Josh Einstein is the developer of the popular TEO2 Outlook add in for the Tablet PC. If you’re an Outlook user, you’ll want to check it out.
TEO2 is one of the top downloads on TabletPCPost and currently holds the title of “Most Commented and Voted upon Application.”
After all this great work, Josh is trying to figure out why he doesn’t use his Tablet at home more–especially now that he has a separate laptop.
Yeah, I can see the challenge here. Some people are more keyboard bound and for them a slate can rapidly get delegated to second class status when a notebook/keyboard is around. A convertible might resolve the battle, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to rush out and buy another computer.
So, hey, why not let your right brain take over for awhile? Sketching in Journal or painting in ArtRage are great couch activities. Draw what you envision the ultimate Tablet might look like and post it on your blog. Can’t draw? Then give stick figures a try. Or just doodle. And then sprinkle some of your favorites in your blog for fun. Hey, why not? It might inspire a new blog feature in TEO2 or who knows.
Loren:
Great post! I love the idea of adding Tablet art to blogs. I’ll see what I can whip up.
Of course, as you know, I’m a total fan of convertibles so I feel like I have the best of both worlds. Yes, the slate form factor is nice for the light weight but I flip between keyboard and slate many times each day. The flexibility can not be beat IMO.
Josh is a great person and a very talented and responsive developer. Glad to see TEO2 is so popular with visitors to TabletPCPost. TEO is one of my very few “must have” Outlook add-ins.
I don’t think my computer habits really changed. I think I was trying to force my habits to fit the Tablet PC form factor.
I don’t really mind having a slate because I have a dock at work. But I think at the end of the day when I’m deciding “Do I take home the laptop or the Tablet PC?” the thing it always comes back to is “What will I want to do tonight that I won’t want to wait till tomorrow for?”
Since my Tablet PC has a much lower HD capacity (40 GB vs 80 GB) I don’t keep my whole music library on it. Not to mention the speakers stink on most Tablet PC’s. I also hate developing on a Tablet PC. I’ve always hated that. My Toshiba Satellite (17″ 3.2 Ghz 1.5 GB RAM) is an awesome development machine.
But when I am in bed watching TV I wish I had brought home the Tablet PC. It’s hard to choose. But the laptop usually wins. Capabilities over form factor I guess.
Oh I almost forgot to mention, one bad side effect of using the laptop over the Tablet PC… I am much worse at organization. With the Tablet PC, I felt “compelled” to document my day in the Outlook Journal with TEO, I always took down notes and meeting information. Never do it on the laptop.
Both of you know I’m a huge Getting Things Done fan and keeping organized is critically important to me. TEO is a great asset in accomplishing all of the info management I need to perform because it makes Outlook a pen-friendly place to be. I’ve looked at the 17″ Toshiba unit Josh and agree it is a fine machine (too big for my tastes or skinny shoulders though).
Still, I can’t help but wonder what your experience would be like if you were using a convertible with a bigger HD and faster processor. Would the delta be as large as what you’re currently experiencing?
When I’m in heavy design and note-taking mode, I particularly enjoy working with a slate form factor, but as a developer I’m often keyboard bound, so I want a keyboard around (and performance) and this pulls me towards a convertible or hybrid. I imagine more software like Josh’s TEO is going to sway the balance.
This tug of war between form factors is one reason I really like the HP’s hybrid design where I can pull the display off from a “notebook” form factor. Too bad it doesn’t have the performance that the convertibles are reaching. This would be a killer design for me.