Archive for May, 2008

Most businesses have forms that need to be filled out.

• Sales orders
• Quotes
• Purchase agreements
• Purchase orders
• Credit applications
• Staff appraisals
• Status reports
• Condition reports
• Job sheets
• The list goes on…

The trouble with paper forms is that once you use them the information is stuck on the paper. Now to do anything with that form you will have to:

• Retrieve the form
• Store the form
• Print the form
• Scan the form.

There are a number of problems with that. Forms go missing and get lost, forms get coffee spilled on them, forms get up and walk around on their own.

A Tablet PC can instantly eliminate all of that with the simplest click of an icon. It goes like this:

1. Take out your Tablet PC
2. Open the form in question
3. Click print
4. Select “Journal Note Writer”
5. Give your file a name
6. Now you have an electronic version of your form.

You can then save your Windows Journal note as a template and use it over and over again.

Now if you want to, you can:

1. Email it to anyone
2. Save it in the client’s folder on you network
3. Attach it to your CRM record
4. Convert the handwriting to text

Windows Journal is free and installed on your Tablet PC out of the box. There’s also a free Journal Viewer for non-tablet PC users.

I received a fax this morning of a form that needed my signature on it. I get my faxes by email, so when I open up the file it opens in Microsoft Office Document Imaging.

I just click on the pen icon as shown in this screen capture, then I sign the document, save it and send it back by email. Done!

There are a couple of productivity advantages for this tip:

1. It’s the fastest way to sign and return a from
2. You don’t need to print it - saves power, saves paper - is environmentally friendly
3. You don’t need to walk to the fax (or in my case, drag out the phone cord, run it five meters and connect up the dusty old fax machine).

There are so many things that you take for granted once you’ve been using a tablet PC for a while.

We realised that laptop users need to know what they are missing out on, so we decided to start this list. Over the next few months, we will be posting one thing every day until we reach 101.

I’m looking for suggestions, so Tablet PC users: Tell me how you use your Tablet PC. Email me at: brettg@tabletpc.com.au

If I like your suggestion I will add it to the list. Also include contact details and your website if you want them included.

I’ve finally found a way to bring together my two favourite technologies:

• Tablet PCs and
• WordPress.

At last, my two great passions have been joined by a great new tool from Microsoft. Microsoft for WordPress? Yes, you heard me!

The team at Windows Live have developed a tool called Windows Live Writer that allows you to publish to your blog easily from your Tablet PC (notebook or desktop too). It works with:

• WordPress
• Blogger
• TypePad
• Moveable Type
• and Windows Live Spaces.

There are some pretty cool features in Windows Live Writer. It handles images really well and allows you to easily resize, edit, add drop shadows and effects.

You can write your blog as would see it online. You can also directly edit the HTML and it didn’t mess with my code.

If you write for more than one blog, the blog management tools are especially handy.

Windows Live Writer has its own plug-in system that allows you to extend your blogging even further.

If you have a Tablet PC you’ll want to get hold of the Ink Blog plug-in.

Download them here:

• Windows Live Writer
• Ink Blog plug-in

Very cool!

Want to get a close-up look at the HP 2710p Tablet PC?. HP have a flash presentation available here that will give you a full product demonstration.

There’s a couple of features that make the 2710p stand out:

• It’s looks
• The docking station / expansion base system.

One of the great things about the 2710p is that the dock is ultra-portable too!

Late last year PC World (US Version) released their selection of the Top 10 Ultra-Portable Notebooks and it’s good to see that Tablet PCs made up five of the top 10.

PC World describes the Ultra-Portable category this way:

Ideal for the mobile professional, these notebooks stand out for their low weight and small footprint.

All of the Convertible Tablet PCs currently on the market fall into the Ultra-Portable Notebook category.

The Tablet PCs that the list were:

• Lenovo X61t at number 2
• HP Pavilion tx1000 at number 5
• HP Compaq 2710p at number 6
• Fujitsu Lifebook T4220 at number 7
• Fujitsu Lifebook T2010 at number 10

The good thing is that it shows that Tablet PCs are gradually becoming mainstream. Tablet PCs are certainly one of the best options available for mobile professionals.

Read the full PC World Review here.

I became interested in low power PCs when I recently brought two of our servers back into the office. Our power bill doubled overnight :-|. As you can imagine, I’ve been madly looking at ways to reduce the power usage of our network.

That’s the beauty of thinking green, using fewer resources can save you money.

It got me thinking… How green are Tablet PCs?

Well we already know that Tablet PCs are way ahead on being green. How?

• Most Tablet PCs have a tiny 65W power supply and usually incorporate Intel Centrino Ultra Low Voltage Processors.
• They are also smaller and lighter which means less materials are used.

But is there room for further green innovation in Tablet PCs?

I note with interest what HP are doing in this area:

The HP Compaq 2710p Notebook PC is just 2.82 cm (1.11 inch) thick and weighs 1.63 kilograms (3.6 pounds). This is made possible by the HP Illumi-Lite Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays, which are thinner and lighter than traditional screens. The Illumi-Lite display also requires less energy and does not use mercury. The case is built using lightweight and durable magnesium, which is easily recyclable. The smaller notebook packaging allows HP to transport 60 units on a pallet instead of 48, which saves energy in transportation.

Source: HP

It’s good to see Tablet PC technology leading the field in Green PCs.

I’ve had a really great run with the HP TC1100 Tablet PC. It was a fantastic unit, and up until it was cancelled by HP we sold many of them. Just about every managing director that I worked with at the time bought one because it was so cool. We had them in construction, insurance, engineering, sales and project management roles amongst others.

Some of the things that we loved about the HP TC1100 were the:

• A4 sized form factor - it literally was as big as an A4 sheet so it could pass off as a big diary when it was in it’s case
• Docking station
• Detachable swivel keyboard
• Super low weight, 1.2 - 1.6 kg

Time has run it’s course and the TC1100 is now too slow to satisfy my daily Tablet PC needs. It’s time to move on, but I’ve struggled to find an adequate replacement.

The reason that it’s hard to replace the TC1100 is that it was the only hybrid Tablet PC on the market in Australia. With a hybrid you could detach the keyboard completely. So that means that the TC1100 could function as a normal laptop with a keyboard, but also as a pure slate tablet PC.

This gave us the flexibility to choose whether to carry the extra weight around. A very handy option.

So we finally found a replacement. I’ve known about the motion computing LE1600 and LE1700 for some time now, but only recently got to have a closer look. It’s a really nice Tablet PC made by a company that is 100% dedicated to making Tablet PCs.

The clincher for me was the detachable keyboard option. While it’s not a swivel hybrid style option like the Tc1100’s keyboard, it does clip onto the screen of the LE1700. So it’s portable, and it protects the screen while it’s in transit.

The LE1700 is about 1.6kg and it is super thin and super portable. The docking options are brilliant too. The hardware is inline with all of the convertible Tablet PCs on the market, but Motion have their View Anywhere display that works well outside in the sunlight.

This is a brilliant Tablet PC. It’s perfect for anyone who uses a computer outside - think construction, insurance assessors, engineers, architects, supervisors, surveyors…

I’m sold.

Want to get a close up look at a Motion Computing LE1700 Tablet PC? Thanks to US based Xtremenotebooks.com you can see it in action here.

Please note that the Mobile Broadband option on the US model is EVDO and it’s locked to Sprint. The Australian version includes UTMS and HSDPA and it’s not locked to any carrier. So if you want a LE1700 and you plan to use it in Australia, don’t make the mistake of buying the US model.