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Happy Birthday, Trevor!!!

29 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related, Trevor's Updates

Happy birthday, dude!

Update on Motion Tablet Extended Battery Issue

25 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Hardware, Tracy's Updates

Just thought I’d swing by and let everyone know what the status is on my LE1600. Earlier I mentioned having trouble with the extended battery connecting to the tablet. The first incident of this was right when I got the battery mid-July…today’s date is October 25th…so it’s been now 4 months of experimenting with different ideas to try to solve the problem.

The problem I’m having is when I connect the extended battery to the back of the slate physically, the tablet only will recognize the battery half the time, with random connects and disconnects, though it does seem to work better with a little pressure applied to the connection. This makes charging it a problem since it takes about twice as long to charge because of the disconnects, and then, of course, using any extended battery that randomly disconnects is troublesome.

So far, here’s the list of things Motion Computing’s tried to make the battery connect to the tablet:

1. replacing the battery with a battery that worked in another tablet,
   
2. repairing the metal prongs that connect the battery to the tablet,
3. repairing  the metal prongs that connect the battery to the tablet again, but this time with more specific instructions,
   
4. a brand new replacement tablet (to use with the original battery),
   
5. a brand new battery to ONLY use with the new tablet. <—currently in testing
   

At least I can’t say they haven’t tried ^_^. Actually, Motion’s been pretty good about speedy deliveries and trusting me when I say it’s still not working. Also, I’ve had a temporary tablet each time my personal tablet’s gone off for repair, so it’s not like I’ve been less productive because of it. All this mess just means I have to find an outlet and carry my charger with me more often then I’d like since I don’t have then extended battery like I planned on having.

From talking to the Motion tech support guy, it sounds like the current guess is there’s some sort of problem with the chip in the battery which was messed up from something that was wrong with the original tablet. That’s about as specific as I can get without lying to you since I really don’t know all the details, I just know it’s not working.

For the record, I HAVE seen the battery work as intended by the manufacturers, so I’m pretty sure it’s not something I’m doing (although I can’t think of how you could physically connect the battery wrong…it’s not like you can put it in upside-down like in a calculator). When I had the temporary tablet (a pre-production LE1600 they use for loaners…it still had some funny quirks), my original battery worked perfectly, which is odd since now that exact same battery won’t work with my original tablet or the replacement.

Anyway, we’ll see if the new battery will work with the new tablet. If not, I may need to check my karma out, or do some soul cleansing, because it may just be my bad vibes corrupting the battery. I didn’t think I had bad vibes, but I also don’t think good vibes do this sort of thing.

Cross your fingers.

So, what do you do when you forget your tablet?

13 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Back-Up / Restore, Tablet Concepts

That’s precisely what I did last Thursday, and it wasn’t a happy experience. When everything you do revolves around what’s on your computer or the internet (OK, that’s a little sad, but what can I say), not having your computer can put you at a loss. So what’s a student to do?

1. Know where the public computers are, and know your logon
If your school is like mine, there are computer labs everywhere, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a computer. Finding an OPEN computer may be tough sometimes, but at least know where they are.

You should also know what logon you’ll need to get on the computer if it’s a department computer lab or if your school is just weird about logons. For example, my department computer lab requires our school ID and password to get on the computer, and then a separate ID and password to print anything. Keep whatever passwords you need in your wallet or purse so you’re not stuck running to your IT department if you need to use the computer.

2. Have a backup e-mail plan
Whether you forward all your mail to a gmail account and then download it through Outlook, or if you have an online e-mail access portal (most accounts do, but some are very frustrating to use), make sure you have some way to send and receive e-mail. This is the life saver. You may be able to find a public computer with internet, but you won’t be able to find one with your mail account set up. Because most e-mail accounts have online services, this step simply makes sure you know how to access it through the web if you normally access your email through a program like Outlook.

3. Consider backing up your homework, projects and research to an online database
If you have homework you really need to work on, or a group project where all your notes are on your tablet, an online backup of those files will allow you to find a public computer and print off (yuck!) the necessary files. It’s not the best solution, but it will at least keep you from being completely helpless without your tablet.

Also consider putting any digital books, course notes, or lab manuals on the web somewhere so you can print out what you need for a test or lab.

Ideas for an online backup solution:

• save drafts to a gmail account with the important files as attachments,
• use NetDrive to use server space as an extra drive on your computer,
• use school webspace (most universities offer web storage to their students),
• or use your personal website if you have one.

4. Always have some paper
In today’s world, as paperless as we try to be, a student just can’t function without just a couple loose-leafs in their backpack. Loose paper or a small notebook are useful for not only emergency tablet-less days, but also for pop-quizzes, scrap paper for tests, and passing notes in class (do college students do this? I haven’t really seen this since high school). You don’t want to be stuck in class without a way to take notes.

5. Find some way to get that paper stuff back in your tablet
If I write something down on paper, there’s a good chance I won’t ever see it again. That’s just how I function. If I want to have it for reference later on, I need to either scan it or rewrite it into my tablet. Now, I still haven’t scanned my notes from the day I forgot my tablet, but don’t be like me! As soon as you get home, get out the scanner, digital camera (they really do work well for quick “scans”), or your tablet pen to get those notes and whatever else you did into your tablet.

Conclusion
When it comes down to it, yes, forgetting your tablet or being without for a day or two while it’s in repair can be an emotionally painful experience, but you’ll do OK if you follow the above steps. Just make sure you have paper, a way to access your files, and a way to access your email and you should be just fine.

Happy Friday the 13th!

13 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

Are YOU superstitious? Might want to stay home today ;-).

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck
in English and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar
superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece and Spain, for
example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen. -Wikipedia, “Friday the 13th”

 

Satellite R15 Review by Aaron Axvig

12 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related, Choosing a Tablet PC

Check out our wiki for a review of the Toshiba Satellite R15 by Aaron Axvig.

Outline of review:

• Pros
• Cons
• Modifications & Repair
• Gaming
• Vista

The Wiki Effort

12 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

So the way I see it, with as many knowledgeable readers we have, we should be able to fill out the wiki relatively fast. We’ve already had several great things going on in the wiki-land and I highly suggest taking a look if you haven’t yet (for example, the OneNote 2003 and 2007 articles).

I’m planning on is writing most of my future big articles on the wiki and then posting that they’re up on the blog, saying, “Have at it.” I’m also probably going to go back in the archives and pick out posts to put in the wiki, but that’s another day.

Now, the beauty of a wiki is that ANYONE can post something, and ANYONE can edit/add to anything that’s already up. Wikipedia is an awesome example of the group effort idea.

My challenge to you, the reader of this post, is to do your part for the community. If everyone could just go to the wiki and add one thing just once or twice a week–the specs on a tablet, the link to a certain download page, an additional software page–we would have a lot of information out there! I think it’s going to be a great place for new and experienced student tablet users (once we get it a little better organized and filled out).

So can you do it? Will you help out this great community? I know you’re procrastinating on homework and studying anyway, why not put that time to use?

And I don’t just mean the Student Tablet PC Wiki, I mean both our wiki and TabletWiki, who we’re partnering up with to create one massive (but separate) resource.

So what are you waiting for! Go add something!

Two upcoming webinars

11 October 2006 Posted By: Trevor
Posted in: Blog Related

There are two webinars coming up that might be of use to you all.

The first one is starting in about 30 minutes (October 11th at 11:00am PST and is put on my Allegiance Technical Partners, home of the free 48-hour Tablet PC trial. I’ll be one of the panelists amongst other MVPs.

You can register here: http://www.alltp.com/tablet-pc-training/

The other webinar is being put on by Mindjet, which will be tomorrow October 12th at 10am PST. The webinar, entitled Land that Interview with a Killer Resume, will cover building a strong resume for recruiting season. The seminar is being led by Mindjet’s Director of Human Resources so you’ll definitely get some good advice.

Alright, kids, have at it! The wiki is here!

11 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Blog Related

Thanks to Andrew popping out a wiki in a hurry (cool!), we now have our very own wiki to allow students of the world to share information on the digital student life. I’ve added a link to it right next to the forums link on the top bar, but you can navigate to it by just adding “/wiki” to our domain (www.studenttabletpc.com/wiki).



A few notes:

• You must create an account on the wiki to edit/create a page
• We’ll slowly make it more user friendly, but for those of you comfy in wiki-land, it’s exactly like every other wiki out there
• For a great example of what we’re trying to accomplish, check out Wikipedia.com
• We have a strict no spam policy, so don’t try it

Enjoy!

Replacing a Toshiba M200 LCD Mask

10 October 2006 Posted By: Andrew
Posted in: Tips / Tricks, Tracy's Updates

Sorry for not writing about this sooner. I’ve somehow managed to select a set of classes and other extracurricular activities that constantly and incessantly bombard me with work. As you might remember, my tablet succumbed to effects of hitting a pepper shaker.

After an initial panic, I gained my composure and started looking around. I eventually tracked down number of the part I needed, P000388420. New, the part was going to cost anywhere from $110 to over $250. That wasn’t going to fly. I decided to check eBay, on the off chance someone might be selling one unused. Must have been my lucky day. Not only did I find just what I was looking for, it was going to close in 4 days. I was able to snatch it up for a paltry $61 plus a few bones for shipping.

Congrats to GottaBeMobile’s new forums and contest

9 October 2006 Posted By: Tracy
Posted in: Contests/Give-aways, Websites

Just a quick shout-out to some of the Tablet PC world’s most active players over at GottaBeMobile.com. They recently opened up some great discussion forums to the community and they’re already rockin’. If you’ve missed TabletPCBuzz during that site’s downtime, I highly suggest taking a trot over to the new forums.

Also, I’m amazed at the contest they have going. They’re giving away an LS800 to the winner of their essay contest (800-1000 word essay on “how adding a Motion LS800 to your life will make you more mobile and enhance your personal and/or professional life”).

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