Tom Cllarkson continues to work on improvements and changes to Orange Guava Desktop. He now has version 1.2 available. If you haven't tried this out on your Tablet PC you should. Here's a list of the improvements and fixes.

OrangeGuava Desktop 1.2

• Transparent image backgrounds
• Areas redrawn during moving/sizing
• New Area move pen mode replaces area handles
• Thumbnail images used where available
• Icons enlarged under cursor
• Support for non-filesystem icons
• Complete shell context menus (send to, open with, new folder etc)
• Easier conversion between areas and icons
• Quick New Area defaults to color of standard desktop
• More efficient painting and collision detection
• Cursors set to match pen mode
• Reliable icon grid handling
• Relative position of areas and icons no longer changes unexpectedly
• Support for multiple monitors in different orientations
• Double click anywhere to zoom to an area
• More efficient loading on startup
• New option to control how background images are displayed when zoomed in on a transparent child area
• Warning displayed before removing an area
• Ability to use non-file paths as an icon source
• New options in area dialog for using the standard windows desktop as a background image
• Fixed error when mouse button is released outside the color wheel
• Area caption reset after change of folder in area dialog
• Support for languages without an available recognizer
• Alt-F4 Closing disabled for tooltips and popup
• Support for limited user accounts
• Fixed loading of data structures without office 2003
• Fixed field population in edit gesture dialog.
• Fixed unnecessary reloading of formalize data structures
• Improved handling of formalize queue timer
• Added refresh button for formalize settings
• New menu for drop options
• Option to show popup with tap rather than mouseover
• Option in area settings dialog to hide titles
• Added clear ink option to context menu
• Keyword ink removed after search
• Allow icons as drop targets
• Recycle bin working on desktop
• Icons no longer overlap after resizing icon grid
• Configurable context menu
• Optional warning before deleting all ink
• Improved saving on exit
• Fixed eraser size to match cursor at all zoom settings
• Configurable pen and eraser size
• Saving of pen settings
• Possible fix for crash on close
• AutoExport will only activate if ink in the popup has changed
• Tapping the popup outside the inkable area will close it.
  

When WNewquay tackles an issue he gets it around both legs and wrestles it to the ground. But seriously, looking at Tablet PC screen size and resolution is one of the trickier issues in the decision process, and WN lays out some very clear thinking that should help anyone with that quandary. Take a look You'll be glad you did.

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Size Matters - Artist

Eric has reached a decision about what Tablet PC to buy. He's decided on the new Toshiba Tecra M4. He titles his post about his decision The Adventure Begins. Read all about it by following the link:

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Eric Mack On-Line - www.EricMackOnline.com

Tablet PC's and artwork can be amazing. Especially in the hands of chldren. Tdavd posted is son's 12th birthday Tablet PC drawing online. Gives a whole new meaning to refridgerator art.

I keep saying it, get Tablet PC"s in the hands of children.

Happy Birthday, Neal.

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Make You Go Hmm: Our son’s 12th birthday Tablet PC drawing

The StudentTabletPC opened its forums tonight. Great work Tracy and Trevor. If you haven't checked their site out yet you should. And don't think you need to be a student to learn something there!

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StudentTabletPC Forums

I couldn't agree more with the thoughts that Rob expresses in this article about the recent spate of Tablet PC hardware news. It is quite exciting. Now the tough part comes, will it yield the fruit that enthusiasts, OEM's and others hope.

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Rob Bushway - Tablet PC MVP: What a week!

Here are some of my thoughts on the issue.

Last year this time heading into spring and summer many of us were bemoaning the fact that most of the OEM's seemed to miss the boat on the "back to school segment" of the market. You can't say that this year. The timing of these recent announcments create a position to capitalize on that market segment. Now the trick will be pomotion and marketing.

Rob's right, these things need to be in stores. Tablet PC's and the inherent inking potential is something that can excite you by reading about it. But, there is nothing like inking on a Tablet PC to push you over the top in the decision making process. I know there are issues about uninformed sales staffs, missing pens and the like, but these need to be overcome. Get the Tablet PC's in folks hands.

Size apparently does matter. The recent announcments create a bevy of choices now in choosing a Tablet PC. For the more mobile orientated there are smaller devices with smaller screens. For those looking for more screen real estate larger screens are now coming available. There is a price range to choose from now as well. I anticiapte an increase in postings on TabletPCBuzz with a heading of "Help me make my Tablet PC decision" in the next period of time. This points to the very personal decisions one makes when purchasing a Tablet PC. Establishing priorties ahead of time is the way through this.

Optical drives are now being included on a number of the newer models. This should ease a lot of folks minds and make some decisions easier.

Are we there yet?

No, not quite. Still a ways to go. There will always be a push for greater battery life, more speed, faster HD's, (interesting that all of these new models seem to come with 5400rpm drives), and better viewing angles. But this is a great new burst of energy into the market. Now, we'll see how it shakes out in six months or so.

Should be fun to watch.

As some of us follow Eric Mack's saga, here's another voice heard from. The Jaded Developer raises interesting and oft--heard issues (although the screen real estate and price arguments may diminish somewhat with some of the new hardware announcements recently.)

Most to the point, as far as an obstacle to buying a Tablet PC, seems to be lack of availability in retail channels so that you can try a Tablet PC out. Great that someone happened to be nearby who could demo a model for him, but Tablet PC OEM"s have got to get these things into stores.

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The Jaded Developer: Why I didn't buy a Tablet PC

Eric's saga continues and now with this weeks' slew of Tablet PC hardware announcments and his own personal deadline he's still trying to make his decision. Follow the link for more.

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Eric Mack On-Line - www.EricMackOnline.com

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ThePodcastNetwork :: The TabletPC Show

WNewquay continues sharing his thoughts about Tablet PC's. More specifically he's lookng at the why's and wherefore's that he calls investments. He's not talking about cash. Take a look.

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If I Knew Then, What I Know Now - Part II - Investments

Check it out. I think it is very funny.

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Sample Funny Page

 

Here's the press release that ends all the speculation and guessing on the Tecra M4 Tablet PC.

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Toshiba Expands Tecra Brand with Introduction of Convertible Tablet PC

Processor:               Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor(2) 740 (1.73 GHz,
                             533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
Display:                   14.1-inch diagonal TFT active-matrix LCD SXGA+
System Chipset:        Mobile Intel(R) 915PM Express Chipset
Graphics Controller:    NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) Go 6200 TE (64 MB VRAM)
                              graphics(3) processor
Memory:                  512MB (standard) DDR2 SDRAM, 533MHz memory(5)
                             (max 2GB)
Hard Drive:              60GB (SATA/5400 rpm) HDD(4)
Optical Drive:           Slim SelectBay(R) DVD SuperMulti Drive DVD+R
                             (Double Layer)
Wireless:                 Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g)
                             wireless(1)
Ports:                     3 USB 2.0, RGB, Headphone, Mic-in, 240-pin
                             docking connector, IEEE-1394, S-Video, RJ-45 LAN
                             port (10/100/1000 Ethernet), RJ-11, Fast
                             Infrared, SD card slot
Battery:                  6-cell Lithium ion battery (4700 mAh)
Operating System:   Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Tablet Edition 2005
Dimensions:            12.9- x 11.4- x 1.45-inch (f/r)
Weight:                 6.2 lbs.(7)
Warranty:              Standard three-year limited warranty

Price is listed as $1,999.

A link to the product page:

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-29325&ccid=1291041&rcid=-26367&seg=SMB

Ian is looking for some help with his new cartoon strip idea, "A Tablet World." He's got the ideas but isn't too keen on his drawing ability. Great characters he's got going and personally I don't think his drawing is that bad. You should see mine.

Follow the link below for Ian's drawings and more.

Cartoon Strip - " A Tablet World "

Brief character profiles:

• C Sharpy:- Nerd type, full of good ideas. Spends his life fighting the system.
• Doctor Digital Inky:- Logical type. Keen insight on world and its issues.
• Miss E Motion:- Light headed. drifts around helping others.
• Mr TIP:- Stand up sort. Pet animal of C Sharpy.
• The Crazy Window brothers:- Either open or shut views. can be a pain.
• The Cross Pens:- Troublesome twins. bickering pair.

 

Some interesting thoughts from Colin on how long it might take for the IBM Tablet to have an effect on the market.

Blog - IBM to launch a Tablet PC?

I've been following Eric Mack's postings on his quest for a Tablet PC here on this blog as have others. The other day, Rob Bushway ignited a small firestorm of discussion on TabletPCBuzz by posting a blog entry from Michael Hyatt about why he ditched his Tablet PC for a Mac.

Eric noticed that he and Michael posted (or at least it showed up in his RSS feed) almost simultaneously and captured the image below. 

Great minds thinking alike, er... ummm... differently at the same time.

Follow the link for more:

Eric Mack On-Line - www.EricMackOnline.com

Rob Bushway is the man with the new hardware news tonight. First more info on the IBM Tablet PC and now news about a new Motion Tablet PC with a new type of keyboard due in July.  Follow the link to TabletPCBuzz for more info.

Tablet PC Buzz.com - Forum

Let's see in the last week we've had news about the Toshiba Tecra, The Ruby, the IBM Thinkpad, and now this from Motion. Sounds like things are heating up as we head into summer.

Congrats to the good folks at Tablet PC Post for being named in PC Mag's Top Computing Websites. Tablet PC Post is the best site for Tablet PC Software downloads. Kudos and keep up the good work guys.

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Feature from PC Magazine: Tablet PC Post

Rob Bushway just posted some updated info about the IBM Tablet on TabletPCBuzz. The details look good.

* The tablet should be announced first week in May
* It is an X41...it will have a titanium case
* 1.6 processor with 512 in one slot (not sure but it will probably have options from 1.5 to 1.7 processing speeds)
* probably 2 usb ports
* 1 firewire
* 1 memory card slot
* internal microphone
* battery options
standard gets 4-5 hours
extended life - 8 hours and a little more money

For more details follow this link:

Tablet PC Buzz.com - Forum

I hear tell there may be some other exciting Tablet PC Hardware news later as well.

If you read the post on this link (and I've seen others like it) you'll maybe scratch your head if you're a Tablet PC owner. Tablet PC's have always been able to store and retrieve EBooks.

It's the smaller form factor that has folks all a buzz.

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LISNews.com | Microsoft Betting On a mini Tablet/eBook hybrid

Picked this up from Rob Bushway's Blog and his post on TabletPCBuzz. Michael Hyatt's journey away from the Tablet PC to Apple is also quoted in Eric Mack's post about Tablet PC's being too disruptive. Take a good look at what Hyatt has to say in his blog post and also Eric's comment that he wishes that it wasn't so hard to set things up for some of his clients.

Aren't we all looking for the simplest, most transparent (nod to WN) method of doing what we do? I've said it before in other posts. I don't think Tablet PC's are there yet. You still need to work too hard and WANT AND ENJOY that work/play in order to get the most out of Tablet PC's.

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Working Smart: Why I Ditched My Tablet PC