Microsoft Tablet PC MVP Craig Pringle will be crushing Tablet PC myths and delving into how Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs work in a mobile enterprise. I recommend catching this session!
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Showing posts with label UMPC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UMPC. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Everun Overun
The UMPC/mobility community has been all atwitter about the Raon Digital Everun, and I've just been sitting back and letting the jealousy soak in. Folks like Uber Tablet's/GottaBeMobile's Hugo Ortega and UMPC Portal's Chippy have been seriously wowing us with videos and deets. I was riding the wave of excitement for quite some time, but for different reasons than the others. This device excites me, not because of what it is now, but what it presages.
Anyone who's read what I've written or listened to me for half a minute knows I love my ultra-portable, ultra-mobile machines, and the Everun definitely fits the bill; he's cute, too! However, though the Everun has my required digitizer, it comes with Windows XP Home, not the superset of Windows XP Pro with the Tablet PC bits, so no Tablet Input Panel...no Ink! With a 600 MHz processor, the improved tablet functionality of Windows Vista is out of reach, as well. It's like buying the canvas and paintbrushes, but instead of getting some nice watercolors or oils, you whip out last Easter's egg coloring kit. But oh, I'm so glad the canvas has been spread! From cave drawings to Michael Whelan, baby!
Another thing about the Everun that appeals to me is the potential for staying connected. As Hugo demonstrates, the right sim card in one of these babies can get you communication---voice as well as data. For this road warrior, whose work-issued Cingular AirCard was deactivated while attending a conference in another state, that HSDPA thing the Everun has going is enticing. Reality is that this self-same geek is firmly in the less expensive EVDO camp, but figures all of God's signals will one day be received by the Everun's successors. Can I get an "amen?"
Up to six seven hours of battery life on a standard battery? Yes, please!
I'd prefer it to the iPhone (at least I'd have a chance of synchronizing all my PIM data with my employer's Exchange server), and I'd like to look it over, for sure, but the Everun is not for me. In my case, the Everun attraction is in what it can and should become. It is the torch, lighting the way.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Vista and the R2H: I Just Can't Get it Right
Warner can do it, Dave Maiden can do it; what's wrong with me? Have I spent so long loading other people's images that I no longer know how to set up an operating system from scratch? Should I step up my plans to buy a better Mac?
Despite my embarrassing paucity of posts, I'm not new to Vista; I've used it a lot since I was accepted into the beta in September 2005. In fact, I used it to write the majority of this post on my ViewSonic Tablet PC V1250. It works ok there. However, the R2H and I have issues, and this isn't even the first time I've installed Vista on it!
For the installation, I mostly used Warner's posts as my guides. I knew that I wasn't ready to rely solely on Vista, so opted for dual-boot, sticking Vista on the second partition. Everything was going somewhat smoothly, until I decided I wanted my GPS to work. By accidentally leaving the original Asus driver CD in the external DVD burner, I learned that I needed the ATK0100 utility to make Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 detect the GPS. As that caused some Blue Screen of Death nastiness, I got the ATKDrv utility for Vista from the Asus download site...the global link, since the US link always seems to be "busy." This is when my real trouble started. Whenever this utility was installed, my wireless NIC would disappear from Device Manager. It wouldn't always show up after a reboot. At first, I removed the offending utility and tried to get on with other installation tasks, but, judging by the messages I kept getting, the utility is needed if I want to utilize my hotkey buttons and higher resolution emulation, so I had to put the utility back and hope the wireless would settle down after everything was installed. The Realtek LAN card would sense the network and get an IP address, but would never see the world beyond my router, so I was essentially disconnected, which was completely intolerable. I've ended up using a USB wireless NIC during desperate moments or using my cell phone as a Bluetooth modem.
Goodness, I can't write a short post to save my life. That's enough for now, especially since the R2H has to go back to Asus, because it hasn't made a sound in any OS since it came back from repair, and I'm ready to send it back (I miss it already!). When I get it back this time, I think I'm just going to take those CDs that came with it, slip a second installation of XP TPCE on the second partition, and then try a Vista upgrade. I don't care what anyone else says, upgrades always work fine for me; perhaps it will work better than the clean install has.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Comparing/Contrasting HealthCare Pros' Reactions to the UMPC
Whilst reading the feeds, I came across a post about a physician who found his TabletKiosk eo to be a huge benefit to his practice. As I read the various posts, I couldn't help mentally c/c'ing my own experience demonstrating (informally) my Asus R2H
The testing of the physician order entry app was initiated because some of the healthcare professionals felt that the Motion LE1600 was too heavy, at 3.13 pounds. Though the R2H weighs in at 1.83 pounds (the same as Dr. Rubin's eo), it, too, was deemed too heavy. There's no denying the R2H is a bit brickish.
The hospital's software was designed for 1024 x 768 resolution. Vital order information was cut off at the native 800 x 480 resolution of the R2H. This problem did not exist when the R2H emulated 1024 x 600, though some scrolling was necessary. However, at any resolution, the response was that the caregivers, who average about 50 years in age, would find the 7-inch screen too difficult to read. I noticed that Dr. Rubin looks like he's seen a few decades, too; perhaps his EMR software is tailored to fit the smaller screen without resorting to tiny print.
In a fascinating development, I've heard that my correspondents are quite excited about the Motion C5, despite the fact that it weighs almost as much as an LE1600. When I asked about this, the explanation I got was that the benefits of having a device that is durable, sealed and can be wiped with disinfectant far outweighed any weight considerations. I hope to see these babies in action soon.
source: TabletGear.com
TabletGear.com's source: MedicalTabletPC.com
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