Lora and I were talking over some different ideas for a Tablet get-together at next month’s CES. Since we don’t live in the same place, nor city, we held our Tablet brainstorming session using, what else, but our Tablets.
We used three core programs as we walked through the ideas: We talked over Skype, jotted instant messages using MSN Messenger (I also had my webcam going although Lora did not), and we used a shared OneNote page as a whiteboard:
While we were chatting a friend dropped by and we showed him how we were working. Right away he could see how he could use a similar combination of programs at work to talk with part of his remote team. Today they use a rather expensive video conferencing system and when he wants to show them something handdrawn he scribbles it on paper and holds the paper up to the camera. They also have to pay overseas phone rates.
But what he really caught onto was the fact that with a Tablet PC (assuming WiFi at work) he could have a Skype conversation at his desk, his coworker’s desk, a meeting room, or wherever. The mobility of a Tablet PC is a big deal. At a company I bet it can make a person or team more productive. For me, I like the mobility because it can make my work experience more enjoyable. If I get tired sitting at my desk at home I can move to the couch or the guest room’s desk or even outside on the porch. Being able to move around and still keep working makes work that more enjoyable. It’s priceless.
Here’s how to share a OneNote page:
1. Open OneNote
2. Go to the page you want to share
3. Click on the Tools menu and select the Shared Session submenu
4. Select Join Shared Session if you’re joining a session someone else started or Start Shared Session if you want to create the session and then have someone else share one of your OneNote pages.
Once you select Start Shared Session the task pane opens. In this pane you can enter a password for the shared session or not. Either way, once you’re ready to begin sharing a page click the “Shared Address Information” button. It will display a dialog box with two addresses. The bottom address is the one you’d give to someone else if you want to share OneNote over the Internet. The password will appear here too if you’ve specified one. The IP address will be of the form:
Session address for participants joining over the Internet:
24.107.220.165:16328
Normally, I copy/paste the IP address into Messenger when I’m initiating the sharing. Then the person on the other side walks through the Shared Session menu, selects Join Shared Session and enters the IP address. You’ll see a connecting dialog box appear when the connection is being established. Once the dialog goes away you’ll be ready to use the OneNote page as a whiteboard. That’s all there’s too it.
With a shared page you both (or as many participants as you have) can handwrite or type on the page at the same time. To keep things organized it’s best though for one person at a time to draw or type on the page. Otherwise, you can get some pretty interesting interactions.
Next time I need to display some dialogs that walk through the whole sequence. But that’ll have to wait. Time to catch up on some work.