Archive for November, 2008

Do you get the feeling that Windows Vista has a bit of an image problem? I have to say that I have even heard Windows Vista compared to Windows ME… now that is low.

As a Tablet PC user though, I just can’t go back. Despite the trials that Vista occasionally throws at me, I just love the new features for Tablet users.

If you haven’t upgraded yet, in Windows Vista Microsoft added a few subtle but powerful visual cues for Tablet PCs including:

• Left click ripple
• Pen: Right button press cursor
• Pen: Right click ripple
• Mouse ghost for touch screens to enable easy right or left clicking

Vista is pen flicks which are a great time saver.

But the thing that I can’t live without is the upgraded recognition engine. The new engine does a much better job of identifying numbers, email and web addresses.

Unfortunately these new features don’t come without the Vista annoyances. For me, the two main culprits are:

• Speed - Vista is so slow!
• User account control - Could it be any more annoying to be prompted so often?

Speed

Tablet PCs are usually designed around a Low or Ultra Low Voltage processor. This facilitates the light weight and extended battery life, but it sacrifices some processing power.

Unfortunately Windows Vista is power hungry. However, there is a simple way to speed up Windows Vista on your Tablet PC:

Turn off the funky transparent window theme.

1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click on Appearance and Personalization
4. Click on Change the Theme
5. Select Windows Classic

It’s a simple thing to do, but you will be surprised how much faster everything runs!

Of course it doesn’t look all Apple Mac sexy, and you don’t have those pretty taskbar window previews but your graphics card and your watch will thank you!

User account control

User account control (UAC) is that thing that prompts you to approve things like installing a new program.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that UAC is good in principle… but the implementation of it in Vista would have to be one of the most poorly implemented features that I have ever seen.

Not only is UAC annoying, it also slows your computer down significantly too. So to speed up your Tablet PC, you can turn UAC off.

** Important Note: There are reasons that UAC could be useful for your computer, and this is only recommended for advanced, experienced users **

You must be an administrator to perform these steps.

1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Type UAC into the search box
4. Click on Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off
5. Un-tick the Use User Account Control box
6. Click Ok
7. Reboot

Now you’re free!

These simple changes will speed up your Windows Vista Tablet PC and allow you to benefit from the good Tablet PC features without the crashing and slowness!

There’s no doubt about it… digitisers are expensive. The price difference between a Tablet PC and an equivalent Notebook PC is regularly $500 - $1000 AUD more.

So how can you justify the additional expense for your application?

Well, getting your Tablet PC deployment right can mean a financial return that makes the initial price difference insignificant.

There are two keys to ensuring that your Tablet PC project achieves a high return on investment:

1. Choosing the right hardware for the job
2. Make your application easy to use on a Tablet PC

Choosing The Right Tablet Hardware

Taking the time to find the right Tablet PC for the job is crucial for a Tablet deployment.

When evaluating hardware, you need to ask questions like:

• Do you need to be able to work standing up?
• How long will the Tablet need to be carried at a time?
• How resource hungry are the applications that you will be using?
• What do you need to connect to?
• How long will you be away from a power source (240V or 24/12V)?
• Will the Tablet be used outside?
• Will the Tablet be used in a rough environment?

In other words, ask if the Tablet that you are considering is fit for purpose.

Making Your Application Easy To Use On A Tablet PC

Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition and Windows Vista include a set of Tablet PC software tools that allow you to take advantage of pen input with your Tablet PC right out of the box. The most noticeable of these is the Tablet Input Panel (TIP).

However, the TIP actually adds a layer of complication into the input process. Rather than just hitting a key on the keyboard, you have to invoke the TIP… then select the right input mode… Then type. So basically there’s three steps instead of one.

So how do you get real benefits from using the pen? You need to design your application to suit being used while standing up with a pen.

There are two very simple ways to achieve this:

1. Use digital ink controls
2. Design your user interface for the pen, and away from the keyboard

Microsoft went ahead and lead the way with Tablet enable programs starting back in Office XP. They’ve continued to improve the Tablet PC features in their programs ever since.

The flow on from this is that you too can easily build text recognition and digital ink controls right into your applications. Windows now includes Tablet PC Active X controls for you to use and distribute in your applications. That makes it very easy to ink enable your programs.

For example, in a program that requires a search, you could enable your users to write their search into the search box in handwriting. The control would then convert your handwriting to text and perform the search. I’ll demonstrate this in a later post for you developers out there.

The ultimate benefit of enabling your application for Tablet is that the Tablet becomes an easy to use and helpful tool that users will resort to.

With many of our customers, that in itself can be traced to a significant impact on your bottom line.