Loren Heiny is working on a new piece of tablet software that allows you to ink in IE fields. I can't wait for this and I think that he'll sell a lot of copies of this. He has a screen cast of some of the work that he is done. It looks very cool and it sounds like he is implementing it very cleverly (is that a word?). Anyway, kudos Loren.
If you live anywhere near the midwest and you are a .NET developer, you need attend the Day of .NET. This is essentially a code camp and it is a collaborative effort between the following INETA member groups:
There are four tracks made up of Intro stuff, ASP.NET, Smart Client, and a Miscellaneous track. There are several great speakers including Mark Miller from Mondays. The event will take place on Saturday, May 13 in Ann Arbor, MI at the Washtenaw Community College. I'm event going and I'm a Buckeye fan.
Go and register for the event while there is still room!
OK, in the last week or so, Microsoft has said publically that the Origami/UMPC will get special Media Center extender software to allow the use of the UMPC device as a Media Center extender. Why can't they enable all PCs to become Media Center extenders? It just uses Remote Desktop for christ sakes. This would be especially cool on my tablet to be able to sling my media all over my house and watch it wherever I take my tablet. It would be cool to be able to watch my Media Center content in my office on my second monitor while I'm banging away on some code. I know that I can use the Media Connect but it is not the same. I want to be able to watch live TV on my tablet or my other PCs. I just don't get it. Does anyone know why this is a problem? Is it not a problem and Microsoft just hasn't thought of this? Hard to imagine if that is the case.
I watched James Kendrick's video review of the TabletKiosk's eo UMPC/Origami device. It was a very good review but I am not really that impressed with the device. There are three pretty big problems with these devices.
The first large problem is the hardware battery life. The advertised battery life on these devices is only 2.5 to 3.5 hrs. If I were a business user which is one of the areas that this device is targeting, I would be really turned off by that because now I have to carry around a charger and/or another battery all day. Isn't the point to get rid of the items that you carry from meeting to meeting?
The second large problem is that not all applications will look good on this device. They are touting that this device is capable of running all applications because it is running a full blown Windows XP Tablet edition OS. That is true but it is not true that all those applications will look good on the device. By looking good, I mean no horizontal scrolling. This goes for both client applications as well as web applications. It is going to take a while for developers to make sure that their applications look good on a 7” display.
The third large problem is the release schedule of this device. It's not really a problem with the release date of this device, but rather a problem with the release date of Windows Vista. Why would a consumer go and spend $800 - $1000 on a device that will have an outdated OS and applications on it within six months. They should of delayed the release and hype of these devices by a couple of months so that they could be released with Vista (if that is ever going to be released in the first place).
Please don't get me wrong. I do feel that these devices will succeed but not until maybe the second generation comes out. They still have some hardware, software, and price point problems but they will succeed. I will not buy one at first because I just don't have the need for one right now. I have my XV6700 phone and my Fujitsu 4200 tablet so I have no need for a device in the middle. I think that these devices will be big in the consumer world with families that just want a device laying around the house to check email, internet, etc. as well as with the automobile makers. It would be very cool and cheap compared to other alternatives to have one of these in your car. There are already developers making applications for these for the car. OK, maybe I lied about not getting one right away :).
