I had a .NET users group meeting tonight with the Northwest Ohio .NET Users group.  I always take my tablet there to take notes in Microsoft OneNote.  Everyone there is taking notes with either their pen and paper or a traditional laptop.  Here is why notetaking on a tablet is better than those two alternatives:

Notetaking on a tablet is better than a paper and pen because you are able to do more than just notetaking.  I was able to check my email, add my time I spent for my client work in a time tracking application, and check out some links that were given to me from the presentation I was at right away.  Also, all the notes that I took are all searchable electronically.  A lot more powerful than just a paper and pen.

You could do all this by typing your notes using a tradional notebook with the same powerful options as a tablet.  One difference is that there is no barrier.  When the presenter was looking into the crowd, there was no barrier between him and I like a screen from a laptop would provide.  This allows you to concentrate more on the presentaton and less on the tool your using to take notes.

PC Mag has a video review of the new Sony reader that *should* be available in the October or November timeframe.  I have always questioned the creation of such a device.  I think that the E ink solution is a very, very great solution and I can see a lot of good uses for that technology.  I do not think that a dedicated reader is one of them.  The only exception to this is if they have a lot of great content at the start.

The Sony reader will use (yet another) Sony proprietary DRM through their Sony Connect service in order to get content on the reader.  The reader will also support private content such as .pdf and .doc files.  It is also rumored to have a built in rss aggregator as well.  It will have 128 megs of internal memory with expansion slots for SD and (of course) Memory Card.  It will have support for MP3 playback as well.  The price point is said to be around $300 - $400.

I do not know how many people will use a dedicated e-reader to start with.  My opinion, I already carry a phone, MP3 player, and tablet with me on my flights.  Do I really want to carry another device with me just to read books?  No, I would just use my tablet to read/listen to books and magazines.  There are several advantages that a dedicated (specifically the Sony Reader) has over a tradional tablet, origami, laptop device.  Here is my list of advatanges of a dedicated e-reader:

• Battery Life - Sony claims that there reader will last 7500 page turns on one charge.  This is a result of the E ink technology that only requires power on a page flip.  Since notebooks would require power at all times, the battery life on a dedicated reader would be greatly enhanced.


• Readability - Again, the E ink technology is great for readability.  You should be able to read books on the e-reader in the brightest of sunlight.


• Size - The Sony Reader will only weight about 9 oz and be about 7 x 9 inches.  Compare that to the lightest of tablets being around 2.5 lbs with a 10 inch screen.


• Instant On - Who wants to wait around to start there reading on a book?  That is another advantage of a dedicated reader.


• Price - The rumored street price is around $300 - $300.  That would be great if you only bought an origami device ($800 - $1100) just for reading (not likely).

Conversely, here are the advantages of a laptop/tablet/oragami device over a dedicated reader:

• Additional functionality - The price above obviously does not take into account all the functionality that a full blown computer would give you.


• Color - The Sony Reader will only be able to display black and white books and pictures.


• Connectivity - The Sony Reader will not have any type of connectivity and the only way to get content on the device would be to plug it into, uh, a computer.  Using a tablet or laptop as a reader would allow you to get content on the go.


• Navigation - The navigation on the Sony Reader does not look that user friendly.  You basically have to press a button each time to scroll, etc.  This is because the E ink has to refresh.  Most tablets come with scroll controls that allow the user to scroll by holding down a button.


• Storage Space - You can store a lot more content (books, documents, blogs, and MP3s) on a full blown PC.

I just don't see the advantages of a dedicated e-reader for the given price point.  I would, I think, pick one of these up if they cost less than $200 and the content was good.  I think that these are not going to sell enough unless the content is there and knowing Sony's past (who owns a Sony walkman MP3 player), I don't think that will be there.  Who knows though?  Who would of thought that Apple creating a MP3 player would allow them to sell more Macs?

A lot of people ask me what type of laptop they should get for their sons daughters, friends, moms, dads, etc.  My first response is “why not a tablet PC instead?”.  After I explain to them what a tablet is and I make sure that it fits their needs, they still can not picture what they would use it for.  That is what inspired me to write a semi-regular column called “What did I use my tablet for today?”.  This may allow others to relate to some of these situations and picture themselves with tablets.  I say that everyone out there in the tabletscape join me so we can get the word out there.  Do you here me James Kendrick, Kevin Tofel, Marc Orchant, Mark Sumocat, Loren Heiny, Hugo Ortega?

Anyway....today, I had to get a long overdue oil change on my car.  I pulled in line at a local “instant” oil change place and pulled out my tablet PC to do some work.  During the 35 minutes that it took to complete the oil change, I was able to check some of my email using my Sprint EVDO card and respond to them as well.  I used the TEO 3.0 in Outlook to add some tasks and appointments that I needed to clear my mind of.  While I was at it, I added an appoinment to get an oil change three months from the current date.  I also used Microsoft OneNote to jot down some ideas I have thought of on the way home for an application that I am currently writing.  This allowed me to flush out some ideas that I had brewing in my head.

You non-tablet users may be thinking that you could do all of this on a regular old laptop.  The truth is that you could of but it would of been a lot more uncomfortable, a lot more obvious, and probably not as creative,  Let me explain.  When using a tablet in slate mode, it allows you to get in a more comfortable position when you are sitting in a car right next to steering wheel.  No need to find an arm rest, move out of the way of the steering wheel, etc.  It is a lot less obvious and distracting to others around you.  No one next to me in the oil change line was steering at me because I had a laptop out typing away.  They couldn't even see my tablet and as far as they were concerned, I was reading a book or magazine.  Tablets allow you to be more creative as well because of the iteraction you have similar to a pad and paper.  I like to do sketches, diagrams, and write down requirements in OneNote for applications that I am building.  It allows you to be more creative than just sitting at a PC and typing away.

I did a lot of productive work during a 35 minute oil change thanks to my tablet. 

I signed up for Microsoft's new Office Live service.  I signed up for the collaboration service  because I wanted to see of the options and things that they offered since they were sending me mailings every other day to get me to sign up.  Microsoft offers three different services up their Office Live offerings.  They offer the Live Basics which is free now and after the beta period.  Live Basics offers personal web site and five email accounts on a personal domain.  The second offering which I chose was Live Collaboration which is free now but will be about $30/month after the beta period.  Collaboration is basically a SharePoint site for your small company as well as some CRM applications on an officelive.com subdomain.  The third offering is Live Essentials is basically a combination of the previous two options.  It offers space for a company web site, hosted email options, as well as some document management and CRM applications like the ones offered in the Live Collaboration offering.

I signed up for the service to see what all the hype was about that Microsoft was making with it's Live service offerings.  I can tell you if they think that they are betting the farm on these new services, they are going to loose it.  The service has a very poor user interface because of all the "necessary" information for a given item.  You can't create a project without first creating an account and you can't first create an account without first creating a business contact.  Huh???  It is very slow as well and not nearly as "AJAX-y" as Microsoft would have you believe.  I can see the business value in these offerings but Microsoft's execution is very poor.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Google has agreed to open an office in Ann Arbor.  They plan to hire over 1000 people within the first five years.  This is huge news as it will bring a lot of high tech paying jobs to the midwest as well as probably attract more high tech companies.  I kind of like the sound of the midwest being the next valley.  Crazier things have happened.