In an article on ZDNet, Arimasa Naitoh, who is considered to be the father of the Thinkpad and is currently Lenovo’s worldwide VP of Development, was asked for his opinion regarding Origami. Naitoh had this to say:

When asked about the future prospects of Microsoft's "Origami" mini-tablet design, Naitoh was skeptical. "I'll have a hard time to convince myself that Origami will be a primary device," he said.

I’m glad Naitoh feels that way. I’d have a hard time convincing myself that an Origami will be a primary device as well, especially considering that it is not designed to be a primary device, and also considering that Microsoft and Intel are not marketing them to be primary devices. Origami’s are designed and specd to be companion devices. Overtime, we will also see the prices drop in the companion device range.

For more info on how Naitoh sees the Thinkpad evolving, issues of battery life, and more, check out the article on ZDNet.com

David Ciccone has in his hands what many of us have been waiting for in utlra mobile devices – an ultra mobile pc with a 16gb solid state flash hard drive. Although the drive is a bit small for my needs, it won’t be long before we start to see bigger drives, which means tremendous savings on battery life, speed, etc.

David has produced a video of the Sony Vaio UX-90S with the 16gb flash drive, along with comparisons to the UX180P.

Check it out

If you are a medical professional curious about Tablet PCs and the benefits of integrating them in to your practice, you need to take a listen to this Microsoft produced House Call podcast. In this episode, Dr. Bill Crounse, Healthcare Industry Director for Microsoft, talks with  the following guests:

• Joe French, vice president of health and life sciences group for Motion Computing
• Dr. Gerard Burns, director of medical informatics at Hackensack University Medical Center
• Dr. Brian McCardel, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan
• Darin Fish, director of business development for the mobile platforms division at Microsoft.

via MedicalTabletPC.com, image courtesy of Motion Computing

Looks like another level of Tablet PC functionality for Firefox users. The Mouse Gestures add-on allows you to navigate within your browser using common commands like page forward, page backward, close tab, new tab, with gestures created with a mouse. Tablet PC and UMPC users can do the same with their pen. Looks handy. I don’t have Firefox running at the moment, so if anyone tries this out report back on your findings.

Via jkOnTheRun

There has been some interesting discussion around the topic of voice recognition on a Tablet PC lately. First there was word about the new release of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (Marc Orchant takes a first look at the new version.) And then there was an apparent misfire of a demo of Vista’s voice recognition software at the recent analyst meeting in Redmond. (Chris Pirillo has linked to the YouTube video of that failure here.

This recent talk has left me pondering a bit about voice recognition and the Tablet PC. First, I think it keeps getting closer, but I don’t think it is there yet. Second, I really think to use it effectively you not only have to train and practice, (we all know that) but I think environmental conditions in your work environment need to be almost ideal. I tried some training over the weekend and the ambient noise from air conditioners (hey, it is too hot to turn them all off these days in our office) and even street sounds interfered quite a bit. Third, in my case, I need to get over the fact that it probably sounds a bit like I’m crazy sitting in my office talking to myself. Again, that’s tied to our small office environment.

But I’d love to hear from anyone who uses voice recognition in a more suitable environment. Our latest poll asks you a simple yes or not question: Do you use voice recognition on your Tablet PC? Vote and then leave a comment and tell us your experiences with voice recognition. If you’ve tried and given up, tell us that too. I think this can be a winning note-taking technology in the right environment, but it seems to be often overlooked when we discuss Tablet PCs. Is that because no one is taking advantage of it? Or is the technology just not there yet? 

Looking forward to hearing your responses.

July was a big month for InkShows here at GottaBeMobile.com. We covered a range of topics, including some new Tablet PC Software, and even had a topical interview or two. And of course, July was the month that we welcomed the support of our InkShow Sponsor, TechSmith Corporation. In case you missed any of the InkShow action this past month, here’s a rundown of who and what we covered. Enjoy! 

• Hardware InkShows
  • Toshiba M400 Tablet PC Review Dennis Rice reviews Toshiba’s latest Tablet PC.
• Software InkShows
  • Mapping Your Mind-Again! Dennis Rice takes a look at MindJet’s MindManager
  • BlueBeam Revu for the Tablet PC Rob Bushway uncovers a new pdf annotation tool for the Tablet PC
  • Tablet Enhancements for Outlook 3.0  Warner Crocker walks through Tablet Enhancements for Outlook 3.0
  • Vista and Tablet PCs-A Pen Flick Inkshow Rob Bushway explores Pen Flicks in Microsoft Vista.
• Accessory and Gadget InkShows
  • BlueParrot Bluetooth Headset Rob Bushway reviews the BlueParrot headset.
• Audio InkShows
  • Talking Tablet PCs with Eric Rice Warner Crocker talks with podcasting guru, Mac lover, and Tablet PC user Eric Rice.
  • GBM Exclusive Interview with TEO 3.0 Developer Josh Einstein Warner Crocker and Josh Einstein talk about this must have Tablet PC app on the eve of its release.
• InkShow Announcments
  • GottaBeMobile Welcomes TechSmith Corporation As An Official Sponsor

Get ready for more InkShows coming your way this month at GottaBeMobile.com. Leave a comment if there’s something you want to see or hear about in the Tabletscape.

All GottaBeMobile.com InkShows are sponsored by:

I’ve had a few questions on how to link MindManager topics to OneNote existing OneNote paragraphs.

This is taken from a post I made on my old blog and included it here for archival purposes.

I have verified that these steps still work.OneNote 2007 is required. If you have any problems with these steps, please post  back.

In this first installment of User InkReviews at GottaBeMobile.com, GBM reader Steve S takes an extensive look at xThink’s MathJournal 2.

As a daily user of MathJournal, Steve is well qualified to give us the inside story on MathJournal, what works, what still needs work, and how much improved MathJournal 2 is over MathJournal 1. Steve has his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and his Masters of Science in Gasdynamics from the University of Michigan. He uses MathJournal daily in his job in the technology and manufacturing business. Steve knows his math and he knows MathJournal inside and out. In addition, Steve is the top contributor to the xThink support forum at TabletPCBuzz.com.

• Read this User InkReview on MathJournal 2
• Visit xThink

Price:

NEW: MathJournal 2.0
Regular $249; Student $119

MathJournal Classic
Regular $149; Student $69

UPGRADE: from MathJournal Classic to MathJournal 2.0
Regular $100; Student $50

UPGRADE: from MathJournal 1.1 to MathJournal 2.0
Regular $69; Student $39

FREE UPGRADE for recent customers:
You can upgrade to MathJournal 2.0 for free, if you bought MathJournal 1.1 on or after June 1st, 2005.

Daniel Huss, of Associated Content, has written a great article for folks interested in buying their first Tablet PC. He covers the different types of Tablet PCs, software to trial, who could benefit from using a Tablet PC, and online resources.

It is a very good read for those of you in the market for your first Tablet PC.

In the world of portable computing, Tablet PCs aren't as widely used as they could be. Dominated by primarily laptops, tablets are seen as more of the expensive brother of the laptop mainly because of the special screen that laptops use to enable use of the pen. Besides the obvious "wow" factor for being able to write on the screen, which normally will throw people off if they are not expecting it. All types of people can get plenty of use out of a tablet PC besides the obvious business professionals. When shopping for a portable computer, There are a number of factors to consider when thinking about when purchasing a tablet PC, and each of these factors will dictate what kind portable you buy.

…Now, who can find a use for a tablet PC to warrant the extra cost? Anyone can find something to do with a tablet PC but the question is if the uses you find for it are worth the extra money. Tablet PCs tend to be advertised to students and business professionals and generally speaking they can find the most uses for them. Using a program called OneNote from Microsoft, you can take notes in meetings or during class in your own handwriting, sort the notes like you want to, and search all your notes even in your own handwriting. You can even record dictation right in OneNote to play back later. Now all of this has an obvious use to students and business people who can take notes for classes or meetings, mark to-do items, record lectures, and keep track of personal lives all in one place.

Hat tip to our regular anonymous news tipper!

Trevor Claiborne at The Student Tablet PC takes a look at two new Mindjet Labs add-ins for MindManager that each offer some unique functionality. The first add-in he reviews is the Route Planner add-in.

The Route Planner add-in is quite simple. All you do is put your starting point in one topic, your destination in another and add a relationship between them. You then right click on the relationship and click Get Route. A webpage launches to a Mindjet site with Virtual Earth embedded with a map and driving directions. In addition, a callout topic is created off of the relationship, which contains the directions (in the Notes field) and a hyperlink to the VE map.

This add-in is due to be released on 7/31 and I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

Available now is the second add-in Trevor reviews, The Presenter add-in. Similar to the audio-syncing feature in OneNote, it allows you to sync your audio to notes that you’ve taken in MindManager, but according to Trevor:

The only caveat here is while the audio and video link to your notes it doesn't work in the reverse. You won't be able to click on a topic and go directly to that part of the lecture, but as you replay your recordings, the notes you took will be highlighted as you move along, including panning and zooming.

Here’s the link to the Presenter add-in, and here’s a link to a MindMap Trevor created showing off both new add-ins. Note that you’ll need the presenter add-in to fully appreciate the synchronization feature.

Trevor, who is also now working at Google, also is looking for suggestions for new add-ins and extensions to MindManager. He’s offering up some Google swag to the top three entries on The Student Tablet PC.

The emotional draw in building a new house is that you get to avoid all the leaky faucet, broken pipes, cracked ceiling type of problems. For those of you who have built a new house, you know how far that is from reality. The warranty issues never seem to go away, the builders are constantly coming back in to fix stuff. This seems to go on for months on end. Help is on the way…

Latista Field Service, a software application built by Latista, is a package designed to improved construction quality control and warranty management. According to a their website, Latista Field Service is Tablet PC-based solution with an easy to use interface, digital camera support, punchlist management, translation of work-orders to Spanish, and business workflow management.

Next time you begin to look at building a new house, ask the builder what software application they are using to manage their quality control and warranty management.

via: PRNewsWire

Bob Heiny, the prolific education blogger at the Tablet PC Education blog, has posted a very interesting link to a pdf article  written by Chi N. Thai, University of Georgia, on using the Tablet PC in an extended classroom environment.

The paper was presented at the 2006 Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education. In the paper, Thai goes over how they used Tablet PC technology to annotate PowerPoint slides and present real-time to students spread throughout the country and to Japan as well. To address band-width and traffic issues, they used the Totally Ordered Reliable Multicast (TORM) protocol.

Great reading for those interested in Tablet PCs and the solutions people are coming up with to solve the problems associated with remote learning and interactive participation.

Here is the abstract to Thai’s paper:

In this article from Todd Bishop’s blog on SeattlePI.com, Todd quotes Microsoft’s Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division, on how Microsoft sees the Zune fitting in to its media offerings. Read the quote and then jump down below for my comments:

Speaking to an audience of financial analysts, Bach had this to say:

"In the case of Apple, they have certainly an iMac business, they have their iPod business, and they've sold a few things into the home that compete with (Windows XP) Media Center, although the numbers there are actually quite small. Look at our business. We have a burgeoning IPTV business that we think is going to grow and be successful in the home. We have Media Center with over 14 million units and growing around the world. We have Xbox 360 in place and growing around the world. We have Xbox Live, MSN and our Windows Live initiatives. Put all of those things together and then take Zune and put it in the context of that. It enables us to complete the picture. It enables us to have the full entertainment, connected entertainment experience that we want to have."

Where is the mention of Origami or UMPC in that picture of devices and software creating a “connect with your media everywhere” scenario? Isn’t that the kind of thing that Origami is supposed to be helping to deliver as well – take some of your movies, your music, throw it in your purse and go. Watch TV via sling over your Origami. Put Vista on the Origami and it suddenly becomes a Media Center PC for goodness sakes: Now you have a Media Center PC in your purse. It is not a pocketable device, but that is where Zune comes in. Sync to it!

Zune and an Origami  – two ultra portable devices providing the ultimate in flexability and connectivity.

The Origami is a device that will help complete that entertainment picture, and is something that has been designed and marketed by Microsoft to do.  If Microsoft isn’t careful, consumers are going to get a little confused if they don’t see Origami in the picture from a marketing perspective. Warner posted some yesterday on this same issue.

 To leave that out of the picture is a bit puzzling to me.

Okay — I admit it. 

“I am a MindManager addict, and am not afraid to say it”.

Okay, I said it, but if there is a cure, I don’t want it.  Welcome to another MindManager InkShow! If you have been around GottaBeMobile.com for long, you may remember that one of the first InkShows we did was a quick intro to MindJet’s MindManager.  Remember the tire swing?  No?  Then you should go to this previous InkShow link and watch it.  Why you say?  Because it is a precursor to this InkShow, and they together will teach you a lot about this application.  There is some duplication, but not much.  I titled this one MindManager “Revisited”, because it contains another, more detailed look than the original one.  In the original, I talked a good bit about the actual process of using a mind mapping tool like MindManager, and spent just a bit of time on the Tablet PC functionality.  This time I went the other way.  I spent much more time talking about the how to on the Tablet PC than the mind mapping concept.

MindJet has done a great job on this product.  It is rich in Tablet PC support, and clearly shows a well thought out approach to adding tablet capability to an app that already existed and was successful in it’s own right.  The use of ink, gestures, object manipulating, sketching, etc., the list goes on.  In this InkShow, I try and hit it all a bit.  Give this a “look see”, and see how it all works, then download a trial and get addicted!

• Watch the InkShow (28:17 minutes, 62mb, .wmv streaming or direct download.).
• Download a free trial from MindJet corporation
• Watch the previous InkShow
  
  Price: $229-349 - 21 day trial available (educational discounts available as well)

Enjoy the show.

All GottaBeMobile.com InkShows are sponsored by:

I’m not sure if this is a first or not, but it may very well be and if it is not, it certainly is news to me. PCWorld’s latest list of Top Ultra-Portables actually includes a Tablet PC. That’s right. HP’s tc4400 convertible Tablet PC not only cracked the list but debuted at number two behind Lenovo’s X60 ultra-portable. As I said, I can’t remember any of the magazines including a Tablet PC in any of their ubiquitous best of lists, certainly not a list that looks at a larger class of machines like ultra-portables. Correct me, please, if I’m wrong here.

Here’s a nifty video that shows Sony’s eBook Reader in action. I was impressed with the size and also the discussion of the display technology. I’m still not impressed with the concept of this kind of stand alone (hand alone?) device when you can do the same thing on other devices like the UMPC or a PDA. Worth a look though.

Follow the link to the CNET TV site and look in the right hand column for a link to the Sony Reader video.

Hat Tip to Loren Heiny

Sometimes it is wonderful to just kick back and waste some time. This knockdown, drag-out between the Apple Newton and the Samsung Q1 is not only a great time waster, but a nice little history lesson and perspective peeper as well. Follow the link to see who gets to do the victory dance in this 8–round prize match over at CNET UK.  

Hat Tip to jkOnTheRun. Picture via CNET UK.

Well, there is enough speculation going around about the new Ultra-Mobile PC that is rumored to be coming to the U.S., that we thought we would share what we know and can share.  Linda Epstein at TabletPC2 & UltraMobilePCs.com pinged me today with this image that she had cleared with the vendor. 

I contacted them and asked permission to share some news, and was told a couple of facts:

• The units are in process of being scheduled for production, and they do not want to promise release dates until they can confirm them
• They have order Microsoft “Certificate of Authority” labels, so are getting geared up for sales
• They have sourced some really great accessories
• The user manulas were released for printing today

Sorry there is not more that can be shared, but if I were you, I would want to know what I could, as I could.  I promise — we will share ore as we have it.

Hat tip to Linda at TabletPC2.com. (She also has a slightly larger image)

Dave Ciccone and gang’s Mobility Today podcast touches on the UMPC/Origami and Tablet PC front every now and then. Show #69, the most recent, has just such a conversation that takes a look at the UMPC/Origami in comparison to a couple of other ultra-mobile form factors, the Sony UX and the DualCor cPC. Although some of the conversation tends negative about the UMPC (not unfairly so) it is nothing we haven’t heard before, but the context in comparison with the other devices makes this podcast worth a listen in my view.

Intriguingly the show also delves into Zune news and rumors and it got me thinking a bit. From what we know about Zune (and we don’t know a lot) it certainly looks like it is targeted at an entirely different sector than the UMPC (remember some thought Orgiami was going to be the iPod killer, and now that is the newly hyped mantle for Zune.) It makes me wonder what impact Zune will have on the UMPC’s original consumer orientated approach. I think so much depends on how the supposed Zune software service rolls out and how easy (or not) it will be to sync with other devices. I haven’t seen any commentary on this yet, and that might be becasue of UMPC’s less than stellar rep in the media right now. Curious to know if anyone else has any thoughts on this.

Here’s the link to the podcast.

Are you looking to take your office paperless? This article from The Appraisal Scoop might be worth a read. Take a look at The Paperless Appraisal Office-10 Steps To Getting Started. The steps cover a number of issues I’ve certainly thought about in trying to make my work environment less dependent on paper. Of course working in a small not-for-profit the first one on our list is receiving a large donation or gift to fund something other than the older systems we have in place.

K.J. Penfeld teaches 5th grade. K.J. has also recently purchased a Samsung Q1 UMPC. K.J., like many, is a little concerned about the rap that the UMPC/Origami has taken in the press and has published a first hand look with some real user reactions to using the Q1. Here’s a snip from the conclusion:

All in all, this is a very intuitive piece of equipment that could take the place of a low-end laptop, depending on the user’s need.  However, as a companion pc, it definitely outperforms a PDA.  I have owned both Palm and Dell Axims and this device beats them hands down for my needs in regard to mobile usage.  But, again, the Samsung Q1 is not meant to replace a desktop or laptop system, but rather serves as a Companion.  I have had this Q1 for two weeks now and have enjoyed it immensely.  It will suit my needs perfectly. 

The more real user reactions we see, pro and con, the better. Read the entire review here. 

Hat Tip to UMPCBuzz

TabletPC2.com continues to crank out the good reviews, this time on TabletKiosks eo. As is usual with TabletPC2.com, there are a lot of good pictures with a touch of “TabletPC2” style applied to each one.

There is something so classy about those white eo’s, don’t you think?

Check it out.

Judie at the Gadgeteer.com, has been waiting anxiously for the DualCor CPC and has purchased an engineering sample of the CPC. Judie is the first person I’m aware of that has actually been able to purchase one.

She has just posted some of the unboxing pictures and promises more insights on using the CPC as well. DualCor included a nice Rhinoskin case in the package, but for some reason decided not to apply that same reasoning when designing the stylus. I couldn’t imagine writing with that thing.

I’m looking forward to seeing how she likes it and how she ends up using it.

via JkOnTheRun.com

This is good news! Loren Heiny posts that InkGestures, a terrific INK editing tool for Microsoft Word, is being updated for Word 2007. The Office 2007 version will have ribbon toolbar integration and a few gesture enhancements. Can’t wait. If you want to check out the current version, and you should, here’s the link.

It is always a good thing when new software for the Tablet PC hits the market. Such is the case with BlueBeam Revu for the Tablet PC.

BlueBeam Revu is an application that lets you view, markup, and edit PDF documents using your Tablet PC. There are a lot of things that BlueBeam has done that are specifically tailored to the Tablet PC user. From a built-in TIP, to searching ink in the PDF, to a high quality zooming and panning function.The best one, in my opinion, the ability to store ink components in a tool set and re-use them later in other pdf documents. For people who mark up a lot of documents or use specialized editing symbols, that is a killer function.

There are a couple of features they could improve upon, like offering a lasso tool for selecting ink, and improving upon their highlightng. However, in my opinion, if you spend a lot of time in PDFs working with large documents, using the same type of mark-up symbols over and over again, zooming in and out frequently, then you need to take a serious look at BlueBeam. If you need to sign a pdf document every now and then, and mostly work with smaller pdf documents, then I think PDF Annotator is a better solution for the money at $49.

There is a lot more to this application than what I demoed. My intent in this InkShow was to cover the features that would matter to a Tablet PC user. I’d encourage you to dig deeper into the product to learn everything it can do. It is a full-featured application.

So, sit back and take a look at BlueBeam Revu for the Tablet PC and see if this PDF annotating software could be for you. My apologies for the high resolution – I recorded this on a test M400 and forgot to change the resolution before doing the recording. Live and learn…

• Watch the InkShow  (21:22 minutes, 49mb, .wmv streaming or direct download.). This InkShow is best viewed by downloading to your computer and playing it locally.
• Download 30 Day Free Trial of BlueBeam Revu for Tablet PC

Price: $99

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It seems not a week goes by that we don’t hear about another school system adopting Tablet PCs as a part of the curriculum. This is of course good news, and in my opinion, using Tablet PCs in a classroom just makes so much common sense. Here are a couple of links that floated through my feeds today worth noting.

Via RobiNZ via Loren Heiny we learn The Brooklyn School in Wellington, New Zealand is using Tablet PCs in their 1st through 8th grades. Here’s a link to more. I loved reading this:

Younger children will be introduced to ICT using tablet PCs that are interactive, user-friendly, fun and can be used without keyboards or mice. Project CHaOS will explore ways in which this technology can speed up the transition from pen based numeracy and literacy to digital numeracy and literacy. 

Heaven forfend that we use mobile computers without keyboards and mice! What are we teaching the younger generation. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

And then moving closer to home (for me at any rate), jkOnTheRun links to an article about St. Mary’s University in Minnesota using Tablet PCs and iPods, with an achievment system created by Tegrity. Apparently lectures and presentations are recorded, and students can capture notes using either a Tablet PC or a Tegrity digital pen.

Now, I wonder if those using the iPods to listen to lectures will move over to Zune in the future?

I came across this article on WashingtonPost.com about Bell South. The article has nothing at all to do with Tablet PCs, but the picture did. Apparently, Todd Smith is demonstrating some functionality at Bell South’s Home of the Future while using an HP TC1100. Have you ever noticed that when folks want to demonstrate stuff like Home of the Future or some whizbang future techno idea, they always use the discontinued TC1100 Tablet PC to do it? I wonder why that is? Could it be that it was a fantastic design???

The caption under the photo:

 Todd Smith demonstrates how a BellSouth FastAccess DSL wireless tablet PC can be used to shop at the BellSouth Gear Store at the company's Home of the Future in Atlanta, Monday, July 24, 2006. BellSouth Corp., the dominant local telephone provider in nine Southeastern states, said Monday its second-quarter profit jumped more than 11 percent on a slight increase in sales. The results, announced before the market opened, beat Wall Street expectations. (AP Photo/Ric Feld) 
 
   Photo Credit: AP Photo

Loren Heiny has been posting some clever little Ink Gif animations lately and today he lets us flip behind the curtain to see what he’s been doodling on. He’s “coded up this little flipbook-like app:“

Clever stuff. But then we’ve come to expect nothing less from Loren in his coding ways. Head over to the Incremental Blogger and flip around some of the animations.

I know in the mobile tech world one of the big attractions and big keys to achieving Zen in a Mobile Tech lifestyle is becoming un-tethered and cable-lite. But we still need more cables than I think any of us what like to admit or carry with us. So, where to you go when you need to pick up that cable? The local big-box? Radio Shack? On-line? Well, via Zatz Not Funny, I discovered this link to MonoPrice.com this morning. They seem to have some great prices on that extra USB cable, as well as quite a few other accessories. Anyone else got a good source with good prices for these kind of mobile tech purchases?

If you’ve been a Tableteer for awhile you have integrated your Tablet PC in to your work and your play and most likely don’t even give much thought to how you use it. It becomes an extension of your efforts. That’s why it is always refreshing to read how others use their Tablet PCs in the day-to-day as it opens up new avenues. 

Jamie Wright has started a series on how he uses his Tablet PC day-to-day, and also put out a call for others to do the same. In his first entry in the series he describes how he used his Tablet PC to catch up on some work while waiting on a oil change. Looks like a good blog to follow. Subscribed.

So, what did you do with your Tablet PC today?

Hat tip to jkOnTheRun

Undaunted by the less than stellar response to the Ultra-Mobile PC/Origami, Samsung seems to be forging ahead with plans to enter new markets and a perhaps a new generation of the Q1. According to this article in eWeek Channel Insider, Samsung claims the Q1 has exceeded its expectations. They are also looking to the corporate markets, which is certainly beyond the initial consumer apporach of the UMPC. This quote caught my eye:

“What we've seen is that once people are actually holding a UMPC, they start to see the possibilities. Seeing pictures or reading about it doesn't do it justice," said David Nichols, director of product marketing for Samsung Electronics' Information Technology Division, based in Irvine, Calif.

Now where have we heard that bit about people actually needing to get their hands on a device before?

Layne Heiny of UMPCBuzz.com says he knows how the Founder Origami / UMPC is coming to the U.S. Unfortunately, he’s not telling us much else except that we will all be surprised.

Any guesses?

From UMPCBuzz.com:

If we measure the growth of a market by the introduction of new products then the UMPC market continues to grow leaps and bounds. In fact, US residents should see two new models soon. Clearing throat – pause – I’m not sure if that translates to weeks or months. Regardless, the UMPC market is growing.

Several months ago I learned how the Founder UMPC would enter the US market. The system will not carry the Founder name. No, I cannot spill the beans and provide you the name of the company who will relabel the Founder, but all UMPC watchers will be pleasantly surprised and happy. The company will back the product with wonderful service.

Powerpoint has become one of those tools that everyone loves to hate. Whether you are preparing a presentation or preparing to watch one, there is this feeling of dread. Reams of material have been written on how to make Powerpoint presentations more interactive, but I think the stigma that has been created will not quickly evaporate. At least I thought that until I read this article from James Forbes. Here’s a snippet:

So what I discovered at this little no-nonsense polytechnic university was the use of presentation decks that were clearly worded and not overloaded with information.  The effect of this was to bring me back to the First Church of PowerPoint. My born again acceptance of this technology has been gradual.

It started the first time I sat in a class, looking at a Power Point deck on my Thinkpad X41 tablet PC. With the Presentation deck open, I started making comments and noting questions using my own form of short hand and the onscreen keyboard At that moment I became aware that PowerPoint had gone from being a one-way conduit to a two-way thoroughfare. And most students who were using notebooks were doing the same thing. At the end of the discussion, the students presenting their business plan asked for questions and were immediately besieged by Microsoft OneNote files and copies of their PowerPoint presentation.

Score one for Tablet PCs.