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How Can I Help You?

24 September 2006 Posted By: Trevor
Posted in: Blog Related

Hi all,

Long time no see, remember me? Yeah, well I find my time really limited these days. Work is awesome, but it keeps me very busy. I don’t find a whole lot of time for the many projects in my life. So I’m asking you readers out there, how can I help you?

What would you like to see that would be of most help to you?

I just don’t get the point of a UMPC

15 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Tablet Concepts

Call me ignorant, but I don’t understand why UMPC’s are in any way being thrown towards students. I actually don’t even have a clue who their market is since I have a hard time finding times when someone would need one vs. something more versatile. And if I can’t think of any reason why someone would become more productive with one, then they’re suddenly just a really expensive toy.



So let’s look at this logically from a “young person’s” point of view.

Devices to take notes on

OK, that’s nice, but these are touch screen devices (passive digitizers), not active digitizers like most Tablet PCs, which means all the problems of your hand interfering with your writing pops up. It would be like writing on a Pocket PC but with a little more jazz. Also, that’s a really tiny screen to take all your notes on for a class situation.



I could see this being good for the frequent “Oh yeah, I need to pick up milk on the way home” type of notes. Their small size makes it easy to store in your bag or purse and pull out quick, but…so are sticky notes (am I allowed to mention paper on a Tablet PC site?).

Alright, but what about a hand-held media device?

Yeah, if you have an extra $1000 to spend. You can even get a 60 GB video iPod for around a third of the price, and a lot of us “young people” already have an iPod (or an of brand iPod) anyway. Plus, a UMPC won’t fit in your pocket walking around campus.

Ah, but what about eBook reading? They’re the perfect size.

I’m sorry, but I can think of better things to spend my money on than an eBook reader that only lasts about 2 hours. If you had a BUNCH of eBooks, and if you read all the time, then MAYBE it would be worth it…but textbooks wouldn’t be included in that reading since a page wouldn’t fit well on the screen.

But what about…what else is there?

I don’t really know. Data manipulation on the fly? Maybe. MindMapping might be cool on such a portable device. Maybe some Excel file stuff, Word…



Mail? Well, I have my phone for that (PPC6700), or the free internet all over campus, or my tablet. How many students really get enough mail to grant getting a $1000 device to manage it with on the fly? And if you did get that much mail, why not get a tablet/laptop that you can use
as a full time computer, or a smartphone that you can also use as a cell phone?

Surfing the web? Reading RSS? Possibly, but again, why not just get a tablet or a smart phone?

Does anyone out there seriously think UMPCs are worth their money? I’m not saying they’re overpriced and someone’s ripping us off, I’m just saying I can’t find a use that would justify the price, unless you’re a total gadget person and the extra buttons to push and lights to blink make it worth it.

Who out there owns one? What’s your true opinions of the thing? I’m sure they’re cool to have on the “wow, that’s a small computer” basis, but do you use it all the time?

LE1600, The Series: All About the Convertible Keyboard

14 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Accessories, Choosing a Tablet PC

I’m using the convertible keyboard right now. In fact, for the fun of the topic, I’ll use the LE1600’s keyboard for the entire series of posts. It makes me feel like I’m showing you how it types, or at least, that it works, right?



This is my long-awaited post on how the keyboard performs on a daily basis. More specifically, how a person who types a lot (e-mail, blogging, etc.) lives with a slate when the only keyboard solution they have is the convertible keyboard. I know many reading this are hesitant at the thought of losing their precious keyboard, and you are probably looking down at your seamlessly connected input device thinking, “How could I possibly part with this beauty for an inferior, wanna-be keyboard?”

I’ve had this keyboard to experiment with for almost a month (maybe longer but I can’t remember), and as a quick, brief summary, it’s doing pretty good. Continue on for more experiment details.

Outline:

• Introduction
  
• Typing with it
• Using it in class
• Using it in various sitting positions
• How much do I actually use it?
• Problems (things I’d fix)
• Other opinions

QUESTION: What if I can type faster than I can write?

12 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Note-Taking

Many potential tablet users are afraid they won’t find a tablet useful because they can type a lot faster than they can write. My answer: that’s great! All the better! The faster you can record information/ideas, the better off you’ll be (in life, work, school…).

My question to you: can you type equations and diagrams faster than you can write them? Hm, I’m guessing no ;-). Here’s where the tablet shines.

I have a professor that likes to talk at a million words a minute on the theory behind an equation for half the lecture, then switch to diagrams and equations the other half to get the details across. I made a PDF of today’s notes to show off a couple points [click here to view PDF]:

• You can type your notes if you want, even with a slate (these notes were taken with an LE1600 and the LE1600’s convertible keyboard)
• You can still use the pen to add drawings inbetween typing
• When you need to, you can easily switch to all writing and drawing if it starts to get hard to type what your teacher’s saying.

Eric Zückerman’s Study Journal for OneNote

11 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Study Aids

Eric (or Dr. Zückerman) was gracious enough email me a study journal he put together for students using OneNote. Even if you don’t end up using it, it has some good tips for the academically minded. [click here to download]

He also included a PDF version of the OneNote files so you can browse it before downloading.

The concept behind the study journal is simply to have you take command of what and when you have studied for each course. Any particular weeks work can be surveyed by yourself or your instructor to ensure you have practiced the skills necessary to show you have learned the material. If done properly, the order in which you approached your studies is clear and can be analyzed for further improvement later.

Included in the files here are a sample of my study journal for a Tuesday/Thursday type class in inorganic chemistry and a ‘how to’ example for a MWF type class.

QUESTION: How do you like your LE1600?

11 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Choosing a Tablet PC

(Asked by several, several people, so I’m just lumping it all together into one topic)

This is a question I haven’t been avoiding, I’ve just been delaying for several reasons. A) I want to write a lot and I haven’t had the time to write it all, B) I’ve been spending quality time getting to know Motion tech support and repair, and C) I wanted to have a chance to really use it before saying how I liked it for everyday use (makes sense, right?).

Because I have a lot to say, I’ll be posting it in sections with the following topics (in no particular order…I may post them differently depending on what I feel like writing first):

• The good and the bad of Motion tech support
• How the LE1600 performs as a pure slate
• Everything battery related
• The convertible keyboard and other keyboard solutions
• What do I need to carry with me on campus along with the LE1600?
• Overall feelings about the slate for student use

“A long message about Calculators”

9 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Software Info

Thanks for this great email, Paul! I’m trying all this right after I finish posting (since I can’t find my TI89…).

UPDATE #1: For me, the TI Flash Studio calculator takes two taps to hit a key and I don’t know what I’m doing enough to fix it. Anyone have any ideas?

UPDATE #2: See comments for more detail on the problems.

I came across your link for Virtual Ti, so I picked it up and played with it for a while. I noticed two things. Firstly, the display is really really pixilated and hard to read (as can be the skin if it’s not zoomed right), and secondly, that it’s apparently been abandoned by the developer.

I’ve previously played with TI Flash Studio, which is available packaged for either the 89/92/V200, or for the 83/84/73. The system requirements are pretty basic, and what’s great about Flash Studio is that it includes a software emulator, and doesn’t require you to suck a rom from your calc before you use it. Very useful for those without an interface cable. There’s one hitch though: It requires the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine. This was MSs attempt to rewrite the Java standard a few years back, and which, you may remember, got them into some major legal trouble with Sun Microsystems, who owns Java and the rights to license it. As a result of those legal proceedings, MSJVM is no longer installed on computers or authorized for use by programmers. It’s also not available from MS. I was able to track down a resource that has it though.

I’m running XP home right now, and I’m not experiencing any obvious conflicts, even though I have Sun’s Java installed also. I can’t vouch for how it may run under Tablet 2005 edition though, as I’ve not had the chance to test it.

Overall, the FlashStudio TI emulator is very clean, can be easily resized, and even offers the option of having a separate window just for the output, which can be resized up to full screen. Very usefull for demonstrating to a group of people.

In order to get the emulator going once you’ve installed the TI Flash Studio, you simply have to run the Flash Studio program, and then select ‘New Project’ from the ‘File’ menu. You’ll have two options, either a Flash Application, or a RAM Application, for each of the TI calculators that your version of Flash Studio supports. Pick any one you want. It doesn’t matter as long as you pick one for the calculator that you want to emulate. Click on the selection, the click the ‘Create’ button. Finally, go to the ‘Simulator’ menu, and select ‘Run’. That easy. There is a way to load programs like the CalculusTools flash apps that TI has for free download, but I forget off the top of my head how to do that. It’s pretty easy.

Moving right along.

I also came across a nifty graphing calculator program called GraphCalc. It is published under the GPL, and the source code is available for those who want it. It’s very nifty, and allows entry of multiple formulas at one time, both in 2D and 3D, and is great for comparing different functions, or for tweeking one function and seeing what happens. It’s free also.

Thought you might like to know about these great programs.

MSJVM can be obtained at:
http://java-virtual-machine.net/download.html

TI Flash Studio can be obtained at:
http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productCategory/us_sdk.html

GraphCalc can be obtained at:
http://www.graphcalc.com/index.shtml

Thanks for your time,

Paul Thompson

I’m sorry, but I’m switching the Tip of the Day with something else

8 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

It’s no secret I don’t update the Tip of the Day like I should. It’s more like the Tip of the Month. Therefore, I’m ditching the Tip of the Day. We’ll still have our list of tips and I’ll add tips to it as I get them, but I’ve found better use for the space.

Instead, I’m making it a place to put links to some interesting forum discussions. There’s been a lot of cool posts that get overlooked because many people just hit the front page. It’s time to show off the forums a little ^_^.

Howdy, Ohio State fans!

8 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

If you’re reading this and you’re an Ohio State fan, hopefully you’re not one of the 35,000 buckeyes invading my town (Austin, TX). All I have to say is…



…Hook ‘em, Horns!!!

For all who this have no idea what I’m talking about, please ignore this post, or check out this site and turn on ABC at 8PM (Eastern) this Saturday (if your ABC is covering the game).

Question: Is a Tablet PC a genuine alternative to pen and paper?

8 September 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

Dear Tracy:

I’m in the latter years of University now and am wondering whether or not you’d still recommend me using a Tablet PC in place of pen(s) and paper for taking down notes.

I am just stuck thinking that I will spend ½ the lecture figuring out how the Tablet PC works and correcting errors the thing made, reasons being that despite a very good tech-savvy upbringing, my writing is appalling and Hand Recognition Software will just not work for me, therefore will the Tablet for me just end up being essentially a “Digital” pen and Paper, but with lag in between flipping pages?

I am doing a double major in Law and Business and am given the Handouts both in the physical printed form and .DOC. I used to love scribbling on the actual notes as the lecturer “lectured” off said notes and I was merely adding on what specific details I thought relevant to me on it, will such be possible with a Tablet PC, and albeit probably more effective? (In that I can just press the equivalent of Enter to make the whole page layout change / zoom in therefore writing a lot in a small space?)

In short, other than the questions above, I am just wondering whether a Tablet PC is a genuine alternative to a Pen and Paper – and whether the technology will engulf me or make me more efficient.

What a great question. This is a very common concern of students thinking of buying a Tablet PC for use in the classroom, so I figured I’d address it first.

1. The truth about handwriting recognition and notes

I find many students concentrating way too much on handwriting recognition when, in actuality, it’s only a small part of the Tablet PC experience. All of my personal class notes are written just as I would write the notes with paper and pen, so the recognition engine doesn’t slow me down at all (since I’m not really using it).

The benefits of digital notes kick in when I’m trying to find something from earlier. Writing fast for notes makes any handwriting sloppy, but almost every sloppy writer out there is amazed at just what the tablet can recognize since it looks at how the word was formed (the pen stroked involved) and not how the word looks in the end. This means most of my notes are searchable. It doesn’t mean that my notes look like I typed them, but if I write the word “Democracy” and then search for it in a program like OneNote, all the instances that the word “Democracy” appears in my notes will return, including anything I inked on the screen instead of typed.

So how big of a deal is it if your writing is so bad that not even the tablet can tell what you’re writing? I don’t find it that big of a deal at all. I’m still not in the habit of searching for my notes after years of simply keeping them well organized. The tablet helps keep you even more organized then you were before, so you’ll be able to find things much easier without needing to use the search function.

Handwriting recognition is really the most handy for emails (where things often have to be typed) and surfing the web.

2. The tablet as a digital pen and paper

Many also find the tablet would be a waste if all they used it for was an expensive piece of paper. Not so. You can’t make a piece of paper bigger if you need just one more line to finish a thought. You can’t paste excel tables into your notes if you’re using paper. You’d have to carry 30+ utensils (thin pens, thick pens, highlighters, markers, etc.) to get the flexibility on paper that a tablet gives you. You can’t sync your paper notes with the recorded lecture (unless you want to waste the time marking the time stamp on your notes during lecture).

You can’t rearrange notes on a page once they’re on paper. Ever have a professor that liked to write the wrong thing first just to demonstrate that it’s wrong (or just wrote the wrong thing on accident) then erase the whole thing, leaving everyone in the room frustrated and erasing or scratching out? Because a tablet lets you mass move, mass delete, and mass copy/paste, you can keep up with that quirky professor just as easily as the professor spits it out.

There are SEVERAL other things the tablet can provide as a digital pad that pen and paper cannot. I’ve in no way listed them all, I’m just giving examples.

Oh, and you won’t have a lag between flipping pages. If anything it’s faster because, technically, you never have to “flip a page” since you can just extend a tablet page as far as you need to. Creating a new page only takes one click of a button.

3. Will the technology engulf me or make me more efficient?

The nice thing about a convertible Tablet PC (the ones with the attached keyboards) is you can ignore the fact they’re tablets at all should you find it too complex for you, but I don’t recommend that!

A tablet can be as high tech or low tech as you want it to be. There are people that only use the pre-installed Journal notes program and don’t care to explore it any further. There are also people (many you’ll find in this area of the web) that push the tablet capabilities to the limit.

In short, you won’t be overwhelmed by the technology because you can customize it to what you’re comfortable with and what you need or want. I’ve never had a person tell me it makes them less efficient.

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