What Is New

There's a little debate going on over on YouTube about what "real" Tablet PC features are. Go check it out

Also be sure to check out how kids are making these multitouch pads from boxes, webcams, and frames.

My two teenage nieces primarily use home computers for school work. Unfortunately, their school uses computers in labs only.

Current PC of choice seems to be the well used, beloved HP TC1100 Tablet PCs, which they say do the trick most of the time. They mainly write essays in Word, quick notes in Journal, and the calculator. Next comes IE with search engines helping them find their way to whatever word they need to use. It's solitary work, not collaborative and yes, homework still gets printed on paper.

 I know Rob's kids use PCs in their homeschool. What about the rest of you. How do your kids use computers for school work? What do they need created or enabled to get them over that next edge?

Disney's new Ultimate WALL·E has, "An innovative touch programming system lets kids direct WALL·E simply by making patterns on the remote's touch pad."

Great idea to use gestures on a remote!

Ran across this ecoupon for Lenovo ThinkPad X Series Tablet PCs. 22% discount is a nice savings when you're in the market for a new PC!

LectureScribe is a whiteboarding application that you can use with a Tablet PC or interactive whiteboard. The app has a great ink playback features, which is particularly useful for revealing complex proofs, concepts, or other information.

In a Clemson University newsletter, Brian Dean, who wrote the app, described how he uses this Flash application:

Over the past few years, I have used LectureScribe for a variety of purposes: sending multimedia notes to students and colleagues in response to questions over email, posting supplemental material in my courses, making research notes for myself to view in the future, and finally in the development of a multimedia textbook where difficult material is explained using short animated mini-lectures.

The Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) Conference 2008 will have a workshop on building video tutorials that includes LectureScribe tips for Tablet PC users.

Conference Dates: June 15, 2008 - June 19, 2008
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Conference website: http://www.ascue.org/ 
Presenter: Steve Anderson, U. South Carolina - Sumter
Workshop Date: Sunday, June 15, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Now that the workplace tool of preferred choice are mobile PCs over stationary PCs, IT support needs are shifting too. Global Knowledge is running a Windows Vista training course and certification test preparation that includes configuring and networking of mobile PCs, including instructions and labs on pen settings.

Course Outline

10. Configuring Mobile Computers

• Configuring Mobile Computer Settings
• Configuring Mobile Devices
• Configuring Power Options

11. Configuring Tablet PC Settings

• Configuring Pen and Input Devices

12. Networking Mobile Computers

• Networking Without Wires
• Connecting to a Wireless Network
• Working with Offline Files