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- Rob Bushway
Things appear to be looking up for InPlay Technologies, as they just inked a deal with a yet-to-be-named Japanese OEM, for implementation in rugged Tablet PCs:
InPlay Technologies (NASDAQ: NPLA) has received a conditional purchase order for its dual-mode, digital pen-and-touch solution from a leading Japanese electronics manufacturer. InPlay’s technology has met a full range of rigorous testing and is designed into an updated line of rugged tablet PCs. The purchase order is contingent upon successful completion of pre-production qualification.
“We feel that it is a strong validation of our technology and the benefits we bring to this market to be selected by a major Japanese OEM. Our digital pen and touch screen product is designed to deliver a high quality user experience consistent with our customer’s stringent requirements for durability,” said Ramesh Ramchandani, president and COO, InPlay.
Once final requirements are met, production is expected to begin in fourth quarter 2008. InPlay estimates that the project will generate approximately $1 million in revenue annually.
InPlay offers the only digital communication pen technology on the market, bringing significant advantages over traditional analog products. With InPlay’s integrated digital pen and touch solutions, the system automatically recognizes pen or finger input, allowing the user to choose the most natural and effective input method. The system also incorporates palm rejection to avoid unintentional input thereby creating a comfortable user experience. The active digital pen optimizes handwriting recognition and allows for added digital features, while the touch screen offers a quick intuitive interface for cursor selection and navigation.
- Rob Bushway
People are definitely letting their voices be heard with regards to Microsoft and Tablet PC marketing, this time coming from Steve Hanson, CEO of InPlay Technologies, makers of tablet pc capacitive touch technologies:
I too am frustrated. The potential short term advancements in pen technology could and should revolutionize writing and use of the pen to replace the mouse and key board. I can tell you first hand that the cost of tablet pen implementation is less that $30 today.
Remember when you could not buy a cell phone with a camera? Now it is difficlut to buy one without a camera. The pen in a tablet solution should move down the same path. If every PC incorporated the technology at a $30 (or less) price tag and no predatory mark up by the OEM, we would see the momentum increase for Tablet. That being said, Microsoft needs to backup their beliefs with a firm commitment to the technology providers such that the cost, performance and ease of implementation progress rapidly. Microsoft is a black hole when it comes to stepping up to shape the industry.
- Rob Bushway
Hilton Locke, a former Microsoft Tablet PC team member, posted a very interesting response to Craig's Microsoft Tablet PC Marketing article. He offers some unique observations, especially from someone who used to work on the team. Here is what Hilton has to say regarding Microsoft, Tablet PC, and marketing:
I don't have any inside info on Windows marketing, but here are some of my observations.
1) The SKU shift to Tablet would be net positive, because Tablet features are only available on the higher-priced SKUs, but the volumes of machines sold is small. So marketing here might not be a good return on investment. Classic chicken-or-egg.
2) Volume growth has been in consumer/entry level systems and that area is terribly price-sensitive. The extra $50-$100 bill of materials costs tends to remove opportunities here. Business and professional users love Tablet (insurance adjusters and healthcare for example) but it's hard to convince the ISVs to Tablet-enable their apps. Without custom app support, the $50-100 cost difference for Tablets is an unnecessary expense. So the most common usage in business is still notebook with pen as "super-mouse". Not terribly compelling.
3) Tablet is part of the larger Windows organization. As such, it's limited in what it can do for marketing, since every message must be vetted at (large number) different levels, and must add to the overall Windows strategy. For an innovation group like Tablet, this is the kiss of death.
4) Microsoft is not the leader in defining pen and touch input interface standards. Pen and touch digitizers have been around for a lot longer than Tablet, so the digitizer technology is relatively mature. A variety of niche solutions in this space has yet to be molded together into a larger standard. Standards again cost a little more in the beginning, as existing drivers and software are rewritten to the standard. Why isn't MS investing here?
As you know, I blogged about Tablet marketing in Dec07 http://blogs.msdn.com/hiltonl and took a lot of heat. It's also widely known thanks to the "Vista Capable" fiasco, that no marketing decision made inside of Windows is done in isolation.
IMHO, Tablet is likely to die a slow and ignominious death within Windows as it is absorbed into a larger "Natural input" movement. Note how touch, speech and visual recognition are the new darlings. Touch input is the only Windows-team-owned "darling". Microsoft's big challenge will be to figure out how to get Windows developers excited about NI as a whole.
- Rob Bushway
JkkMobile has the specs on a new Netbook convertible from Aware, priced at $300: 
7 inch 800 x 480 touch screen
Aday5G-800 MHz X86 with 512RAM
4GB NAND FLASH
Wifi, Bluetooth and optional 3G/GPS
Webcam
USB x 2
Ethernet
VGA out
MMC/SD
4 hour battery life with 7.4V 3400mAh battery
225 mm x 165 mm x 40 mm, 870g
LINOS 2.6.21
- Rob Bushway
Rugged Tablet PCs have been getting quite bit of focus lately with MobileDemand's xTablet T8700, Motion Computing's F5, and Panasonic's most recent entry. Considering the unique nature and market for rugged devices, I've decided to launch a new forum category to discuss issues particular to rugged units: weight, testing, applications, verticals, semi-rugged, fully rugged, peripherals, etc. If you are using a rugged tablet pc, a developer for rugged apps, or are in the market for a rugged device, head on over.
- Rob Bushway
Motion Computing has been in the Tablet PC space from the very beginning, experimenting with different form factors, but always staying true to their calling - the slate. From the M1200 to the LE1700, from the LS800 to the C5 / F5. What is Motion doing right and what could they do to improve? If you have considered buying a Motion slate tablet pc in the past, but decided on some other solution, what were the tipping points? If you are a current Motion owner, what made you decide to go with their product over someone else's?
- Sierra Modro
 While I was at the HP event in Berlin, I got an HP iPAQ 900 Series Business Communicator, aka a really nice PDA phone. This phone has it all - Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, touch screen, GPS, 3MP camera. Except that it isn't mine anymore. As you may remember, I got an Apple iPhone a few months back, so I have a nice new phone. My husband, on the other hand, has been using my cast-off phone, an i-mate JAMin, for quite a while, so he got the spandy new iPAQ to use. Following in the footsteps of Thomasin and Kathi, my husband David is helping to do a review of the iPAQ 910c.
 The iPAQ 910c, as it is known in the US, is (was?) scheduled to launch today in "select markets." I haven't been able to find any announcements, though, in any of the major geographies.
Specifications:
- Processor: Marvell PXA270 processor 416 MHz
- Memory: 128 MB SDRAM
- Flash memory: 256 MB Flash ROM
- Slots:1 microSD
- Display: 2.46-inch Transflective color TFT 320 x 240 pixel touch screen with LED backlight
- Integrated camera: 3 Megapixel, CMOS sensor, auto focus, 4X digital zoom
- Wireless: 802.11b/g with WPA2 security; Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR; Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA; Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- GPS: Multimodal GPS navigation
- Dimensions (w x d x h): 2.5 x 0.6 x 4.5 in (64 x 15 x 114 mm)
- Weight: 5.4 oz (15.4 g)
Download the high res InkShow ( WMV, 14 min, 107 mb )
Watch the embedded video below
Visit HP for more information
- Rob Bushway
Steve Seto, a Microsoft Tablet PC MVP, is so happy with his Dell Latitude XT, that he bought his college-bound daughter one. That certainly says alot when a dad feels comfortable enough to send his daughter off to school with a certain technology choice. It is interesting to note that Steve went the route that many folks are
going to purchase the XT - refurbished. With a full warranty, it
certainl seems to be the smart route to take. If you were buying a mobile computer for your son or daughter, what would end up buying?
- Rob Bushway
 I've been having this back and forth discussion with Warner about Motion Computing's F5 Tablet PC. He's had it for several months and seems to conveniently forget to send it back to me, even though I bring it up on a weekly basis. I know he is busy using it to help launch his new theater, but I want it back; so, I thought I'd take my issue public.
I miss the F5 badly, Warner, and I want it. I love the inking, the 10" inch screen, the seamless bezel, the integrated WWAN, the handle, the semi-ruggedness - it is just a great slate tablet pc and I want to begin using it again. You've got my address.
- Matt Faulkner
 With the release of Opera Mobile 9.5 just a short time away, I thought it might be a good time to see what others are using on their phones to surf the NET. I am sure there are a lot of you that have iPhones out there to that have a great experience surfing, but I want to hear from our Windows Mobile users because there are a few choices out there now. (I actually might be joining the iPhone clan if all looks OK with the Exchange sync in version 2.0 of the software)
 Do you use the built in Internet Explorer that comes with WM? SkyFire? Opera Mini? Opera Mobile? Others? Lately I have been running the Skyfire Beta - it's running really well on my ATT Tilt with Windows Mobile version 6.1. I like that it can render things just as if you were on a PC.  There is also the cool feature where you can select an area you want to zoom in and it will zoom to that resolution! I've also tried Opera Mini and Opera Mobile as well, but Skyfire seems to do the trick for me - What's everybody else using? Reason?
- Warner Crocker
Asus created such a sensation with the Eee PC that it totally disrupted the mobile computing market. Now, Asus seems to have both the wherewithal and the desire to turn the early success into a ubiquitous range of devices to fit every need and apparently every hand size. The tiny keyboards on the early Eee models (and other ultra-mini-sub-net low cost portables) aren't for everyone, and Asus has announced that they will be adding larger keyboards to two different models in their 900 range. The 904 and the 905 will run Atom processors and offer larger keyboards. According to DigiTimes this is going to replace the 901, which if I'm remembering correctly just launched recently.
This market seems to change almost overnight, and I'm not so sure playing "up the keyboard size" is a good thing for it in the long run.
- Warner Crocker
 As we look at the immediate future of mobile devices, Ink is still very much a second class citizen. The ultra-sub-mini-net low cost notebook pond is so full of contenders swimming around in the shallow end, you need a Baywatch-sized cast of lifeguards to sort them out. Running along side that pool and parallel with that development is a move towards touch and multi-touch (Windows 7). But touch and multi-touch haven’t dipped their toes into the shallow end of the pool with all those ULCPCs yet. Forget the shallow end. I want to leap off the high dive and do some serious swimming around with the adults using a device that let’s me get some real work done. For me, and I’m sure for others, that means note taking in Ink. Ink is getting left behind, which is still puzzling to me, given how many folks have to take notes in their daily chores.
I’ve been using an evaluation unit of Motion’s F5 Tablet PC quite a bit lately. I really enjoy the mobility of that device and the Inking works very well, although I wish it had the Inking enhancements of Vista. I even enjoy  the handle. Running EverNote on that device gives me the ability to Ink away in rehearsals or meetings and have that information back at my desk or at home, or anywhere that I can connect up for that matter. But I don’t need all the bells and whistles (or the price tag) of the Motion F5. As I watch how things are evolving these days, and enjoy the note taking I do on the Motion F5, it leads me to want a device that incorporates Inking but with the parameters that seem to govern the rise of the netbooks.
Here’s what I think would work well:
-
An 8 to 10 inch Slate form factor
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Some sort of minimal OS that allows access to the Internet, but also allows for a similar Inking experience to what we have in Vista
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WiFi, BlueTooth, and 3G
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Instant On
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Works well with Windows Live Mesh or another file syncing option
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A price point between $600 and $900
Here’s what I think is completely unnecessary for this kind of device:
Yeah, I know. I’m dreaming, but follow along here. My needs are actually pretty simple. I want to be able to take notes in Ink, have them sync to a more powerful desktop or Tablet PC automatically. I’ll use the Internet or Cloud for other rudimentary chores (email, document creation and review) I might need to do while I’m using this device. With the exception of enough power to run an active or capacitive digitizer, I don’t need to have a lot of power on this device. I certainly wouldn’t need lots of storage, or too many of the other bells and whistles we get on Tablet PCs these days. They are nice, but for this device I don’t see them as necessary. I want this to be a low cost Netbook with Inking. I know that flies in the face of marketing considerations that are governing the market today, but I think there are quite a few note takers who would gladly take advantage of this kind of device.
Here is range of my other thoughts on this.
File Syncing
The advent of some excellent file syncing options, and the potential for Windows Live Mesh, and Apple’s MobileMe, have led me to believe that I don’t need a full featured PC when I’m taking notes. I believe I can rely on that kind of Cloud communication, (when I have connectivity) to do my work. But the key is sliming everything down. Heck, a device that could run EverNote successfully might be all that we need, so maybe if the EverNote folks come up with a Linux based option that allows Ink, we’d be all set.
Silverlight
Maybe we’ll have a shot at something like this once Microsoft takes the wraps off of Silverlight. Some talk as if that’s the real future because of its potential for low overhead. We certainly haven’t seen enough yet to know whether it will be or not. I certainly hope that, in combination with Live Mesh, it might provide an opportunity for an Ink Enabled Notebook, but then that would require some OEMs to get on board as well. Adobe Air and Microsoft’s Silverlight are going to be in competition in this low overhead space, and both are aimed at the increasing number of users who have multiple devices using multiple platforms. Here’s hoping one of them won’t leave Inkers high and dry.
Apple’s Role
Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch line has proven that you can get a lot done on a small handheld device. I believe it is about to prove you can do even more here shortly with the roll out of iPhone 2.0 and MobileMe. The only thing missing is a larger screen and Inking. Maybe that’s all that the long rumored Apple Tablet needs to be. Expand the iPhone size a bit, add credible Inking, and go.
Get Rid of the DRM Overhead
From an OS standpoint, I certainly don’t need the overhead that the various DRM schemes force Microsoft and Apple to employ so they can bring the latest and greatest in media to small devices. Would I give up some media playback possibilities on this dream device? Again, I’m hoping that’s what Silverlight or Adobe Air’s low impact solutions offer us. So, if they do, great. But then let’s craft an OS that doesn’t carry this legacy DRM code around.
Quite honestly, I don’t care who comes up with an Ink Enabled Netbook first. It could be a Linux based system, come from Microsoft, or come from Apple. Maybe Asus will get smart and realize that they came very close to a good Inking solution with the R2H UMPC, although it was encumbered with so many other problems. When I look at the early starts on what we’ve got going at the moment, I see great potential. So, somebody take some notes and get cracking on this.
- Craig Pringle
In the comments to one of my recent posts Taxman asked the following:
Microsoft is a huge company with the most advanced tablet technology on the market. Why don't they spend advertising dollars to make the tablet a household word?
I have often wished that Microsoft would get out there and really promote the Tablet PC. It has never happened. The best the tablet seems to get is cameo appearances in MS advertising.
Have you ever wondered why that is?
My theory - and let me stress those two words, my theory, I have no inside knowledge on Microsoft's strategy with respect to marketing the tablet PC - is that they don't really have a lot to gain by doing so. Remember that unlike Apple, Microsoft don't sell PCs. They are a software company. They want to sell you a Windows license.
I strongly suspect that tablet functionality is not going to convert die hard Mac users in their droves. Furthermore I suspect that historically the vast majority of tablet purchases have been by people buying a tablet instead of a Windows laptop, so really to market the Tablet PC heavily would not be creating new sales for Microsoft, it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. In the XP days it would of shifted sales from one SKU (Windows XP Pro) to another (Windows XP Pro Tablet Edition). In the Vista product suite, at best is could up sell someone from Home Basic to one of the other SKUs.
That said - there is a community that does have something to gain from marketing tablet functionality as a point of difference. The OEMs. There is a price premium on Tablet PCs, but it is not from the OS license, so it is going into the OEM's pocket. They should be marketing tablet heavily. In fact, some actually do, but you may not see it as it is primarily aimed at the corporate market. I have frequently seen adds from Toshiba in the in-flight magazines on some airlines. Fujitsu also does some marketing in the corporate space. I've seen HP promoted heavily at industry events. What I would really like to see is for one or more OEM to really go after the consumer space. Frankly - if they continue to wait then Apple my finally end the speculation and make a Mac tablet - and you can bet they would grab some mind share in the consumer space!
Technorati Tags: Tablet PC
- John Gannon
The testing is in! The Sennheiser ME3--N has turned out to be a phenomenal microphone. I have used it for a number of days in everyday practice. The final accuracy appears to be right around 98%. I have found this microphone at least as accurate as my highly rated Sennheiser M.D431. The cost for the Sennheiser headset is significantly less than the handheld. With an Andrea USB sound pod and the headset microphone, the cost is still less than $200 at emicrophones.com.
My first day of use with this microphone found approximately 99% accuracy. The accuracy level did decrease (very minimally) over the next several days. But the accuracy did stay at 98% over all. My assessment of the ME3 parallels others who have tested this microphone. Previous postings on microphone sites found the ME3 to be approximately at 98% efficiency.
Why wouldn't you want to consider this microphone? I found it somewhat problematic fitting it on my head with my glasses. If this is a microphone that you would be constantly taking on and off 20 or 30 times per day you would either find a way to overcome this problem or be upset by it.
Another issue might be having a cord. Although not overly long, it is still a cord and one more thing to consider.
I did not go into the car as I had promised. I am on vacation and where we are staying is approximately 98°. However, I am staying with many people so the noise quotient is very high. With this in mind, I did find a drop in efficiency while testing with a ton of background noise. Approximately 96 or 97% accuracy. I think this would also be equivalent to working in the car with an air conditioner. I promise that future testing with microphones will include car testing when the temperature is reasonable.
So how much did I really like this microphone? Enough where I am going to use it instead of my handheld on an everyday basis. Will I figure a workaround with how this fits on my head? For this type of accuracy, absolutely!
Remember, everybody's mileage varies when using microphones. Many others have commented that they also have had this high of recognition.
Here's what I would like to do with future tests: I would like to have a rating scale consisting of fair, good, great and excellent. A fair microphone would really not be something you would use on a daily basis. A good microphone would be usable but require constant correction. A great microphone would require correction but with the passage of time recognition accuracy would increase. An excellent microphone has great accuracy out of the box and maintains it with the passage of time.
John's rating for the Sennheiser headset microphone: EXCELLENT, based on high accuracy out of the box, great accuracy in a very noisy environment, and ease of use.
- Warner Crocker
 You should know by now that I’m a big EverNote fan. I love how I’m able to grab just about anything and drop it into EverNote and then be able to refer back or use the data from any machine I’m working with including my Sprint (HTC) Mogul. Using EverNote in combination with another tool, Jott, is helping me to keep organized during this really hectic work period at the theatre.
Jott allows you to call in messages to the Jott service that are transcribed into text and then redirected to a number of different applications and services, or accessed from the Jott site. For example, you can choose to call in your Tweets to Twitter if you so desire, or use it to call Remember The Milk, a very popular to do list program. With some blogging platforms you could even create a blog entry by speaking the entry into your mobile device and sending it directly to your email. Jott’s voice transcription is very good, at least in my usage so far.
I’m using Jott with EverNote to store my thoughts and to do’s at the moment. Since I am frequently running around picking props up for the show, or items for the ongoing renovation, it makes for a great wayt to keep track of things. I’ll simply call Jott on my phone, tell it to call myself and list the items I am about to pick up. Within a few minutes the transcription is done by the Jott servers (I don’t think they have humans doing this) and then it is emailed to my EverNote account. When I make my stops, I open up EverNote mobile on my phone and have the list ready to go.
EverNote’s Windows platform allows you to merge notes (the Mac version may allow this, but I haven’t figured out if that is true or not yet) and this is also handy. With gas prices the way they are we are working very hard to minimize trips to and from the theatre these days. Let’s say throughout the day I’m preparing to make a run of errands for the next morning. I live in a town about 15 minutes away and we frequently do a lot of running to vendors there, so if we can consolidate and have me pick them up on the way to work the next morning we’ve saved a bit of gas. As we discover throughout the day that something needs to be picked up or purchased, I’ll simply call Jott with a reminder throughout the day. Before I go to bed at night as I’m doing my last email check, I’ll take a look at EverNote and merge any Jotts with items I need to pick up the following morning into one note. EverNote does the synchronizing for me and I’m all set.
This also comes in handy when I’m listening to a podcast while driving. I might here a program or service that sounds intriguing mentioned on the podcast and I’ll just call Jott, speak the name of the application or website, and when I have time to check it out later, I’ll have the info ready to access.
While Jott and EverNote don’t have a direct link at the moment the way some services do, you can easily do this through Jott’s email function. If you’re looking for a step by step guide to setting that up (it is really easy) LifeHacker published this one awhile back.
- Rob Bushway
Bill Miranda (aka TaxMan) has been following GBM for a while now and is quite dependable for a good comment and insight. He is now the proud owner of a Bluebeam PDF shirt and a Tom Bihn Ristretto bag. That Ristretto bag should hold his MacBook Air quite nicely! You do have a MacBook Air, right? Thanks for your contributions, Bill! Let's keep cracking, folks. I've got a ton of stuff to giveaway
- Warner Crocker
 We’ve all been there. You’ve just taken a drink of some beverage when someone or something hits you with something so funny that your nose becomes a fire hose spraying everything in sight. Late yesterday after rehearsal, we were in the office finishing up the program/playbill so that we could get it off to the printer. We sell a lot of advertising for our playbill and of course that means we are always waiting for our advertisers to get the copy in at the last minute. Turns out quite a few ads were dropped off while we were in rehearsal. Usually the process involves us retouching and rearranging things to fit the layout and make the ads look good.
I was at my desk, doing some last minute corrections, and scanning in some images to the iMac. I'd do some retouching, then I would make them available to the staffer who was doing the program layout. On my desk, I had three screens going at the time: the iMac, a second monitor attached to it running Vista using VMWare Fusion, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC. I was literally working on a variety of things at once as we were all cranking to get this work done and go home for some rest after a long week. It was also a hot day and very humid day and I had been consuming vast amounts of fluids to keep me going. I had just taken a large gulp of some green tea when one of my fellow workers let loose with a wisecrack, and I think you know where this is going. Green tea came shooting out of my nose and mouth in an explosion of immense proportions spraying all three screens and raining a cloud of green tea droplets over everything on my desk. Try as I might I just couldn't turn my head in time. After the moment settled I realized that everything was quickly turning into a sticky mess. Not to worry. I pulled out my trusty Shwamee Microfiber cloth, grabbed a glass of water and proceeded to clean everything up. It only took a few minutes and things were back to a "pre-liquid from the nose explosion" state, without a streak or smear to be found, including the wedding picture of me and my lovely wife. I've recommended the Shwamee Microfiber cloths before (check out this InkShow) and I'll do it again. They'll clean up even the stickiest messes. Thanks Shwamee.
- Warner Crocker
 Things are moving rapidly here in the final sprint to finish up our renovations and re-open the Wayside Theatre. But as we deal with electricians, sound techs, rehearsals, and the like, we’ve also got the ongoing work of keeping the theatre running to keep us on our toes. Today was one of those days where a couple of solutions I use in my daily work flow came in very handy and sort of saved the day, if not just some precious time.
As a 501–c-3 not-for-profit corporation we apply for and receive a number of grants to support the theatre (our ticket sales only cover 1/2 of our operating costs as a general rule.) One of those granting agencies holds back a portion of the funds until the end of the program and our submission of final reports. That granting agency also requires that we include a mention of their support in our programs and materials, which is only appropriate. This past season, we changed how we acknowledged that generous support, incorporating all such acknowledgments into the design of the artwork on our title page in our printed programs and our ad copy. While still mentioned prominently, it apparently wasn’t too easy for the grant agency’s staffer reviewing our final report to spot it and I got an email that wondered if we had omitted that obligation, and saying this would hold up the release of funds. Yikes!
I was not at the office when this came in, instead I was at the rehearsal hall. So, when I got the call from the office I had an employee scan the title pages of our programs as pdf files into a Windows Live Mesh folder on my desktop. Once that was done I grabbed the pdf files off of the corresponding folder on my Tablet PC and using the stylus, highlighted and marked up the acknowledgment text on each page using BlueBeam PDF Revu. I then sent the files off to the agency via email.
I got a quick reply of thanks, letting me know the funds were now in the mail.
Now, of course, there are other online file syncing solutions that would have given me access to the files, but right now the one I’m using is Windows Live Mesh. It did the job.
The real key here for a circumstance like I just described though is connectivity. Our local town government allows us to use the town council chambers as a rehearsal hall. This saves us a lot of money and aggravation and in and of itself is a very generous donation. But it has only been recently that the town office has installed a WiFi network and allowed us to access it. Lacking that solution I could have tethered up to my Sprint Mogul and connected that way and grabbed the files, but I don’t get a good enough signal in the town hall to make that a reliable method of connecting. But thanks to a WiFi connection, it took very little time to communicate back to the office and get the job done. In fact, I was done in less than the 10 minutes I had given the actors as a break.
Without that connectivity I would have probably left the rehearsal hall to take care of this back at the office. In this circumstance the email that accompanied the files was one I really needed to write rather than delegating it to someone else. So, in addition to getting the funds moving, I figure I saved about a half hour to forty minutes of rehearsal time and also a quick trip during the heat of the day.
- Matt Faulkner
Another YouTube video - but this time showing some Hardware. The new Panasonic Toughbook in action! How about that thumb stretch - what do you think about that? I would have to give it a try, but it might be just like the Shift - just a little too big for thumbs (while it does look smaller, the thickness of device included in my thoughts). That said - it's a very cool video showing a TON of field application scenarios.
- Matt Faulkner
Want to look smart and draw some atoms? Check out this video from Clemson University! That 3D view is REALLY cool!! I can see this being a great tool for teachers.
- Warner Crocker
 There’s nothing like making fun of politicians and their ridiculous comments about computing on “the Google” or “the Internets” or “a series of tubes.” At times it does make you wonder, and in fact, these days it is an easy target. But in this year’s US election, and the preceding primaries, some are paying more attention to the candidates computer savvy as they are making choices. Earlier this year, TechCrunch ran a Tech Presidential Primary seeking readers’ views on their choices for the next Tech President, and then made an endorsement in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. Intriguingly enough the TechCrunch endorsement picked the two candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, who are now running in the general election.
Even so, John McCain has taken some hits for saying that he is “computer illiterate”, but in this CNN report slamming him for that (and politicians in general), there are a couple of shots of him trying out a TabletKiosk eo UMPC. Check it out.
So, here’s a question for you. How important is a candidate’s tech literacy for you in making your political choices? In answering this, let’s keep this high-minded here. We’re not interested in flame wars about one candidate or the other, but want to know if a candidate’s tech knowledge, or lack thereof, affects your choosing.
Thanks to Gail Levy for the link.
- Rob Bushway
While in Austin, I had the privilege of meeting with Motion Computing and was totally blown away with what they had to show me. As in the past, Motion has again set the bar for innovation and design. Beyond telling you that, though, I've been sworn to secrecy. Suffice it to say, I think you'll be impressed, too. We had some great discussions about mobile computing, slates, and the space in general. As you might expect, Motion uses their own products throughout their entire operation. I saw folks walking around with LE1700s and F5s, inking, using them docked, etc. In fact, while wrapping up our meeting, someone walked in with an important document to sign and they signed it right there on the spot using an LE1700 Tablet PC - it was business as usual. Thanks for inviting me out, Motion. I had an awesome time. Here are a few pictures I took while there: 
Motion Computing's headquarters, surrounded by woods 
The entrance way in to Motion Computing 
Their logo in the entrance way 
Mr. Scott Eckert, Motion's CEO, doing whatever big CEOs do 
I saw a lot of multi-monitor setups throughout their offices; with the LE1700, of course, serving as one of those monitors. 
The original launch team for the M1200 Table PC
- Rob Bushway
 While I was in Austin, Dell invited me to their campus to spend some time in their Usability ID Lab. I'm not at liberty to discuss much of anything besides the fact that I was there and was very impressed with everything I saw. Dell is doing some awesome work and has turned some major corners.
- John Gannon
Maybe this is not directly related to tablets or slates, but boy, I am glad to see even the boss gets crazy from this stuff. Bill Gates email. about trying to download from Microsoft. Have a good laugh!
- Matt Faulkner
 A while back I was brought to an end of my hunt with a bag that was given to me by the wonderful people at Tom Bihn. It's probably the longest I have had a bag in a long time... but the the new addition of my 'regular' laptop - I have to be on the hunt again... :(
The bag I have is the Ego - and there is a Super Ego that will work for me - that is a serious consideration as the Ego bag has been wonderful. But, I haven't been on the hunt for a full sized bag in a while so I am asking you, the GBM readers, if there is something you have or a brand that I should check out! I will say that I am not a Backpack type of person, more of the 'messenger' type of guy. It also have to fit my companion Tablet PC in there too... I have all but decided that the LS800 is perfect for me to take to my meetings, sit by me at my desk, couch surfing and child prodigy device. So, are there any suggestions out there??
- Rob Bushway
Many folks have been following the news lately about the Typhoon Touch lawsuit that has named TabletKiosk, Apple, Dell, Fujitsu, and Panasonic as defendants. Motion Computing and Electrovaya have apparently settled with Typoon Touch. By way of TabletKiosk's Mobility Matters blog, Martin Smekal, TabletKiosk's CEO, has decided to speak publicly about the lawsuit and offers some intriguing insight: “After conferring with our attorneys, we are confident that Typhoon’s claim of owning the patent to “portable touch-screen computing” is without merit. Because mobile touch screen technology has been around since the 1980s, we feel that this is a frivolous lawsuit and that Typhoon Touch Technologies claim of ownership has no warrant whatsoever. We intend to fight this case to the end.”
“Based on the way our Supreme Court has previously ruled, I think that the Typhoon Touch Technologies lawsuit will be invalidated. In 2007, in the case of KSR vs. Teleflex, the Supreme Court voted against Teleflex’s ownership of “obvious technology”. The court’s decision involved an area of patent law that dealt wit | | |