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Hopefully this will be the blog that has short, frequent entries about doing the TabletPC thing.
If you like any of this, I welcome you to check out my general tech blog at http://miniaturemage.blogspot.com/
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Though my beloved UMPC's been back from repair about three months, now, I finally got around to reinstalling Vista about three days ago. Since I'd noted others with R2H's didn't have the on/off/on/off wireless issue with Vista Ultimate that I did with Vista Enterprise,I decided not to install Vista Enterprise. As I got the ball rolling, the first thing I noticed was that I could choose to upgrade XPTPCE. I never had that option for my three Enterprise installs! Common sense told me not to do it -- and I did it, anyway. For the first time in a year, I have the ability to use my R2H's built in wireless card in Vista. Unlike previous installs, the WiFi doesn't run away from Device Manager the instant I ask it to do it's chores, even when CPU usage spikes to 100%. Was it the SKU? Was it the 208 BIOS Asus installed for me? Was it the upgrade option? Will I ever know? I'll tell you one thing: I seriously have issues with the idea of using my sole Vista Ultimate license on a 900 MHz Celeron unit with integrated, unGlassable graphics. I may have to go back to the Enterprise Altercation. Technorati Tags: Vista, R2H, UMPC
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In my 9 years in computer support, I've done scores of BIOS updates. I've always known that any one of those times, I could end up with an expensive paperweight on my hands, but I've been fortunate each time. I always figured that my luck would run out on me at work, where I've done these updates at least a hundred times more than on my own machines at home, but no, I had to beat the odds last night with one of the machines I carry daily.
Thursday night, I'd checked the Asus web site in the futile hope that they'd released some sort of driver update that would eliminate my R2H's dependence on external WiFi adapters in Vista. When I saw that version 208 of the UMPC's BIOS had been released only a few days before, I thought nothing of downloading it and giving it a try; after all, I also had problems with sleep. The update from 206 to 207 earlier this year had gone smoothly, so I anticipated no problems. Still, I waited until last night to do the install. I downloaded an installed the Vista utility and went to town--or so I thought. Everything looked normal; the app said it was doing everything and declared "Flash Successfully" at the bottom of the screen...and declared "Flash Successfully!" at the bottom of the screen...and declared "Flash Successfully!" at the bottom of the screen...and...that is all it did.
My heart sank...and sank...and sank. I waited, then I waited some more, and with a heavy heart, I pulled the plug and the battery, since the R2H would respond to nothing else. I keep asking myself how I managed to screw it up. Dear Asus, I guess I'll be calling you tomorrow, and please ignore what I said about you guys using the L2-cacheless 900 MHz processors, ok?
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There have been a few announcements elseweb about the new Tablet PC Wiki that was launched just a few short days ago, but here's one more, just in case anyone hasn't "heard." The Wiki will focus on not just the conventional tablet, but also its little brother, the Ultra-Mobile PC, and their cousin, the Media Center PC. Readers and possible contributors are encouraged to open accounts. I must admit I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out if/how I can be a worthy participator! Tablet PC MVP WNewquay's August 13th Announcement It's not the first Tablet-related wiki (perhaps that distinction goes to Tablet PC TiddlyWiki), but I'm confident that it will become an excellent resource for penabled and multimedia-minded computing enthusiasts. Side note: I'm excited to say this is my first post here using Windows Live Writer! My first WLW-crafted post (an ink post, at that) can be found at my non-tech blog at Live Spaces. Too bad it's also a boring post, but hey, it is a journal. I'd been trying since Sunday to use Live Writer to post ink posts to both Tablet PC Blogs and Blogger, but I'd had no success. Thank you, Ed Holloway for the Ink Blog Plugin for Live Writer! Thanks, GottaBeMobile, for telling us about it! tags: Tablet+PC, wiki, Media+Center+PC
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My work-issued LE1600 is a great machine, but the past couple of weeks haven't been good for the two of us. As I mentioned before, I developed seemingly minor operating problems and reinstalled XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. One problem went away; others arrived. The system responded haltingly, and once wouldn't boot (the device reported the OS wasn't found); and Event Viewer had a ton of disk and atapi errors in the System section. I called up Motion, and the excellent tech (seriously, this guy was far more professional than I've ever been with my users) had me re-seat the drive. Right away, I noticed a difference. He said if I had any more problems, we should just do an RMA.
Response had improved, but the tablet used to boot up in less than a minute, and it never got back to that. Also, it was sometimes sluggish to use, so I kept my eye on it. Today, six days after my call to Motion, the halts and the errors have returned. I emailed Motion and had a personal response within ten minutes (no, really!); how's that for customer support? That tech wants to RMA the whole machine; I'll have to call and see if I can talk them down. I'm not ready to go back to my ViewSonic, even for a little while. Even in its malfunctioning state, the LE1600 out-performs my V1250 (which outweighs it); I'm sure it has something to do with the slate's being much newer, having a faster processor and twice the RAM.
These problems are worth it, just because I now know that at least one computer manufacturer actually believes in serving the customer (and not just in the sales department). Oops, sorry, ViewSonic; I meant two!
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If you are wondering what the excitement is about, then you don't know what I and others have been through trying to get other Tablet PC makes and models back to factory install conditions. Given my failures with my ViewSonic and a demo HP, I wasn't even going to try with the Motion, which says a lot when one considers that I was at best the third person to use this machine. I was forced to start from scratch, however, when the VPN software I need to work from home (when on call) and to work securely via wireless stopped functioning and would not reinstall.
Having read of and experienced Tablet recovery disc's reluctance to boot off and install using USB CD/DVD drives of a differing brand, I thought I'd be slick and see what I could accomplish from within XP. I thought I was getting somewhere when the LE1600 copied the installation files and booted into setup, but it was just a ruse. Setup griped about the presence of an XP installation on the drive, then griped about not being able to copy necessary dlls. The result was an unbootable mess (though if my fingers were nimble, I could still boot the original, screwy installation).
I finally decided to ty it the right way, which was booting from the recovery disc itself. This couldn't be done with the DVD drive plugged directly into the tablet; to my relief, it would boot when I moved the USB cable to the port in the back of the convertible keyboard. I knew I was defeated when the setup screens changed to the Blue Screen of Death I'd seen with other machines and had fully expected to see this time, but I couldn't give up the fight.
I booted back into XP and ran setup again, this time copying the setup files to a second partition. My thinking was that the dlls might not have copied because they already existed, and 1 was hoping to delete and recreate the first partition during this setup attempt. However, when the tablet booted into the setup dialog, my request to delete C: was denied, and I stopped driving down that avenue.
At this point, I started thinking about a certain set of MSDN ISOs I know I could find...but I decided to be a good little tech. I tried booting from the recovery disc once more, hoping the BSOD was a fluke. To my surprise, setup rolled on up to the point where it would accept my input on what to do next! Imagine my joy; I was on my way to clean Tablet PC Edition goodness!
Or so I thought. The Motion wasn't done with me, yet. You see, though it happily accepted input at the point where one must press any key to boot the recovery cd, setup would happily ignore any keyboard input. I booted again and again with the same result. Without much hope of success, I grabbed a spare USB keyboard from my computer room and plugged it in, then rebooted. With this last spell, I finally vanquished the TPCE demons. Setup went smoothly, and I even found reason to be impressed.
The first time the LE1600 booted into XP TPCE, it immediately demanded its drivers and apps CD. I was only too happy to oblige. Fed the appropriate item, it chugged and chugged along, installing drivers, OmniPass, Dashboard and even Adobe Reader with almost no input from me, if any. Until now, I'd always been majorly impressed with the recovery process from Dell, but the Motion process is vastly preferable, as Dell's involves installing the recovery CD app, then selecting the drivers that the application detects, and finally clicking "Extract" to begin the process of installing the drivers...once for every driver. That's just for the hardware; to get the apps re-installed on a Dell, one can look forward to popping other CDs in and out.
So now I have a fresh Tablet Edition install, and I'm mostly delighted. I've got my precious VPN back and was finally able to update my work queue with stuff I'd done on call the past couple of days (saves me from any grief from the higher-ups on Monday). I didn't even have to lose the second partition, which is for Vista testing. There's just one thing: if Mcshield doesn't stop hogging my CPU, it will soon go the way of the dodo. I really don't want McAfee on here, anyway, but the Motion belongs to my employer, and as that is what we support, I figured I should probably install it and hand over control to the ePolicy Orchestrator server.
Sure, I know I'm not the first, but this is a first for me, so I'm excited, doggonit! I'm so pleased that I don't even mind mentioning that I actually re-installed the OS using an M1400 recovery disk, only discovering the LE1600's CD after I had to hunt through my collection for the drivers/apps disc. That's embarrassing, but I don't care, since it worked. I don't suppose it would have been the reason for the BSOD and keyboard problems...hmmm?
Tags: Tablet PC, LE1600
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I've gotten my greedy little mitts on a Motion LE1600 demo unit. Sad to say this isn't the first time or even the second time I've been offered a chance to check out a Motion slate model, just the first time I've jumped at it. I know they're nice units, but when the first one was available, I didn't have a tablet of my own, and I didn't want to miss the thing when I gave it back, and I just didn't even want to think about a slate when the next one was around. At any rate, I'll be setting the V1250 aside for a while, after I get the pertinent data copied over.
I haven't had the thing an hour yet, and already I'm learning something: it actually is possible to use the Motion in your lap when attached to it's keyboard. It's rather bouncy, though. If it were mine, I'd only do it if I could afford to buy another one right away.
Hmmm...why doesn't it go into the BIOS when it's attached to its keyboard? I must do some reading up on this thing!
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Most folks who know anything about Tablet PCs know that the Windows Journal Viewer is the app needed for desktop PC users to read Windows Journal files created on a Tablet PC. In an attempt to answer a question posted on a forum about how a desktop PC user could not only read the files, but convert the handwriting to text (something Journal Viewer apparently cannot do), I downloaded Agilix's sample app Scribbler and installed it on a friend's PC, then conducted a somewhat laborious Google search for .jnt files to try to convert. To my surprise, Scribbler was able to import the file and convert the text perfectly...well, as perfectly as can be expected, I think. My thanks to the guy who posted his hashing notes, so that I could finally conduct my little experiment!
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GottaBeMobile.com
likes to ask questions. Today, they’re asking
about our computer setups. My answer
started out long, but I (mercifully) gave them the short version. Here, then,
is the whole shebang.
The machine and its friends:
I've got all sorts of computers, and not all of them Wintel,
but my
V1250 (TPC) is the one that holds my attention. It's a convertible (1ghz /
768mb), but I rarely see the keyboard. Other than my iPod Shuffle and flash drives, I
rarely attach external devices to it. I
have a USB-to-IrDA adapter for those rare times I might want to sync my Nokia
PM-6225 phone with Outlook; I hope to have a Windows Mobile PDA phone
before this month is out.
The mobility:
Yeah, I work in multiple locations, at least ten sites
throughout the city.At the four sites
where I have access to wireless, I religiously use VPN during.
normal work hours. This makes me a
little different from the other techs in my group, who take care of only the
main site and almost always work within walking distance of their desktop
PCs.Those guys will only use VPN when
they are on call (nights and weekends) and trying to solve problems from home.
The challenges:
768 x 1024 res is exasperating, even when using the help
desk database , let alone Googling for problem fixes.
The failure to adopt wireless at the off-site clinics often sends me scrambling
for a spare Ethernet port;
however, active Ethernet ports cost money, and departments will rarely pay for
what they don't need immediately or in the foreseeable future (makes sense,
doesn’t it?). Even when I know where to
find a working, available network connection, it might be in someone’s office
or in a conference room that’s in use. There
is at least one site where locating an Ethernet port won’t help; everything IP is
done by DHCP,
and their addresses are not controlled by my organization. Double registration
is frowned upon, and my tablet’s MAC address is already
registered with my group. I need more battery life. There are days when I never
see my own desk, so charging the battery can be a PITA. Suspecting that my old
one may be losing some capacity, I recently purchased a brand new spare, but I’m
strangely hesitant to use it. Biggest problem: wandering away from a
completed job and leaving the tablet pen behind. I have lost four in my two
years of ownership. I always keep spares, but it’s time to give Wacom money again. Neither they nor ViewSonic sell my replacement pen, which means I will have to buy the wrong color; more importantly, though the available eraser pen fits perfectly into the storage slot under my keyboard, it does not have a clip, so sliding the pen back out is quite difficult. I have to dig my fingernail into the tiny groove in the pen and give a mighty tug; often my fingers just slide off ineffectually. Disclaimer: Wacom specifically instructs tablet users not to insert into the storage slots pens which are not advertised as replacements for our devices. I made the conscious decision to disobey after making a side-by-side comparison of an official replacement and a new non-replacement. I do not recommend that anyone else do as I did.
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Not so surprisingly to me, almost everything Hugo has to say about the convertible tablet is positive, so far. This is one video review I will be impatiently awaiting for selfish reasons. When I bought my ViewSonic V1250 in May of 2004, I promised myself a new one in 3 years. While I love my outdated ViewSonic, I cannot consider buying another of the same brand, because the company left the TabletPC market. Because I have several older, functioning Fujitsu tablets--one nearly a decade old--I think I can safely assume that Fujitsu is experienced in and dedicated to Penabled computing, so it simply became a matter of finding a model that fit my qualifications. After reading Hugo's post, I wandered over to the Fujitsu site to check out the T4020's specs, and at first glance, they look mighty darned good, especially the SXGA+ option and the up to 128mb shared video. I just hope they'll be available next year! Hey, Hugo, I don't suppose you'd be willing to add an 8-player session of Age of Empires III (with sea battles) to the items you cover in your video review?
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I do hope this is only temporary. It's a pleasure to use the felt on a tablet!
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You have to know by now that TabletGear.com is giving away a TabletKiosk eo ultra-Mobile PC. Yes, I know it's just one giveaway, and not like the massive events Microsoft held for the TabletPC in 2003, but it's a start, doggonit! As delighted as I am, I can't help but feel a little of Craig Pringle's disappointment. As happens so frequently, only those in the USA are eligible to win, and Craig would like to see opportunities of the same sort arise in his part of the world. I think he makes sense. I've read many posts where people have reported that a certain cool technology is never seen in their countries; perhaps exclusions like this have something to do with that (I mean no slight to TabletGear; I have heard it is difficult to open contests up to other locales without running afoul of somebody's laws). If you agree that there should be some UMPC giveaways in Australia or New Zealand, Hugo "poogie" Ortega would like to hear from you. I bet UMPCs are easier to use upside-down than full-fledged TPCs!
Did you honestly think I would let Frank La Vigne's recent TabletPC MVP award go by without commenting? I just had a really rough weekend at work (this is not unexpected when one chooses to provide computer support for an organization which operates 24/7), that's all, so my intended Sunday post is...uh...today. Don't ask me why I didn't do it Monday or Tuesday. Back on topic: congrats, Frank! Oh, yeah, I know where to find you when I need you, now!
I'm not much for podcasts or videocasts (my attention span is too short), but James Kendrick's video review of the eo had my full attention. Yes, it was last week, but I want to make sure you didn't miss it. James, you evil man, warn me to put on a bib next time.
If you missed everyone posting about MVP Chris De Herrera's OQO Model 01+ review, well, here you go.
Until the next giveaway...or something
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