So, I guess this thing still works! That’s a good thing because there’s a lot going on in the world right now. On the tech front, my trusty old Lenovo X41 Tablet seems to be on it’s last leg, so I’m very glad HP just announced the TM2 Tablet PC. Seems like it will be available just in time for me. SageTV is also vying for my attention, with rumors circulating about an all-new 3D user interface.

Add all this to a massive backlog of gadget experiences that I’ve had over the last year and I truly hope to find time for this website again.

I’d tell you to stay tuned, but the last 3 posts have said the same thing…so I guess I’ll just have to actually write something this time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to fix all these broken links…

I’ve been able to successfully install Vista Home Premium Edition on my X41 Tablet, and am REALLY liking the experience so far. I’m writing an article to help people decide if they’re ready to take the plunge, but in the mean time, I’ve gotten a lot of hits on my other X41 Vista post, so I thought I’d point people to a very helpful post I found.

Give Our Abilities Time has a great article on a couple of the pitfalls of installing Vista on this machine. Most notably, the relatively hard to find ThinkVantage Fingerprint Software v5.6 which is required to get the fingerprint reader working.

All in all, things are working pretty well, and I’m very happy with the overall experience.

I was looking around today on the news wires and noticed that Microsoft has finally published the suggested specs for Vista compatible systems. To my surprise, it appears as though my X41 tablet will be able to deliver a “Windows XP-comparable graphics experience”. So basically, it won’t work with all the super-cool eye candy, but it will be able to take advantage of all the other new tablet enhancements that Vista has promised.

You can see the whole list of desktop, mobile, and enterprise requirements here.

Crashless Aspirations Episode #1 (MP3 – 4.9MB – 10:27)

Download it here! Subscribe via RSS

The inaugural Crashless Aspirations Podcast! More of an experiment than anything. After writing my latest article about my experiences trying to get rid of paper in my life, I realized there is so much more to talk about. Instead of writing a novel on the subject, I thought it would be fun to talk about it.

In this first show, I talk about the concepts surrounding digital notetaking; the current implementations, limitations, and considerations. If you’re after more of a ‘how-to’ or a review, check out the companion article here.

00:00 – Welcome

00:27 – Thanks to Great Glass Elevator for their song.

01:42 – Problems with paper.

03:28 – Issues with replacing ole’ faithful.

04:15 – Things OneNote does well.

05:50 – What Microsoft needs to do to get it mainstream.

07:27 – Who should take a look at Tablet PCs, and my conclusions.

09:11 – “Drugstore Cowboy” – by Great Glass Elevator.

For more specific details, read the accompanying article.

TRT: 10:27

Please let me know what you think of this first attempt. I’m looking forward to hearing what you all think of the format. If you have ideas for a future podcast and article, or questions, comments or whatever, please either post them, or email them and I’ll try and incorporate them into the next show.

One of the main reasons I originally was intrigued by the idea of a Tablet PC was that I take notes into a legal pad on a regular basis. A lot of my job entails listening to someone’s ideas about what should be changed in a show, then executing those ideas. My system up until last month included a legal pad or small spiral notebook, a pen and a couple of colors of highlighters. Here’s a picture of my last paper notebook:

I take the notes with the pen in this format while I talked with a client about the show. Then after they left, I would implement the changes and highlight them as I completed each point. When my page was neon I knew that I had completed everything, I could refer back to the notes in our next meeting and remind the client about each change that was made, and I could talk about how it was addressed. This system not only makes sure I don’t forget anything, but also helps the client feel like everything was covered in the follow up meeting. Sometimes it’s difficult for my clients to remember each and every mundane change they requested, so being able to read them their list back is extremely comforting to them – they know every detail has been attended to.

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As I posted a week or so ago, an errant uninstaller corrupted my new tablet’s registry. While this was extremely unfortunate for me, because I was forced to work the rest of the day with a pen and paper, I did have a fairly good experience with both IBM’s support, and the IBM Rescue and Recovery (RnR) Software.

First, the bad news: RnR was not able to recover my registry. This is not entirely the fault of the system however, as I had not yet created backup discs or created an image of the system to directly restore to – that was my fault. I ended up having to restore to the factory state of the system.

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Well, after reading about Eric Mack’s issues about not having a true Windows XP Tablet PC Edition disc to recover his system, it seems I’m going through my own saga on the subject.

I’ve found some intersting things about the IBM X41 Tablet’s Rescue and Recovery system though that have been fairly promising, and I’ll write up my experiences in full once I’m back up and running.

This is the part where I was going to tell you to go sign the petition on this subject, but it seems to have been pulled down. I might have to ressurrect it.

While I received my X41 Tablet (model 18666SU) a couple of weeks ago now, I’ve only had a couple of days to play with it. I’m currently filling the system with my primary programs, and things have been mostly enjoyable. I thought that now would be a good time to share my out of box experience with you all, along with some kinks that I’ve run into.

I’m also going to try out a new way to write my posts – the ‘Geek Note’, which will simply be a link in brackets like this: [GN1]. This will be an attempt to keep my articles more readable, while still providing my more technically inclined readers with the information they desire. So let me know what you all think about this, I hope it works.

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Well it’s about frickin’ time! Lenovo has finally gotten around to shipping my tablet – nearly 2 months after I ordered it and 3 weeks later than the ‘latest’ ship date I was originally given.

Here’s the fun part – I’m not going to be here to recieve it. HA!

I’m getting married this Saturday, and we are immediately jetting off to Tahiti for two weeks. So needless to say I won’t be posting for a little while.

I’m not going to miss my tablet – but it better miss me. Serves it right for taking so long to get here.

Look what came via UPS today:

Guess when my tablet is slated to ship…July 21st. What am I supposed to do with this? Lenovo has found a new way to torture people, they announce that they have created the best convertible sub-notebook Tablet PC ever, take orders, then ship the batteries a month ahead of the computer that uses them. Now I have to sit and stare at this brick and think about how cool it will be when it actually is useful. I CAN’T EVEN CHARGE IT!

Since all I have is the battery, here are my thoughts:

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