Transcript: Tablet PC web chat, October 5, 2005
Published: October 28, 2005
Chat Topic: Tablet PC web chat
Chat Date: October 05, 2005
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Introduction
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Tablet PC chat!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Today we are answering your questions about Tablet PC.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Now, I'll have our hosts for the chat today introduce themselves:
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
I'm Andrew Brown, and I'm the MVP Lead for Tablet PC, and the moderator for this chat.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Hello, I am Robert Williams, Director of Business Development for the Mobile Platforms Division. I have been working on Tablet PC for 4 years. I think everybody should have one :)
Michelle_MS (Expert):
Hi, I'm Michelle McKelvey. I'm a technical evangelist with the Tablet PC and Mobile PC team.
Chris H Tablet PC (Expert):
Welcome to the Tablet PC Chat. I'm a Tablet PC MVP, and owner of the http://www.nicecreations.us web site where Inky is the host.
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Victoria Kruse. I'm a Program Manager in the Mobile Applications group. Welcome to the chat!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Go ahead and begin sending us your questions, and we'll get the chat underway.
Start of chat:
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: Do you know what the hardware requirements for the Tablet PC will be for Vista yet?
A: We are finalizing that as we speak. In general 512MB RAM or greater and a reasonably current cpu should handle Vista. The major pivot point will be around the graphics subsystem. Drilling down a little bit more, integrated graphics will be the most challenging to define. Discreet graphics should have plenty of power and we know how to define the parameters for discreet parts.
Chris H Tablet PC (Expert):
Q: I have a few dead spots for the stylus on the tablet pc, but when I calibrate those spots work. Any ideas?
A: Tablet PCs do need calibration of the pens. I would make sure you've got the latest pen drivers installed, and your system is updated overall.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: Since Fujitsu will be selling a touchscreen with TPCE, some have wondered if MS's definition of a TPC has been broadened. I also wonder if questions related to these devices will be addressed in TPC chats and the newsgroup, as if they were no different.
A: 1) Yes, we have broadened the definition. Resistive touch screens will give a reasonably good Tablet PC end user experience. Not as good as active, but for those that prefer driving the Tablet with their fingers, it will be satisfactory.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: Since Fujitsu will be selling a touchscreen with TPCE, some have wondered if MS's definition of a TPC has been broadened. I also wonder if questions related to these devices will be addressed in TPC chats and the newsgroup, as if they were no different.
A: 2) Yes, we will handle questions on these. Resistive tablets are now part of the family and we will treat them as having a full seat at the table.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: Do you have any recommendations for manufacturers on buying a new tablet?
A: Please check out the HW showcase on microsoft.com/tabletpc and the individual manufacturers web sites for product information and the reviews on the community web sites reviews and recommendations. For obvious reasons, we (Microsoft) do not recommend one partner's product over another's.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: What is MS doing for the T PC to cut power drain to get longer hours of operation?
A: We will introduce a number of new power management features in Vista. Additionally, we are working with the Tablet manufacturers and component vendors (cpu, chip sets, displays, etc) to reduce inherent HW power consumption.
frankgo_ms (Expert):
Q: I want to know about microsoft vista. What is it? should i install it in my laptop? i dont need it for professional needs but just for home use. What are its minimum requirements
A: Vista is the next generation operating system coming from Microsoft and is in Beta now. See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.mspx
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: I played with one of those Fujitsus for about 3 weeks. It came with regular XP Pro, but I fixed that. As soon as I had ink, I was majorly in love (and I want that version of TIP on my TPC NOW)... but I still prefer the active digitizer.
A: So do I, but not everyone is like us :)
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Q: As an end user, can you recommend any stratagies to deal with applications (non-TPC optimized) that utilize the middle mouse button as an intrigal part of their UI.
A: Will, what sort of use did you have in mind for that button? There may be 3rd party solutions that mimic the functionality that you're looking for.
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Q: The applicatioin I have in mind is a .NET app that runs in IE and is an PACS (radiology) image viewed. The middle mouse button is used to magnify the image by click and draw down to mag and draw up to minify.
A: I see. You'd have to use the toolbar or menu options for zooming in that case. I'm not aware of an easy way to replicate that middle button behavior with the pen.
Michelle_MS (Expert):
Q: Not being able to replicate that middle button or the scroll wheel behavior with the pen seems like and opportunity for someone to develop such a thing. Did MS not include the necessary hooks in the UI so manufactuers could make a multi button pen??
A: Will - That Tablet PC Platform API provides the ability to create new user experiences such as scroll wheel or middle button behavior, but it would take a third party to create the application to do this. The actual Tablet PC Platform will support hardware with upto 16 buttons on a single stylus. It's up the hardware manufacturers to build this new hardware.
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: I really like having a TPC... if I ever get it back from Averatec service... however there's two things I'd like to see, First the original docking/undocking behavior of the original input pad and second, a resizable (spelled bigger) onscreen keyboard.
A: Thanks for your input. I am sorry you are having difficulties with Averatec service
Robert Williams (Expert):
Q: What's the last thing you did with a TabletPC that really wowed someone?
A: I showed them inking on the desktop with the Tablet Experience Pack. It's really simple but seems to be very compelling.
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Q: Is there any chance Tablet PCs Handwriting recognition will be broadened to include Skandinavian and Finish languages?
A: We're always working to improve our handwriting recognition, but we haven't announced any particular new languages yet.
frankgo_ms (Expert):
Q: Seems to me, I was reading where input areas (textboxes etc) can be tagged as TPC input areas. Is there a way to do that for exisitng applications or non- .NET applications I write?
A: You can set the context of textbox to hint to the recognizers what type of data exists. You can do this for non-tablet applications, see the whitepaper on mdsn http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/tabletpc/articles/tablet101/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dntab101/html/tab101c02.asp
frankgo_ms (Expert):
Q: Will the write anywhere feature be back for Vista that was removed with SP2?
A: This feature was removed in XPS2, you can install our experience pack which has a feature called InkDesktop that is very similar in concept. The experience pack can be downloaded from http://www.tabletpc.com
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Q: Are there any tweaks one can enable on their Tablet to make it run faster/more responsive. An example would be reserving X amount of memory for a particular Tablet function such as the Tabtip.exe?
A: Nothing I can think of offhand besides adding more memory. You might want to look through the services and applications that are installed and see if any of them are taking up more memory than needed.
John D MVP (Expert):
Q: Hi i want a WIN XP SERVICE PACK2 CD what is the link to order it.
A: If you don't want to use windows update because then you don't get the install file to use again on other computers, you can download the file from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en and that way you have it onhand as well.
frankgo_ms (Expert):
Q: I think the TPC experience would be a little better if I could access the Start Menu from anywhere the way one can in Unix or running blackbox shell over Windows. Thoughts?
A: Thatā€™s a good idea Iā€™ll forward this suggestion to the product team.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: When I try to download the windows pack 2. On restart it informs me of error code 887600de, my resolution will go no highier than 640 x 486 and I have only 4 bit colour. How can I fix the error?
A: Are you trying to run this on a Tablet PC? If so, which version of the Tablet PC edition OS were you running prior to upgrading?
Chris H Tablet PC (Expert):
Q: Is the calibration screen vendor specific or standard for the TPC... and is it supposed to remember settings from sesion to session?
A: Resolution is part of the operating system, and yes, it is supposed to remember from session to session as any Windows XP machine will.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
This concludes our Tablet PC chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Tablet PC or other Windows topics.
Chris H Tablet PC (Expert):
Thanks all for coming to the chat! See you at next month's session.
VictoriaKruse[MS] (Expert):
Thanks everyone!
