Rix Bits

Clearly I’m a tablet PC fan. I appreciate the power of a PC in a tablet form.  I also appreciate the power of digital ink and true handwriting on my tablet. So I’m not easily impressed by all the Johnny-come-lately consumer tablets that are popular these days.

Right now I’m waiting to see how good the upcoming Surface RT Pro will be. Unlike the current Surface RT, it will contain a full version of Windows 8 Pro, as well as the inclusion of a pen for digital handwriting. In particular, I’m wondering if it’s worth upgrading from my HP Slate 500.

But I’m also wondering if anything will match the smooth performance of my Windows XP (yes, XP) Toshiba hybrid tablet from 2005. I still pull that out every now and then – not when I want to be mobile (it’s big & heavy) but when I want a large screen and good writing experience at my desk. The pen on that thing is flawless. If it wasn’t for it being so bulky, I’d still prefer the WinXP tablet over an iPad to this day.

I’ll let you know if the Windows Surface RT Pro seems powerful enough to become my new tablet. Let’s wait and see.

I’ve often said that anyone who doesn’t understand what’s so cool about a tablet PC and a pen is probably someone who’s never used a tablet & pen with Microsoft OneNote.  OneNote lets me store all my handwritten notes in one searchable location, including screenshots, documents, and even audio & video recordings (imagine recording the meeting you’re sitting in, and having OneNote keep track of the point in the audio at which you write each of your notes).  Another way to think about – think Franklin Covey notebook without all the physical paper to keep track of. ; )

In today’s video, I’ll be showing how I use OneNote on both my desktop and tablet PC in order to sync changes between the two.

I read an article about digital ink recently over at Simple Mobile Review.  I think they did a great job of comparing the handwriting features of Windows compared to some of those other ‘tablets’. ; )  In fact, they included two images that I think do a pretty good job summing up the comparison (click them to visit the original post and see them larger):

(images courtesy of Simple Mobile Review)

I recently used my Slate 500 to draw a workflow diagram for a co-worker, which layed out how we would design our InfoPath and Nintex Workflow solution for a SharePoint project I’m working on.  I thought it might be useful to point some of the many features that Windows gives us when it comes to handwriting and true digital ink.  So I fired up the screen capture tool, and produced the video below.  What you can’t see, unfortunately, is how my fingers played a role in creating this diagram. The Slate did a great job of managing my pen writing, finger touching, palm rejection, and flick gestures.  Pay close attention to the video annotations for more details on that.

Some of the key features I try to point out in the video are:

• Digital ink in Windows is not just line drawings – they are vector graphic ‘objects’.  That means every individual line can be transformed, manipulated, changed, copied, etc.
• The ability to move ink around means you can revise your handwriting – so if you’re writing notes, and would rather have the next point inserted between notes you’ve already taken, or if you want to draw in-between some drawings you’ve already done, just move your ink
• You can convert ink-to-text, but you can also leave your handwriting as-is, and it’s still SEARCHABLE
• With a device like the Slate, which is both multi-touch and pen-enabled, you’re writing experience becomes a combination of writing and touching – just like your real-world paper experience

Another homerun for the HP Slate 500?  Let me know what you think!

[UPDATE: Companion Blog Post >>Surface Pro and OneNote-Inking: Compared to HP Slate 500]

• I expected my slate to give the same kind of sluggish performance that a Netbook is known for.  But in fact, it’s been very responsive, especially considering the hardware that it’s built on.
• Finger-scrolling is enabled in more places than I had anticipated.  This includes Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and the Start Menu.
• Many apps that I wouldn’t have expected are allowing for pinch zooming, including the internet browsers and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Speaking of PDF readers, I read a lot of ebooks on the Slate, and most of the PDF readers I use do a good job with full-screen reading modes, including good finger scrolling and flicks for page up/down. 

Well, it’s been a whole week with my HP Slate 500 table pc, and I feel like I’m starting to get my tablet swag back. :)  Initially the pen writing felt awkward because it’s been a while since I’ve used a tablet on a daily basis, but I feel my rhythm returning.

So, as any respectable geek would do, I started looking at ways to customize and personalize my Slate – in other words, what can I do to trick out my tablet pc?  In addition to picking a nice subtle wallpaper for my desktop, I decided to customize the native Flick Gestures that come with Windows 7.  These gestures allow me to ‘flick’ my finger quickly in 1 of 8 different directions, and perform a task as a result.

In my case, I’m often performing the following tasks, so they made good candidates to be added to the list of Flicks:

Well, after quite a long wait, my HP Slate 500 has finally arrived.  As I’m sure you already know, I’ve been a tablet PC user & evangelist for years.  But this latest incarnation for me represents a form factor and price point that I’ve been waiting for a long time.

Expect to see many posts in the near future regarding my Slate 500 experiences.  For now, you can start to do your research on just what the Slate 500 is by checking out HP’s promotional video.  I’ll say for now, tho, that this device is targeted at business users, and not the consumer market.  Thus, it shouldn’t be compared to the iPad or any of the other tablet ‘appliances’ coming out these days.  Nevertheless, I’ll be sure to point out some of the advantages of a Windows 7 tablet ‘PC’ over devices like the iPad, simply because I love to expose the smoke-n-mirrors marketing that has everyone convinced that Apple products are the best. :)

More to come.

(Hanging out at B&N with my tablet and a Mocha)