Blog:: Craig Pringle

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of the first month of the year already.  Looking back there has been some interesting events and I think it bodes well for the year to come.  My posts for January are summarised here.  Highlights for January for me were:

• becoming a Tablet PC MVP - along with a top-shelf list of tablet advocates.
• Came across a fantastic utility that monitors your OWA email and notifies you when new mail arrives.
•  Loads of new hardware coming including the Acer R1F, the DualCor and the new tablet version of the OQO 01+
• New version of ArtRage released.

With the demise of the HP TC1100 some would ask – are there any true hybrid tablets left on the market?  I have a different question.  Were there ever any hybrid tablets on the market?

If you think about it the term hybrid tablet is really an artificial construct.  What makes the HP TC1100 a hybrid rather than a slate?  The removable keyboard?  You can get a similar keyboard for the Motion LE1600 and the Electovaya Scribbler tablets.  The only real difference is that the HP comes with the keyboard by default where as for the above mentioned tablets it is an optional extra.  I for one don’t think that is enough to define it as a new type.  The only thing that defined the HP TC1100 as a hybrid rather than a slate was the HP marketing department.

While I agree those who say that the demise of the TC1100 is a shame and a shocking decision on the part of HP I think that other manufacturers will listen to the market.  They will continue to make high quality slates with removable keyboards – though the keyboard may continue to be an optional extra.

Pete Wright was documented his experience installing Windows Vista on a Motion Computing LE 1600.  Good read and Pete had similar results to me - except he managed to get the hardware buttons working! 

If you are trying Vista on a 1600 and want to get the buttons working check out Pete's post.

If you are struggling with the fingerprint reader - it can be done.  In the Omnipass folder in Program Files there is an executable called something like enrlwiz (looks like it must be short for enrollment wizard).  If you configure that to run elevated and in compatability mode, then run it you can create a new user and register fingerprints.

Wondering what this is going to be like?  Head on over to Tabletology for an overview of some of the features coming in Office 12 and thoughts from the perspective of a tablet user.

Office 12 is currently available to a select few in beta one form.  The fine women at tabletology have been careful to cover things that are already in the public domain so as not to run afoul of the NDA.  There is lots to look forward to in Office 12, but I couldn't possibly comment ;)

I decided this year I want improve my presenting skills. To that end I started Toastmasters yesterday.

Today Chris Auld posted a link to a great Blog for those who want to improve their speaking skills. Presentation Zen. Subscribed.

Cartoon Monkey Chad Essley - the creator of the fabulous Tablet PC User Group mascot - has posted a fabulous review of the newly released ArtRage 2.0.

Chad takes ArtRage head to head with Alias Sketchbook and gives a great overview of the strengths and weaknesses of both.

A great read - check it out here.

Dennis Rice - Tablet MVP and Managing Editor of Tablet PC Buzz - has started a new blog.  Travelin' with Tablet Guy promises to be both informative and entertaining - subscribed.

Hat tip to Warner Crocker for the pointer.

I was out of town for a few days last week at an internal conference.  We did one of those exercises where you break into teams to discuss something and then present back to the group.  The way it was arranged we had quite a tight timeframe for the discussions, an hour for lunch and then we had to present back. 

As one of the few tablet users in our organisation I have noticed that in this sort of situation people assume that the guy with the tablet will be happy to present :)  In my case its true, but it still strikes me as odd.

Anyway we had some set questions to answer so I started by setting these up the main nodes of a mind map in MindManager.  As the group discussion progressed I captured ideas under the appropriate headings and linked things together.  At the conclusion of the session I had everything discussed in one map. 

While other presenters worked through lunch to organise their thoughts into PowerPoint slides I went and had lunch.  For the pressentaiton I just converted the handwritten map into text and put MindManager into presentation mode.  This may not sound like much, but compared to other groups I spent about 1/3 less time putting the presentation together without giving anything away in quality.  That is not a bad productivity saving :)

Perry has released Episope 27 of the Tablet PC Show over on the podcast network.  Topics covered include:

Good show.  Read the show notes or give it a listen here.

I stumbled across a cool feature in the Windows Live Messenger beta the other day.  Just like in previous version you can organize your Messenger contacts into groups.  However, unlike previous versions the same contact can be in multiple groups. 

For instance - you can put all your work colleagues into a group called "work" and copy the ones you actually like into your "friends" group.  This is a very handy features if you ever send IM messages to entire groups.

If anyone is interested in checking out the invite only beta I have some invites to dole out.  First in first served.

The Student Tablet PC blog has introduced a new feature on the homepage - a tip of the day.  Even better - they have created a new feed for the daily gems, so you can subscribe and get a tip every day in your favorite news reader.

Kevin Thompson of cyberlawcentral has posted a review of the Acer C200 after his first week hands on with this innovative sliding screen device.  So does it stack up?

"Overall, I have been very happy with my choice of the C200. It’s easy to type out longer essays with the keyboard, and yet for most purposes the pen is a great input device. The conversion between the two modes is rapid enough to keep the flow of my work, unlike other tablets that make you stop and twist the screen around to convert it to tablet mode."

Two things I applaude Acer on with this device are the innovative design.  Great work breaking the pivot paradigm on the convertible!  Secondly - while they do bundle software it is not pre-installed.  Crapware campaigner Warner Crocker will be pleased :)

Certainly sounds like an interesting device.  I'm really keen to get my hands onto one of these to see for myself.  Anyone got links into Acer NZ?  :)

Hat tip to JK

James Kendrick points to a very useful tool if you ever try to navigate the web on a mobile device such as a PDA, a phone, or some lovechild of the two...

Google Mobilizer provides a minimalist interface that allows the user to enter a url.  Mobilizer will fetch the content and present it in a mobile device friendly format - optionally without pictures.  Very cool - add it to your mobile favorites.

Marc Orchant and James Kenrick have release #10 of the OnTheRun with Tablet PCs podcast.

Topics covered include:

• New Tablet PC MVPs (including yours truley)
• The inside word on the Tablet User meetup at CES
• Which tablets will run Vista?
• Details on the DualCor cPC
• How cheap will Gateway go on convertible notebooks?
• Using a Palm Treo 700w with a Tablet PC

Check out the shownotes, listen or subscribe here.

This is good for a few laughs and actually a very interesting concept.

Add encarta@conversagent.com to your MSN or Windows Live Messenger contacts list and you can ask it questions.  It will look up the answer in Encarta and return the result to you.  Very cool.  Some examples of questions you can ask it are:

Microsoft Research in Bejing has been working on software that will process and clean up handwriting. 

Oh baby - I need that!  Still a research project at this point in time but if it is released into the world I may have to revise my stance on posting in ink...

Via Warner

The fact that the new version of ArtRage is going to be released in both Windows and Mac versions has Robert Scoble musing:

"Hmmm, is Apple coming out with a Tablet? Using ArtRage with a normal mouse isn’t even close to as satisfying."

While it is true that using ArtRage with a mouse is less than satisfying and while I would not be at all surprised to see a Mac tablet in the near future, I would not read too much into the Mac version of ArtRage2.

Why?  Because one of the last strongholds of the Mac is in the world of the Graphics Design and many of these guys have a Wacom graphics tablet attached to their Mac.  In this format ArtRage would be quite usable...

Every so often you find a simple yet powerful application that just rocks.  OWANotify is one of those utils and even better - it is freeware! (Though if you like it you can make a contribution to the author)

This utility - like many other mail notification utilities I have seen puts an icon in the system tray and checks you inbox at a specified interval.  If a new message arrives then a popup notification is displayed.  Unlike most others - which check the inbox over POP or IMAP - OWANotify checks for new email by logging into Outlook Web Access over HTTP or HTTPS.  Let me add here that if you have OWA exposed to the internet you should be using HTTPS.

The user can then click the icon to open the mailbox, or right-click the icon for other options as shown below.

This great little tool has helped me overcome an issue I have been struggling with for a while - effectively monitoring TWO mailboxes on for different organisations.  Using OWANotify I can log into my work email at work using Outlook and point OWANotify at my inbox on my Exchange server at home.  Conversly when I am at home I can still keep an eye on my work email if need be.  Yes I am that much of a geek.

The tool will also be of use to users who only use OWA and don't have the full Outlook client installed.  While OWA can display popup notifications when new messages arrive it only does this if you have a OWA window open.  If the user closes the window or navigates away from it the notifcations stop.

A truley excellent application and a must have if you use OWA frequently.  For more information and the download visit the OWANotify site.

Colin Walker has posed an excellent question - What Tablet PC would you buy NOW and why?:

"Okay, your Tablet PC breaks/is lost/stolen (or maybe you don't have one yet - shame on you!) and you are in the market for one right now. Never mind all the dual core device news that has come out of CES or any other upcoming units, I want to know, if you had the money burning a hole in your pocket what Tablet PC would you buy right NOW and WHY?"

Great question - now if my main machine (TC1100) died right now and I could replace it with my choice of tablets then it would currently be the Motion Computing LE1600.  What can I say - I'm sucker for light, sleek slates and for my mone the 1600 is the pick of the bunch at the moment.

Let me also say this - it would depend very much on what I am buying it for.  As much as I love smaller, lighter devices (without giving too much away in performance) for one particular task I have really been lusting after the Toshiba M4 lately.  That task is developing tablet apps.  For that work the extra grunt, large screen and high resolution would be a huge help.  That said it is too big and heavy to be my main machine, tablet development is not really a big part of my job and my boss balked at the idea of buying me another tablet :)

James Kendrick has details of two more great new devices.  Check out jkontherun for info on:

• The Tablet PC Edtion version of the OQO 01+
• The DualCor Tablet-and-Windows-Mobile-in-one device.

Barry Doyle has posted details of the new Asus dual core Tablet PC – the R1F – on TabletPCReviewSpot.com.  Quick specs:

• 13.3" Widescreen Display
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• 13.3" Widescreen Display
• Intel Yonah 2MB L2 Cache - up to 2.33GHz
• Up to 2GB DDR2 RAM 667MHz
• 80GB/100GB/120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Security Chip
• Biometric Fingerprint Reader

I discovered (thanks to Greg Hughes) that dasBlog has a feature where you can summarise a whole year's posts on a single page.

You can view all my 2005 posts here.  Looking back it was a really great year for the Tablet PC and the following posts and topics were highlights for me.

• Understanding TabletPC Value: A case study - generated lots of great discussion.
• Interesting tidbits on the LE 1600 - not long after it was released I got the good oil on the new LE1600 from Motion Computing that got me excited about this new device.  Having had one in my hands it lived up to expectations.
• TabletPC Blogs now online - Great effort guys!  Such a good idea to create a space in the net for Tablet bloggers.  Even better when it became ink enabled!
• First Meeting of TabletPC User Group - after lots of hard work the TabletPC user Group launched and was well recieved.
• Motion release 8" TabletPC - Motion continue to push the boundries with their smaller, lighter tablet.
• Colin Walker pioneering with Vista on a Tablet - someone had to do it!
• Warner Crocker - Tablet PC MVP - one of the most prolific and insightful tablet bloggers of the year receives a MVP award for his efforts.
• Another great moment was when the blog-o-sphere pulled together Wishing Maggie Bushway well.  Maggie's hospital room ended up literally plastered with warm wishes from around the world.  It was great to see.
• I Starting on the path of TabletPC Development working on an ink-enabled blogging application called BlogPad.
• I really enjoyed Sharing my thoughts on the demise of the TC1100 with HP - that was too much fun ;)

When you place an InkEdit control on a windows form you can enter ink into it directly - which is cool.  However, by default, when the control has focus the stylus hovering over it will cause the PIP icon to be displayed.  This gets in the way while writing, which is not so cool.

To disable the PIP for a InkEdit control (works for some other controls, too) you need to do the following.

<-- VB.Net code snippit starts -->

Dim myPip As New PenInputPanel
myPip.AttachedEditControl = myInkEdit
myPip.AutoShow = False

<-- VB.Net code snippit ends -->

The above code creates an instance of the Pen Input Panal and associates it with the InkEdit control.  Once you have done that all you need to do is set the PIP's AutoShow property to false and the PIP will not display - cool eh?

Marc Orchant points out that Tracy Hooten of Student Tablet PC fame and TEO creator Josh Einstein have have also recieved MVP awards.

I share Marc's excitement about the high quality of my fellow "freshman class" mates.  I'm also buzzing about the quality of the existing MVPs.  To a person they have contributed a huge amount to the tablet community and it is an honour to be named along side them.

James Kendrick notes that his friend a podcast co-host Marc Orchant has been awarded a MVP award.

Congrats Marc - as it happens I know just how you feel.  (I got the nod, too!)

There is one BlogPad feature that I am really struggling with - though I suspect that a REAL developer might have some ideas how to tackle it. I want to parse the rtf produced by a InkEdit control (which inherets the RichEdit control) and produce well formed xhtml. I want to do this so I can preseve formating, links and images that are pasted into the InkEdit control.

I did find a comercial control that is suppose to do this but a) it was expensive and b) the xhtml the trial version produced was rarely well formed.

Is there anyone out there willing to have a crack at writing something to parse the rtf from a RichTextBox and output well formed xhtml? You will of course get kudos in the credits. If you are interested reply via comments or using the Contact button in the right menu bar.

Perry is back with Episode #026 of the revived Tablet PC Show on the Podcast Network.  Perry is armed with a new headset and the sound quality is much better.  Perry admits he has also been advised to slow down as he talks fast when he gets excited talking about technology.  I have the same problem :)

Check out the show notes and listen to the episode here. 

I was quite pleased to hear my own BlogPad application get a mention.  I assure you all it is getting there.  Once it does get there we can look at some of the other features Perry suggested into the next version!

Good effort Perry - the sound quality is great and the content is also excellent (not just saying that because you plugged me!)