies have reached an agreement to produce the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) for the Tablet PC.

"Major publishing companies, like Broadman & Holman, are recognizing the power of the Tablet PC, and how people can interact with their electronic bible and books on a much more personal level. " said Rob Bushway, President of Zoe Technologies. Most recently, Zoe Technologies and Thomas Nelson Publishers released the New King James Version for the Tablet PC.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible for the Tablet PC will be published to work with GoBinder and Plan Plus for XP. The HCSB, along with all the other resources on www.TabletBible.com , are free.

Most recently, Broadman & Holman is best known for publishing books by Dr. Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) and Beth Moore (Praying God's Word) as well as New York Times bestsellers Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography and Lt.Col Oliver North's Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction. The company's Holman Bible Publishers division has developed the new Holman Christian Standard Bible translation and is also the largest publisher of Spanish language Bibles in the United States.

url: http://www.tabletbible.com

Chemistry of a cuppa: Helping to digitize the laboratories of tomorrow

"The brewing of tea formed a crucial component of a project which successfully took traditional paper laboratory books and moved them to digital formats. Now that knowledge and experience is being put to use in a subsequent project by University of Southampton computing researchers who are aiming to apply similar techniques to Bioinformatics.

After observing a team of chemists at work in the University labs, the researchers hit on the idea of watching the chemists make tea and record it as if it were an experiment, so that the researchers could understand exactly what was happening in the process on the bench as the scientists recorded it.

Because they knew what was happening during the tea-making, they could understand how the scientists chose to record and classify important aspects of the process, or to ignore things that were not important for the �experiment�.� �So now, instead of writing into a lab book, scientists will write into some other type of hardware, like a tablet PC,� said monica schraefel. �That data is immediately written to a server so it is stored not only locally on the computer, but on the server, and therefore immediately accessible outside the lab and to other scientific communities. � "

url: http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-39897.html

G'Day World with Marc Orchant - Tablet PC's, OneNote, and TEO gets a mention

From Josh Einstein's blog:

"Marc Orchant is a great guy. One of my best users and testers. He's also a big proponent of Tablet Enhancements for Outlook and mentions it alot on his blog.

Today I was tuning into the G'Day World podcast (I subscribed a few weeks ago when Robert Scoble was on) and I knew Marc was going to be on. To my surprise though, TEO came up in the conversation and Marc and the hosts Cameron and Mick had some great things to say about it!"

A great podcast on Tablet Pc's. Great job. Marc. Check out Josh's blog for a link to the podcast.

url: http://josheinstein.com/journal/

ITNews: Microsoft making fruitful use of FriendlyWay for the Tablet PC

"The friendlyway secure browser allows for particularly secure execution of internet applications. Microsoft's Executive Briefing Center currently uses friendlyway browser software for a customer survey application that is run on tablet PCs.

"The deployment of the friendlyway secure browser has enabled the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center in Munich to implement an application that allows us to track customer feedback online for every executive briefing. This professional security solution makes it possible for us to get feedback during any event via tablet PC and still meet all of our relevant security requirements. In addition to the fact that the friendlyway secure browser saves us time and effort, it also enables us to respond quickly to customer feedback," comments Microsoft's Simone Ruppertz-Rausch.

friendlyway Internet Explorer-based software reduces the scope of mission-critical internet security technology. Product features include highly efficient popup blocking as well as restrictions on the permissible surfing range. The friendlyway secure browser secures the internet system while the computer is booting up, i.e. before the user obtains access to the Microsoft operating system."

url: http://www.itnews.it/risorse/EuroNews,Zj0xMTY5Njkz

InmanNews: Brokers, agents, recorders key to paperless transaction

"The power to make the paperless real estate transaction a reality is in the hands of real estate brokers, agents and county recorders, according to panelists in an Inman News audio conference on the subject Wednesday.

"On the front end, in terms of the real estate side, there is no barrier to entry. It's legal, it's valid, it's being practiced today," said Dan Tealdi, chief executive officer of Criterion's REDTablet, a tablet PC company. "We need to see county recorders adopt technology on the title side."

While fellow panelist Brad Dick, senior vice president of document storage firm Zodas, agreed, the third panelist on the "Paperless Real Estate Transaction" online conference went one step further.

Asked if there is actual demand on the part of buyers and sellers for the paperless transaction, Lorenzini gave a qualified "yes."

"You're talking about millions of transactions going on. Only a fraction of those are demanding it, but a fraction of millions is still a large number," DocuSign's CEO said. "Mortgage brokers, agents all believe this is inevitable. A year or two or three from now everyone's going to be signing electronically."

Seattle-based DocuSign's product makes it possible for a buyer or seller to sign documents using only a PC, without additional hardware such as a stylus, from any location. REDTablet, owned by San Bruno, Calif.-based Criterion, makes tablet PCs that can capture a signature done with a stylus and apply that signature electronically to documents in a transaction."

url: http://www.inman.com/inmannews.aspx?ID=44658

HP's new TC4200

Here is the link to HP's new TC4200.

Screen: 12.1" XGA display, wide viewing angle, ambient light sensor
Processor: Intel� Pentium� M processors 730 to 770 or
Intel Celeron� M processor 370
Video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Weight: 4.5lbs
Memory: up to 2GB, DDR II SDRAM
Removable media: Secure Digital
Battery: supports an extended battery for an additional 4 hours of battery life, and enhanced stand-by for up to 1 week.
Pen: Digital eraser pen with tether and clip.
Dimensions: Dimensions (H x W x D)
1.35 (at front) x 11.22 x 9.25 in (34.3 (at front) x 285 x 235 mm)
Price: As low as $1599

"The HP Compaq tc4200 Tablet PC is a full-function PC delivering performance and compatibility in an innovative form factor, while simplifying your computing needs with the added convenience of handwriting. The light and stylish design is meant for mobile professionals needing powerful and highly-mobile computers that also offer enhanced security and reliability. IT managers will value the full portfolio of integrated security options, breadth of integrated wireless choices, and unsurpassed common accessories and consistency with the entire enterprise notebook line. With total cost of ownership in mind the HP Compaq tc4200 Tablet PC is the ideal choice for enterprise-wide deployment to highly mobile users desiring innovation and versatility."

Here is a link to the docking stations for the TC4200:

url: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/tabletpc/tc4200/

BusinessWire: Tegrity Announces Agreements with Campus Partner Institutions

"Tegrity is pleased to announce several institutions that have been selected for its new Campus Partner program: Coppin State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Santa Clara University and Colorado Technical College. The Campus Partner Program is for post-secondary institutions that have a vision of achieving improved teaching and learning for ALL faculty and students. Tegrity is providing easy-to-use technology that complements the teaching approach of ALL faculty and enhances the studying of ALL students.

Students may also use a Tablet PC with Tegrity to capture handwritten notes. "We are launching Tegrity Campus by recording 10% of our classes in the first quarter and looking to move to 100% within 6 months," said Vicki Strunk, President of Colorado Technical University in South Dakota. "As a leading technical university we must ensure that our students are equipped with the latest knowledge and tools to succeed. Tegrity adds that cutting edge to our courses and leverages the Gateway Tablet PCs our students already use daily." "

url: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050201006092&newsLang=en

WebProNews: Making Tablet PC Evangelism Wholly Transparent

"Having bloggers evangelize Microsoft's Tablet PC is what Steve Rubel suggests as an answer to Robert Scoble's vexation on the seeming invisibilty of the Tablet PC ...

All I would like to add to this excellent thinking is related to making sure such an exercise would be wholly transparent, leaving no doubt at all in anyone's mind exactly what the deal is here.

Taking a leaf out of Marqui's book with its pay-the-bloggers campaign would be my suggestion.

Quick recap: Marqui makes a communication management system and they pay certain bloggers $800 a month to blog about their product, where each blogger is wholly free to write whatever they like about the product, supportive or critical. Each blogger is required to clearly disclose his affiliation on his blog, and Marqui publishes a list of all paid bloggers on their website, including an index of all posts made by the paid bloggers.

No, I'm not suggesting Microsoft pays bloggers (but that's an interesting thought...) to write about the Tablet PC and/or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (what a mouthful!). Rather, any blogger who gets a free Tablet PC as part of such a suggested evangelism campaign should very clearly identify that fact. Microsoft, too, would name all the names. Also bring in the providers of the actual hardware, the Tablet PCs themselves - get Toshiba, Acer, HP Compaq, etc, involved.

In such an open way - one that re-defines marketing and PR - the business benefits could be huge as with such transparency comes greater credibility and trust in the writing, the writer and the sponsors. "

That's a great idea and innovative thinking. I agree that it would need to be transparent. I especially like the idea of putting them in the hands of non-geek bloggers, like the Michael Hyatt's of the world.

url: http://www.webpronews.com/news/ebusinessnews/wpn-45-20050201MakingTabletPCEvangelismWhollyTransparent.html