One of the common beliefs I encounter from people who have not used a tablet is that the OS will never be able to decipher their particular brand of handwriting because it is not neat or consistent enough.
My usual response is to show some of my handwritten notes and demonstrate how they have been correctly recognized and are searchable in OneNote.
However, while at the MVP Global Summit in Redmond recently I decided to dispel this myth once and for all with a little help from some of my fellow Tablet MVPs. I opened a new page in OneNote and passed my LS800 around. What follows are actual handwriting samples from some tablet MVPs. These are all very heavy tablet users and all report very high levels of accurate recognition, especially in Windows Vista.
Here's mine:
Marc Orchant:
Frank la Vigne:
Trevor Claiborne of The Student Tablet PC:
James Kendrick:
Honorary Tablet MVP Charlie Russel:
Gotta Be Mobile's Rob Bushway (nicely put Rob!) :
Also from Gotta Be Mobile, Dennis Rice:
WNewquay:
Hugo Ortega:
Linda Epstein:
As you can see even those with great penmanship have inconsistencies and chickenscratchers (like me and JK) can still experience a high level of successful handwriting recognition. Hopefully this shows that your handwriting is not a barrier to realizing the amazing benefits of using a Tablet PC.