Microsoft responds to former VP, lists all their Tablet PC application

Posted by | 02/04/2010 | 21 Comments

OneNoteLogoAlright, looks like Microsoft isn’t taking the criticism from their former VP lying down. They’ve fired back on their official blog and ripped Dick Brass’ take on zero Microsoft Office support for Tablet PCs with this…

And in response to Dick’s comment about Tablets and Office, I’ll simply point to this product called OneNote that was essentially created for the Tablet and is a key part of Office today.

In your face, Brass! Microsoft made one Office application specifically for the Tablet PC and now it’s a key part of Microsoft Office, included in the Home and Student edition. A quick breeze through the product description and you’ll see how they gush over the awesomeness of OneNote on the Tablet PC. Okay, maybe not one quick breeze, but a search of the word “tablet” in the product overview pulls up… nothing.

Yes, the big gun in Microsoft’s Tablet PC application arsenal, the one they pull out when defending their support of the Tablet PC, isn’t even promoted as a Tablet PC application. Instead, it’s pitched as a catch-all for your notes, which it is and does a wonderful job at it, but you can’t really argue it’s your support for the Tablet PC when there’s nothing in its product description that highlights its usefulness on the Tablet PC. And of course, it’s ONE app over a course of years. Apple hasn’t even released their tablet yet and they’ve got three iWork apps ready for it. I find this defense almost more embarrassing than the attack.

Tags: , , ,

Category: Editorials

About the Author (Author Profile)

My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com
← Older Comments
  • http://www.keystonecorp.com/Blogs/ThoughtsonBusinessandTechnology.aspx David Howard

    Mark Payton – that was a great post! Your analysis and insight right from Microsoft’s site(s) was very good. Thanks for that.

    I have been a Tablet PC user since around 2002, and am on my 4th tablet PC now. I really like the tablet model, and will likely stay somewhat close.

    But I want to be clear, I am typing this on a Mac Powerbook I just picked up yesterday, and the reason is that I think the innovation is occurring there. I want to try the iPad, and think I should understand the ecosystem that surrounds it, including the Macs, iPhone, etc. For the first time in my life, my primary machine may be a Mac.

    We will see what happens, but I see a similar situation with Windows Mobile. They are simply too slow and followers that do not adequately support things to make a real difference, and the phone market is the next one we may see them exit. They are already way behind in terms of mind share and market share, so I am not sure why they bother any more.

    David

  • RDX.

    @Mark Payton

    VisionObjects has Arabic handwriting recognition for windows, how well does it work, I don’t know, as I don’t write arabic. They support 26 languages in all.

    http://www.visionobjects.com/handwriting_r…loadstylus3.htm

    Their MyScript Stylus software also works well with Ubuntu and Axiotron’s Quickscript (the second beta) works fine on TPCs running Leopard/SnowLeopard.

  • RDX.
  • Panchito

    Love this post. OneNote was developed with ink in mind from the start–lol. Best inking experience for me? MS Journal. Ink in Journal is so natural and truly native to the application. I like to think of it as the Notepad for inkers…stripped down but just works.

    Ink in the later editions of Office has improved, but is still without the ‘scratch out’ gesture (available in all ink specific software).

    OneNote 2010′s ink has resurfaced with its displacement issues of 2003. Can’t complain yet, it’s in beta. The ‘drawings only’ option doesn’t help much when several drawing are required in notes.

    Hope posts like this one along with insight similar Brass’ halt any of Microsoft’s remote thoughts of doing away with native ink support in current applications. How else can I explain 2003 solved ink bugs coming back on a daily basis in 2010?

  • http://www.gearwerkz.net Zeuxidamas

    I’m a little confused, and mostly by the comments and not the PR sparring that the original article was about. I care very little for that.

    But I guess the responses make me ask why anyone who posted is using a TabletPC? And I may have read them wrong; it could be I am associating what seems to be the general feeling that MS’ support of the TabletPC is lacking with a leap to the conclusion that people feel TabletPCs are not worthwhile to use? And is totally a question, not an accusation, so pls let me know what I misunderstand and don’t just bash for interpreting responses incorrectly.

    I seem to run into a lot of differences with my impressions of using the TabletPC platform and others because I do not use it for text entry; I just use it to mark up documents. To me OneNote is great because I can copy/paste/print web content and mark it up with notes that I can share out or use for my own references.

    I like the MS Office support of inking (my work PC is a TabletPC running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit and Office 2007) because I can mark up spreadsheets, Word Docs, and Power Points natively in those apps without having to export them to OneNote or another app. I am so happy that Word 2007 allows inking on the doc andf in the comments without having to mark out a discrete inking area like it used to.

    Sticky Notes is great for me as it now allows both typed entry and ink. While not as much a fan of Windows Journal as OneNote, I do use it for my Design Notebooks for various programs and products and technology domains for specific design decisions and criteria. Outlook ink integration is still lagging, but I appreciate now being able to ink in Tasks and Appointments.

    Maybe that is not a lot, and maybe it is still insufficient. And each function has things various users do or do not like. I do know that I can say I am never moving to a PC for work that is not a TabletPC; at least not anytime soon. I tried once. I can also say that the iPad, while a worthwhile device for the users it suits, falls short for me due to not being able to write on it, and I am looking closely at alternatives for that use-space.

    My apologies if I read anything here wrong, but I got the impression from here that the TabletPC is not the preferred platform for a lot of responders, or that many here are thinking about abandoning it due to a perceived lack of support?

    Ok, I am now ducking for cover, but I am interested in seeing the response.
    – Vr/Zeux..>>

  • Mark Payton

    Zeuxidamas,

    I for one am in a similar place to you–I don’t ever want to go back to a non-Tablet PC. My frustrations stem not from the shortcomings of the platform (relatively few serious ones, several niggling ones) or even the lack of application support (there’s a fair bit there if you know where to look, but room for so much more) but with Microsoft itself. It created this marvelous tool–and then did NOTHING substantial with it. As Brass commented originally, the Office group basically said “up yours” to the Tablet PC, though they did do modest support for markup which you take such good advantage of. But they’ve abandonded marketing altogether, else why could I still meet folks everywhere I go who’ve never even heard of Tablet PCs? They started off with development support but have dropped it or buried it. They started off with power toys/experience pack/education pack support but abandoned that as well.

    It is a love relationship with the platform but it is apparently a bastard platform in the eyes of its parent company and therein lies the huge rub.

    Mark

← Older Comments
«
»