 | New laptop: a tablet PCApril 25th, 2006 |
So I settled on a new laptop, and I got the Toshiba M400 convertible Tablet PC. I’ve been wanting a Tablet PC ever since Mark Terrano and Mike Steele showed me theirs, since I frequently design and think while sketching. They both have Motion Computing’s slate models, but I wanted something with a better keyboard since I do a lot of typing on the road, and with an optical drive.
I got a custom build: the 1400×1050 screen, built in DVD/CD-RW, a gig of RAM, and a 100 gig hard drive. It’s still fairly light even with the DVD drive in it, but it’s a lot bigger overall than the VAIO I had. Toshiba is selling a pre-built version, the M405, at a significant discount at retail only, but once you factor in the free 2 day shipping and adjusting configs, the prices came out pretty close. This is with the new Intel dual core processor — I didn’t splurge too much on the speed, though. Alas, there’s no options for a more robust video card.
So far, I am really enjoying the tablet side. The handwriting recognition out of the box was rather amazing. I have had basically no problems, and adding GeckoTIP let me use the Input Panel in Firefox. The monitor conversion is pretty easy, and the hinge (something I was concerned about) seems very sturdy. There’s buttons to change between landscape and portrait mode, and the autodetect is fast.
Among the extras I tossed on the notebook are a tablet version of Hexic, Ink Art which is the updated version of Art Rage, and the Composition tool which lets you write music notation in ink. All of these are free in one Pack or another from Microsoft. I also added MS Reader, since lately I’ve been reading eBooks on my phone from the Baen Free Library. And, of course, Office and Firefox. I’m trying out Allway Sync to keep the notebook and the desktop coordinated — we’ll see.
The keyboard is sturdy and much more tactile than the one on my VAIO TR3A. Some of the amenities, like an actual volume dial instead of Fn-keystrokes, and a button for presentation mode, are really handy. I’m able to use my iGo Juice to power it (using tip number 6) — after spending some time on the phone with a CS rep from iGo. Some complain that the laptop is kind of loud, but mine isn’t noticeable except when running a CD in the drive.
I did find one annoyance: applications built in Blitz3d, and in fact, trying to compile in Blitz3d, don’t work out of the box. You have to go into the Properties window for the app, choose the Compatibility tab, and check “Turn off advanced text services for this app.” I hope that Blitz can fix this in an update sometime; their BlitzMax dev environment (which I use more these days) works just fine.
I have yet to succeed at getting the Bluetooth up and running. It also has a fingerprint reader for logging in — I haven’t set that up either. It comes with way way too much crap pre-installed and running at boot — everything from something called Mic Effect that supposedly helps when recording using the laptop
s built-in mic, to a really creative Wi-Fi and Bluetooth floating control that actually shows little glowy dots on a radar, with labels. Lastly, and most annoying — there’s no OEM disc for Windows. You have to burn it yourself, and since it’s actually ghosting a hidden partition with the installs for every piece of bundled software, it’ll take up 12 CDs or something. I haven’t yet begun the drudgery.
All in all, I am pretty happy with it. The case I got for it is roomy, and although it’s a lot bulkier than the VAIO’s case, I’ll actually now have room for the books and cables I lug around. In the past, I’ve occasionally needed to switch to a roomier bag even with the VAIO, and now I don’t think I will need to. Between this & the PocketPC, I feel all ubergeeky again.
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Service for the computer was also fast and easy.
Source:raphkoster.com
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