ForbesOnTech

It's Time for e-Letters Aimed at Academic Pen-Based Computing

   The curious thing about tablet computing in academia is that it sometimes starts out in patches, long before its incorporated into the whole cloth of an  academic computing environment.

      But once it's been sewn into a college or academic computing its a concept that takes off rapidly. Notebook makers could do a lot more to make convertible notebooks much more visible and part of academic computing and this process doesn't have to be expensive or so invasive that it cripples an organization. One of the first things computer makers need to do is appoint someone to oversee or regularly work with colleges and academia. In the best of all possible cases, such a person would have a good understanding of the issues IT/academics face. But just as important, they need to have the authority and ability to represent this vibrant market and its associated technologies within a corporation.

    One of the best known successes in making a brand visible and creating market share with academic computing is Apple Computer and its Macintosh. but what gets forgotten about Apple is that it had successfully positioned several computers (the Apple // and //c) in academia before the Mac began shipping.

   There's a lot of fact and fiction in the story of Apple's forays into academic computing. What's most important about the lesson is that it wasn't just a top-driven program. It had the support of many middle and senior managers who were savvy enough to recognize it's importance on the brand and its potential to drive sales to new customers. I believe Apple's marketing staff executed brilliantly-- they did the fact finding that was necessary to accurately assess needs and potential uses. As importantly, product designers and engineers got involved early on and made sure that products fit the needs. Although it was neither glamorous or successful, the Apple //c, more than it's better known big successful brother--the Macintosh --was designed for academic computing.

    But looking back, Apple's push was sales oriented and although the company did bring in educators, the transfer of information was designed to push revenue.

    And today, all but one of the companies hoping to score wins in academic computing, use top down push marketing to sell systems. The exception to the rule is Hewlett Packard which has a designated point man/blogger in this market named Jim Vanides. Jim Vanides has become a clearing house of information on how tablet computers can be integrated into colleges and other schools. His blog http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/highered should be a must read for any company selling tablet computers    But HP, or any other company in this space should go a couple of steps further this now than one blog. And electronic newsletters for this category are needed now. Such newsletters are natural extensions of blogs and have the potential to boost pen-based computing by serving as information clearing houses.  They are also inexpensive instruments of good corporate citizenship.

Although I used HP and Apple as an example, there is one company that really should do this now. That company is Microsoft, whose Vista operating system could do more to make good on the multiple concepts of pen-based computing and leading edge computer usage. I also think Google should look at this.

   Although I've become a born again, washed in the circuits user, of pen-based computers I'm the first to admit that I need to understand more about how they can be used to improve delivery of class room material and how they can improve the educational experience. Electronic newsletters for this category can serve this purpose.

    

    Can I hear an "Amen" brothers, sisters and other members of of the church of convertible, pen-based computing?  Jim Forbes, on the way back down to my alma mater for a morning of lectures and discussing student business plans for web-based businesses on 01/03/2006

The Essentials of Great Convertible Notebooks

OK, I’ve been tapping away on pen-based convertible notebooks long enough now to have some strong opinions. Up front: Pen-based computers aren’t a fad, they make good on most of the promises that were made about potable computers decades ago.

Some disclosure here:

I ‘m handicapped- I lost the fine motor skills in my left hand that’s needed to write legibly in a stroke. What I didn’t lose in my stroke was my sense of humor or my tenaciousness. One of the things you really don’t want to tell me is “you can’t do this or that.” I’m just stubborn enough to go ahead and try to prove naysayers wrong.

Having said that, Lenovo –which includes a bunch of people who I knew from my involvement in IBM’s Mobile Computing Advisory Council in the last century—remembered my interest in tablet computing and supplied me with a ThinkPad X41 early in 2006. I promptly sat down and starting mastering pen-based text input. My handwriting looks like crap, even when I print. If something is really important, I quickly reposition the screen to gain access to the keyboard and enter data the old fashioned way. About half of the time, I use my tablet, it’s in tablet mode, the rest of the time I just tilt up the screen and begin typing. My writing is now good enough that I can read my own simple shorthand

Pen-based computing and convertible notebooks have become a central component of my second-life as an occasional guest lecturer in classes on web-based businesses at local four-year colleges or as a student in classes and lectures on California history.

What I’ve really noticed however are growing numbers of tablet PCs on numeround college campuses.

Notetaking applications like OneNote and iLighter (available as a download from www.ilighter.com) -- rule. As a result of using a convertible computer in an academic setting I’ve also come to rely on Google Docs and Spreadsheets. If Google is serious about owning web-based applications it needs to provide an alternative to Power Point very quickly. Increasingly, most college profs use PowerPoint to distribute lecture notes and other course materials.

So, What does a Successful Convertible Pen-Based Computer Require?

Durability tops the list, particularly in academic computing and for most vertical applications where pen-based computing is being used. Because of the sheer number of screen opening and closing cycles, notebook makers need to use solid hinges on the screen case. Snap a hinge on a convertible notebook and you’re hosed. Just adding a digitizer screen to a notebook isn’t nearly enough to build a good convertible computer. In an ideal world, a notebook maker also reinforces the system case. I’ve taken three convertible notebooks apart so far. Both the Lenovo X41 and X60 tablets reflect the ThinkPad design team’s penchant for building sturdy products and the current Gateway convertible, the CX 200, is flat out one of the most rugged notebooks I’ve ever seen. Anecdotally, switching to a lightweight convertible notebook also forced me to recognize that I needed to carry my notebook in a sleeve in my backpack. And that isn’t a bad thing since its helps protect my hardware investment.

Battery Life may be the second most important factor in a successful convertible notebook.  I’m only on campus long enough to lecture in  two classes, or attend a couple of history classes.After that, I grab a quick lunch in the student center and beat feet of campus.  The battery life of the systems I’ve tested average between five and six hours, so I often leave my charger in my parked and locked truck. The downside to the battery life issue is a weight penalty. If I were a student with a 16 or 18 credit class load, I’d probably opt for a convertible notebook that had eight or nine hours of battery life, or face he prospect of life as a classroom AC power outlet vulture.

            Good system throughput is another key requirement in building a convertible notebook that meets the needs of students and business professionals.  Based on my experience, a decent platform needs a fast hard disk drive, 2GB of system memory and a fast system board.  Waiting light years for a system to boot up as a college instructor begins to lecture is a tedious experience and most current convertible portables have been upgraded with faster hard disk drives than first- and second-genration machines. One of the reasons I’ve been so positive ibn my reviews of the Gateway CX200 and the new Lenovo X60 tablet is that both companies have upgraded their systems with hard disk drives that are faster than their previous machines and which produce beter system throughput (performance scores).

            Good screens are essential in good convertible notebooks. They need to be sharp enough to display small text used by some professors in annotating lecture notes and reading assignments. Furthermore, screens have to be bright enough to be easily read in uneven classroom and lecture hall seating. One of my favorite convertible notebook tests is to catch up on my email on a tree shaded bench outside a lecture hall. One of the weaknesses of past convertible notebooks has been tscreens that are difficult to read outside. 

Solid WiFi networking is an essential component in a successful convertible notebook design. Antennas positioning within a system needs to be carefully thought out. The best solution to this that I’ve seen is in ThinkPad and a handful of other machines where the 802.11 or broadband wireless antenna is ben built into the upper part of the screen case. Although college lecture halls have a lot of line of sight angles, the walls of those rooms also have a lot RF signal sapping steel rebar. Academic computing is not an experience in one-way data flow, it’s full blown interactivity.

             Ad Hoc workgroups are an intrinsic part of my convertible notebook uses. For some reason, the widespread use of ad hoc workgroups in educational computing was at first surprising.. Over the last year, I’ve grown accustomed to working with three discrete work groups: one for the classroom and one for each of the business plan teams I’ve participated in.  Although this is more a function of operating system and applications software, I’d love to see a convertible notebook maker build a software gadget that guided users through the software setups needed to enable maximum work group productivity.

Ergonomics is one of the final things that I think goes into a good convertible notebook. A reliable, comfortable keyboard is must and a stylus that’s as comfortable as your favorite pen is icing on the cake. I never let anyone play with my tylus. It’s too likely to magically fly into that person’s shirt pocket when my back is turned.

Lastly, from what I’ve seen, I think Vista will have a huge impact on pen-based convertible computing. Vista is the one reason why anyone buying a new convertible notebook should order it 2GB of system memory, now—Jim Forbes on 01/01/2007.

2006-- The Best year for Portable Computing Advances

2006, The Year of the Portable Computer

It’s almost year-end.  After spending a lot of time heads down looking at new notebooks for the last year, I’ve come to the conclusion that 2006 may be the seminal year in the advancement of portable computing technologies.

1. Notebook makers finally seem to understand that a notebook is the ultimate extension of the personal computing dream. If you don’t understand this concept, try the following experiment. Set your notebook down on a desk and get a coworker to lure someone into using your machine.  When you come back and find someone hammering away on your portable do you find yourself all filled with cheery, share-the-joy, thoughts ofr do you feel a little violated. The most effective marketing campaign I’ve seen this year is HP’s “The computer is personal again.”  Apparently the market agrees as sales of HP portables are steadily increasing. Kudos to HP for providing options the let me have a nice glossy black screen case that compliments the look and feel of its portables.
2. At long last, most notebook makers have realized communications options are paramount to successful portable computing products. I’ve lived through and survived a lot of revolutions in notebook computing and persistent wireless connectivity using technologies like those now supported by the Verizon, Cingular and Sprint networks is transformational. Going forward I expect to see more notebook makers incorporate this option at the system level. If there were two notebooks that I reviewed and came to rely on in 2006 they were Lenovo’s ThinkPad X60s and ThinkPad x60 tablet. Both incorporated wireless broadband connectivity and both fundamentally changed how I viewed and used portable computers.  My hats off to Lenovo for its wireless designs.  They did the homework that was needed to deliver drop dead reliable connectivity, no matter where I was (including sitting on a picnic bench on top of a mountain at Lake Fuller in northern California, where I had one bar of signal strength and got an urgent email from one of my children requesting an immediate transfer from The Bank of Dad to her account in Sacramento, CA). I accomplished this using the eVDo network, which eliminated my hsvingt o drive back down US 80 like a maniac to gt my child the money she needed. Separately, I flamed Apple for not including a modem in its MacBookPro earlier thi year and was promptly accused of living in a cave. To the righteous Apple fanatics who criticized my evaluation of MacBookPro: My point is that many people still have the need for dial-up. It happens from time to time.
3. Most notebook makers are delivering and designing portables that are much more capable, much lighter and much less expensive than machines that were being sold two, three and five years ago. Because of advances in low power integrated circuits and microprocessors, I often leave my charger in my car and routinely rely on up to six hours of battery life.  Small form factor portables are going mass market and are no longer just “executive jewelry.”
4. Tablet computing is no longer faddish. It’s becoming mainstream. Today’s convertible notebooks cost a fraction of the original machines and are two and three times as powerful as first generation pen-based computers. Although HP is the only notebook maker that has a dedicated evangelist working with universities and other educational institutions, other notebook makers are assigning tablet computing evangelist-like responsibilities to marketing personnel with strong ties to specific colleges. There’s a lesson here from Apple’s playbook: Create steeply discounted academic buying programs and then work with instructors to make convertible tablet computers an integral part of the university experience. I lecture on web-based Internet businesses at a nearby four-year university. All of my lecture material are on my 5-pound tablet, absent my notebook, I’d be stuck schlepping about 12 pounds of books and handouts one mile across campus from the faculty/guest parking area. In and of itself, this is an example of a transformational experience. But educational cmputing and convertible notebooks are both about to get a huge megavitamin injection from Microsoft Vista, which incorporates new technologies for this class of usage. What started in 2006 will roll past its moment of inertia and thunder on in the coming year
5. The one concept that’s kept me interested in portable computing over the years has been Alan Kay’s Dynabook proposal.  The delivery of small form factor notebooks in 2006 that weigh less than many textbooks and which support persistent communications, pen-based data entry and have the capability to create and display rich graphics as well as share information in fixed and ad hoc networks leads me to believe that the age of Dynabook has come at last. And looking back, much of this happened in 2006.

Free at last, free at last. Portable computing has made me free at last.—Jim Forbes, 12/29/2006