January 2006

VisionObjects releases MyScript Notes 2.0
VisionObjects released MyScript Notes 2.0, a ready-to-use handwriting recognition software that converts handwritten notes into digital information for further use in back-end applications such as Microsoft Word, Outlook or Lotus Notes. It can be used with all devices requiring handwritten input, such as digital pens, pen computers, TabletPCs and graphic tablets. A 30-day trial version is available for download. -- Posted Tuesday, January 24, 2006 by chb

JumpingMinds releases Ink Gestures beta
With JumpingMinds' Ink Gestures, if you want to underline a word in a word processor you simply underline it. InkGestures has over twenty common editing operations using simple gestures. This covers pretty much all the basic wordprocessing editing operations that we do every day. InkGestures was designed from the ground up for the Tablet PC and so the gestures are simple and quick to draw. InkGestures is seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Word. Options are included in the menus and toolbar to enable or disable gestures, configure options, or display help. Since InkGestures works within Microsoft Word, this also means that if you use Word as your editor in Outlook, you have access to the same pen-based editing capabilities in Outlook as well. Go to JumpingMinds' website to download the beta. -- Posted Monday, January 23, 2006 by chb

Atheros first to launch 802.11n wireless products
If you're happy with present wireless 802.11g (or even 802.11b) speed, the news of the draft next-generation 802.11n specification that describes much faster wireless connections is of little current importance. Not so for the speed demons at Atheros Communications, the folks who managed to convince many major notebook companies to offer their wireless chipsets instead of Intel's ubiquitious Centrino wireless circuitry. The next-generation WLAN solutions will exploit the potential of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology by delivering six times the throughput of 802.11g and 802.11a/g products at extended range and with greater reliability. -- Posted Monday, January 23, 2006 by chb

eStand music reader integrated with Gateway TPC
Musicians are plagued with handling, sharing and editing sheet music, costing them vast amounts of time and money. There must be an easier way to make individual notations, change notations, share and duplicate music, catalogue and store music and even just turn pages. Estandmusic.com has created the eStand, a unique combination of Gateway Tablet PC hardware and software. Estand allows concentrating on the artistic product and focus on musical expression, interpretation and collaboration. The eStand Mobile Tablet costs US$1,699. The company also offers eStand peripherals such as a footswitches. -- Posted Thursday, January 19, 2006 by chb

Xplore combines outdoor viewability with stylus/finger touch
Xplore Technologies, a leading provider of rugged Tablet PCs, introduced a durable mobile computer that offers users both active stylus and finger touch input, as well as the optically enhanced AllVue display, all in a single product offering. The Xplore iX104C2DV thus becomes a highly functional, wireless enabled rugged Tablet PC that has both unparalleled input flexibility and viewability in the field. Our take: We have found the implementation to Xplore's AllVue LCD technology to be a superior solution. We also tested Xplore's auto-sensing technology, which allows users to automatically switch between pen input and finger-based touch input, and found it extremely useful. The combination of those two technologies, combined with the iX104's inherent design makes for a very attractive new offering for various vertical markets that require both advanced technology as well as extreme ruggedness. -- Posted Wednesday, January 18, 2006 by chb

PhatWare's PhatPad 3.0 for Tablet PCs
PhatWare announced a major new rev of PhatPad, its superb notes organizer for Microsoft Windows-based devices including Tablet PCs. PhatPad 3.0 allows users to draw pictures, write text and create animation on a virtual scratch pad. The program uses new digital ink technology, which provides a very smooth ink flow. Rev. 3.0 has the ability to add voice notes to PhatPad documents, improved digital inking, integration with Tablet PC handwriting recognition software, and multiple customizable toolbars. Download a 30-day free trial version, or to purchase a copy at the PhatWare web site. -- Posted Tuesday, January 17, 2006 by chb

OQO finally adds Tablet PC Edition to model 01+
OQO announced a Tablet Edition of its newest ultra mobile computer, the OQO model 01+. Even though the tiny (and probably most portable) PC always had an active Wacom digitizer, the OQO inexplicably ran standard Windows XP. Now it is running the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, thus making full use of its digiters and adding all the Tablet PC Edition utilities, applications, and functionality. [see OQO release] -- Posted Tuesday, January 10, 2006 by chb