From: Oliver Brose (oliver.brose_at_t-online.de)
Date: Sun Jan 25 2004 - 07:07:24 PST
>From: alanshaw_at_comcast.net
>Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 03:21:09 +0000
>
>Mark Rollins wrote:
>
>A friend showed me a loaner TabletPC his company got from Gateway. The coolest thing I found was that the screen wasn't touch sensitive and only responded to the stylus. That allows you to rest your hand on the screen, which is very large.
I also think that an inductive screen might be the better alternative once the screen reaches a certain size. I never had any "hand on screen" issue with the Newt though. The problem is that you are limited to whatever inductive pen comes supplied with your unit, and that this pen is usually not wired to the machine. So lost pen = inoperative unit.
Or am I ignorant of some nice inductive srew-in set for other pens? PDA Panache has this very nice set of srew-in stylii for Montblanc rollerpens, and I always carry one of those inserts these days for emergencies (Stylus left at home etc.) and might even use it if I intend to write a lot as the given pen is very well balanced.
>But that was the best thing. I found that the interface just wasn't user-friendly. I kept trying to use it like a Newton and my friend (who also has a Newton) kept saying "you can't do it that way." Like highlighting stuff and tapping and dragging. That doesn't work. To copy something you have to select it, then go to the File menu, select copy, etc. Just like with a mouse!
*shrugs* Well, it's Microsoft. They are thinking in terms of transporting the desktop experience the casual user expects. A problem derived from the fact that many tablet PCs are, well, notebooks with an inductive screen. Maybe the simple "use just like paper" approach of the NOS is just beyond the grasp of those developers. They probably never used a Newton.
> Didn't Microsoft read the Newton APIs? MS seems to have taken minimal effort to make Windows work with a stylus. Way too complicated. It's still geared toward a mouse.
I took a look at the screenshots and all I thought was *iiich*. The GUI seems to lack elegance and consistency, although one might say that it is consistently inelegant. The unit itself is loaded with buttons. Heck, what would I need all those buttons for, and why should I want remember all their different functions? This loops back to the interface problem. If the interface was pen-orientated, there would be no need for that many buttons. Looking at the OQO device a few days ago I remember only *one* button (apart from the slide out keyboard). The power button. Nevertheless the OQO is also nothing but a desktop crammed into a small unit with a thouchscreen.
Oliver :)
-- "The possibilities are endless. I love that." - Jonathan Ive -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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