Transcript: Tablet PC, March 9, 2004
Published: July 10, 2004
Chat Date: March 9, 2004
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Introduction
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Tablet PC chat!
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Now, I'll have our hosts for the chat today introduce themselves:
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
I'm Andrew Brown, and I'm the MVP Lead for Tablet PC, and the moderator for this chat.
Host: SearsYoung (Microsoft)
Hi, I'm Sears Young. I work in the OEM Support Group, focusing on Tablet PC.
Host: MasonJ (Microsoft)
Hi, I am Mason Jensen. I am a test engineer for the Tablet Sustained Engineering team.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Hello, I'm Arin Goldberg, I'm the ISV Architect for the Tablet PC group
Host: Chris_H (MVP)
Tablet PC MVP, general user and enthusiast of the form factor.
Host: terri (MVP)
Hi. I'm Terri Stratton, an MVP for Windows Tablet PC and owner/editor of .thetabletpc.net
Host: VictoriaHamilton (Microsoft)
Welcome to the chat! I'm a Program Manager on the Tablet PC Sustained Engineering team.
Start of Chat
Host: terri (MVP)
Q: Will there ever be a retail version of XPP SP2 that will be able to load on a Tablet PC
A: Yes, there will. It's currently in beta and should be released fairly soon
Host: VictoriaHamilton (Microsoft)
A: Technically, it's not retail in the sense of CDs you can buy at the store. SP2 will be available to the same channels that V1 Tablet will be available.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Any chances to get a subset of the Ink data type on WinCE ?
A: We are constantly working with other groups around Microsoft to create a more seamless development environment, but I can't comment on any specific Windows Mobile feature.
Host: terri (MVP)
Q: When we talk Q1, Q2, etc, are we using standard calendar (i.e. Q1 is Jan - March) or some other system?
A: Yes, Q1 = Jan-March, etc.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: First question is where can I find the new features of the next tablet SDK?
A: We are currently running an alpha program for the new SDK. If you are not already a member of the alpha, please email tabalpha@microsoft.com for instructions on joining.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
A: The 1.7 contains many new features. I just recently had a web cast that described the new features. This webcast is available to view on demand for all alpha users.
Host: VictoriaHamilton (Microsoft)
Q: In follow up, if I understand this correctly, Tablet PC OS upgrades/installs will only be supported and available through OEMs and MS Updates. Win XPP for laptop/desktop will always be a separate product - correct ?
A: Upgrades to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition will generally be available from Microsoft via Windows Update or your OEM. They may be released as a separate upgrade or part of a service pack (like SP2).
Host: MasonJ (Microsoft)
Q: Should the hibernate option always be available on a Tablet PC when I go to Start => Turn off Computer -- or is this vender specific?
A: It is specific to the hardware drivers. I am pretty sure that every model tablet supports this functionality. Under the power options the last tab should be for Hibernate, check that it is enabled there.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: What is the planned release date of SDK V1.7?
A: The SDK will release at the same time as the Lonestar OS update, this is in line with XPSP2 release (in the first half of this year).
Host: terri (MVP)
Q: Are there any tablet specific cases for the Acer C30x?
A: As of now, I don't see a case made specifically for the Acer 300 series. I'll be happy to check with Acer to see when one may be available. Since it's a 14" model, other notebook cases should work well.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Can you evaluate tablet development without a tablet?
A: Yes you can develop without a tablet, there are many different ways to do this. 1. You can use your desktop running Win2k or greater. 2. You can install the tablet PC OS (from MSDN) on your desktop.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
A: You can use either a mouse or an external digitizer (that supports HID). I've written a FAQ on this that should be posted soon to our developer web site.
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft) If you post a question and some time goes by without an answer, please repost your question - we're trying to get to everyone!
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Developer Question: I have asked this a couple of times on the message boards without much luck. I would like a recognizer that only puts in numbers. If I create an InkEdit field for age or weight, I don't want anything else showing up.
A: Unfortunately the InkEdit doesn't support coercion of the Factoid. But you can do this yourself by using the RecognizerContext object and setting the Factoid to NUMBER and RecognitionFlags to Coerce.
Host: VictoriaHamilton (Microsoft)
Q: any chance that you fix distribution channels issues ? like in Belgium, which is a French+Deutch country, only the EN-US version of the new Toshiba is available :/
A: Tablet distribution is managed by the OEMs, so we can't say for certain. It could be that Toshiba is offering English because it's the only language that Tablet's Multilingual User Interface is available. Customers in Belgium might appreciate the MUI since they'd be able to switch back and forth between languages easily.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: how can we develop voice commands to use with the speech input that is part of XP Tablet?
A: The Tablet PC Edition is a true superset of Windows XP and ships with SAPI 5.1 (as did XP). You can use the SAPI (speech API) to do this.
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft) Hi all. We've got about 30 minutes left. Get those questions in!
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: My understanding is that Tablet PC digitizers currently support 256 levels of pen pressure. I believe that traditional digitizing tablets (i.e. Wacom tablets) do twice that. Is this a hardware limitation?
A: The Tablet PC Platform supports any number of digitizer properties. Currently most Tablets only have 256 levels of pressure, but this is purely a limitation of the hardware that OEMs have chosen to ship.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
A: We are working with the OEM's to update their hardware to support not just more levels of pressure, but additional properties such as angle and rotation.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
A: In fact, there is one on the market today that supports 512 levels of pressure.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Without seeing what's in SDK 1.7 yet, are there any plans to offer a control that would be similar to journal. Creating a notepad in a custom application bites
A: While it's not part of the 1.7 SDK, we are working on a solution to this problem. Please keep an eye out to the tablet pc newsgroups, I'll post more information there in the future.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: will we get some sample of capturing Ink in Internet Explorer during the MDC, even better an ASP.NET control that handles it all, maybe along with an InkBlog sample ?
A: I'll be posting the full code to the www.inklog.com web site in the future. This should give you everything you need to build an ink enabled ASP.NET web site.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Is there a way to create a Ink Control on a web page (perhaps with IE)? i.e., allow someone to pen in something on a site, and capture that data server side for recognition and storage? I'm thinking of an HTML form with a signature box, for example.
A: Yes, please see www.inklog.com for an example of this type of functionality. This is fully supported in the 1.7 SDK.
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: Do all tablets currently on the market sample input at the same rate (i.e. resolution)? Is this a fixed value, or something that can be set by the manufacturer?
A: this is a hardware specific value. The current wacom devices go at 125 samples/sec. The Finepoint digitizers (HP TC1000) were at 133/sec.
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft) As a reminder, please make sure you post your questions with a "Q:" in front of them so we don't miss them!
Host: Arin_Goldberg (Microsoft)
Q: How do I get at the SAPI?
A: See http://www.microsoft.com/speech/default.asp
Host: terri (MVP)
Q: Any other Tablet PC events coming up for those interested in always learning more?
A: David, you might check here to see if the seminar is coming to a town close to you - http://www.tabletpctraining.com/evtMobileQ1.htm
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
This concludes our Tablet PC chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Tablet PC or other Windows topics.
For further information on this topic please visit the following:
Newsgroups: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Transcripts: Read the archive of past Windows XP chats.
Website: Visit the home page for Tablet PC
