Tuesday, July 9, 2002
The New Tablets
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 07:58 AM
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,269402,00.asp
I was initially quite ho-hum on the Tablet PC concept, but I've slowly become quite thrilled by it. I've been in contact with an OEM who will be making one, and the specifications and price point are quite compelling. I have this vision in my mind of kicking back on the couch with my Tablet PC and having some fun editing video, all with a stylus. Oh the joy...
"Nevertheless, there's a lot to like about Microsoft's Tablet PC OS. The new major program is called Microsoft Windows Journal, which is designed as a place for you to take handwritten notes. Windows Journal looks like a page out of notebook, and you use a special physical pen to select a variety of electronic pens, erasers, or highlighters and then write directly on the screen. I was particularly impressed with how easy and natural it was to capture notes and highlight them in different colors. My children, in particular, took to this mode as if it were the most natural thing in the world—a great sign for the future of tablet-style computing.
You can easily open up more space to create new notes, and once you've entered your notes the program can convert your handwriting into text or leave it as "ink." Either way, you gain the ability to search through your notes to find a particular word or phrase. On the downside, this capability is limited by the quality of the handwriting recognition, which didn't work particularly well when it tried to decipher my scribble. It did a far better job, however, with the handwriting of other members of my family."
I was initially quite ho-hum on the Tablet PC concept, but I've slowly become quite thrilled by it. I've been in contact with an OEM who will be making one, and the specifications and price point are quite compelling. I have this vision in my mind of kicking back on the couch with my Tablet PC and having some fun editing video, all with a stylus. Oh the joy...
"Nevertheless, there's a lot to like about Microsoft's Tablet PC OS. The new major program is called Microsoft Windows Journal, which is designed as a place for you to take handwritten notes. Windows Journal looks like a page out of notebook, and you use a special physical pen to select a variety of electronic pens, erasers, or highlighters and then write directly on the screen. I was particularly impressed with how easy and natural it was to capture notes and highlight them in different colors. My children, in particular, took to this mode as if it were the most natural thing in the world—a great sign for the future of tablet-style computing.
You can easily open up more space to create new notes, and once you've entered your notes the program can convert your handwriting into text or leave it as "ink." Either way, you gain the ability to search through your notes to find a particular word or phrase. On the downside, this capability is limited by the quality of the handwriting recognition, which didn't work particularly well when it tried to decipher my scribble. It did a far better job, however, with the handwriting of other members of my family."
