I’ve been using the new Acer c300 Tablet PC for a few weeks now, and am ready to make some educated comments. First of all:

Seriously, I am using this computer much more than my old notebook, and it beats the snot out of the old Compaq tablet we picked up a year ago. Tablet PC hardware has matured into a viable set of devices that can compete with other computers on the market. It behaves like a decent business notebook, but converts quickly to slate mode when needed. I am authoring this entry completely with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition’s handwriting recognition - no keyboard - and no wires thanks to the Centrino chipset. Cool stuff, and on top of that I’ve been sitting here using the computer on battery and wireless network for a few hours and still have plenty of battery life left to go.

Of course it also needs to be practical and useful, and I have found myself tending to take better notes when I need them. I am also taking notes at times and places I never did before.

The Acer is well-built, with a larger than typical screen/slate (about 14 inches compared to the more common 10 to 12). The digitizer is fast and works very well. I was pleasantly surprised when the unit arrived to find it ships with a built-in smart card slot and two cards. Without a valid card the computer will not start. Of course, you can do all the other Windows tricks with the smartcard, as well.

The case is sturdy, the wireless is fast and reliable (802.11b) and I can’t find anything to complain about. The pen stows neatly in the screen frame, and the unit has a built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, which is very nice if you are looking to completely replace a laptop computer (that’s my goal). We will be doing some application performance testing over the next week or two, and that will determine if this unit is ready for prime time. I think it will do well.

The more thing: When Gateway announced price drops for its tablet machine a couple of weeks ago, Acer followed suit and knocked something like $400 off the list price, so the cost for the tablet is now comparable to that of a similarly equipped standard notebook. That makes it much more reasonable to consider the Tablet PC for business purchase.

I want one…

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=26432&item=2450501898

Two things happened today that amazed me. I was not present for either one. Where I live, it snowed a whole bunch. My 4-wheel-drive truck allowed me to leave my house today and work my way down into the valley to go to work, but without that capability – no way man.

The first things that happened was that I heard from my neighbor that the UPS guy stopped his truck at the end of the driveway, by the road, and WALKED a package through the snow up and down two long hills, a quarter mile to the neighbor’s house, because his truck could not make the drive. Wow. That’s dedication and service!

Then later I heard that Cora, the nice lady I have come to my house every couple week to clean things (Before you start, remember I’m a bachelor *and* a work-a-holic, so give me a break…), also hiked from the road to my house, CARRYING THE CLEANING STUFF THE WHOLE WAY. Apparently the neighbors saw them climbing the hill, but they were already half-way here by that time, so they did not have the heart to suggest they turn back and come back when the drive was passable. When I called Cora and thanked her, she laughed and said, “Well, I was already there, and my helper said she wanted to get out and play in the snow anyhow, so I thought oh, what the heck.” Uhhh, that’s more than I would ever ask for, and someone’s going to get a big tip. Way above and beyond!

These things simply would not happen in the city. There’s something about small-town and country life that is different. People watch out for each other, and they care about people and things.

Now I remember why I moved out here.

Woke up this morning to 8 inches of new snow – the roads were a killer, but it sure looks cool! And it was good snow. The neighbor kid should have waited 12 hours to attack. I would have OWNED!

My neighbor called me and asked if I was driving in, and if he could hitch a ride (I have the 4WD). As expected, once we hit the road we found that people around here don't know how to drive when the snow starts to accumulate. It took a lot longer than usual to get to work this morning, but sitting in the roadway behind a stuck semi truck, one is able to see things that one does not normally get a chance to see when moving along at 40 or 50 miles an hour. Hey - Where'd those train tracks come from??

I don't think I will be staying at work the full day. It sounds like the roads will freeze, which will mean much worse driving, so heading home early sounds like the best idea.

Maybe even make a snowman if we get back home in time? If the snow's still there. We'll see.

It started snowing yesterday, and this afternoon it picked back up, and now all of a sudden we have nearly two inches on the ground, and it’s still coming down at a pretty good clip. Just a few years ago, if I read these same words I would have laughed and said something like, “What – two inches? So what???” But I am much older and lamer than that now, and the fact is that it almost never snows here in any appreciable amount, so I am kind of excited. Add the fact that I live in the middle of nowhere and the roads SUCK when it snows or gets icy, and I feel like a kid again.

Speaking of which, the neighbor kid (who’s really a polite, smart, well-behaved 10-year-old) rings my doorbell this evening at dusk. It’s like 30 degrees outside and it’s snowing like crazy, and he’s standing in the front lawn as I open the door and peer out, with this crazed-little-kid look on his face (you know, the look they get when they’ve stepped over an invisible line and just can’t seem to make themselves go back). He’s not saying anything, and has a strange look on his face like he's trying to make a decision - or maybe he's battling with one he's already made, so I ask him, “Why are you standing out there in the snow?” The psycho grin grows across his face, and next thing I know, a huge snow/slush ball is hurtling toward me.

I'm standing in my doorway, on the entry floor, no shoes on. Wet ball of snow hits the door frame next to my left shoulder. Ah hah!

It wasn’t until a few seconds later that he realized exactly what he’d done (or maybe he suddenly got to the consequences part of the think-cycle). He spun in the snow, screamed in panic, and ran off.

I found him 5 minutes later, hiding in the trees, crazed again and apparently waiting for me to come find him. He had 5 snowballs at the ready. It was almost dark, but I heard him sneer, “This is WAR!” and he then proceeded to miss me, five times. But it was a good try.

So, for my part I made sure he had plenty of snow down the back of his jacket before we finished, and all was good. And for the record he managed to hit me a few times with his snowball stash in the process. All in all, I think it's safe to say that while I came out on the dryer side of the battle, he won the war.

Cold weather will make you do unusual things, won't it?

Ah, snow.

Nice - Tablet PCs can actually be useful, I am finding this out. This may not be the best example, but it does show how a little ingenuity and taking a little time to make things work together can change the way things are used. Not that this is an original idea - quite the contrary - but while others are out there writing special programs to do this, I just used existing programs with features that - when combined - allow this to happen. And, I thought of it and executed it in a matter of 30 minutes. All I need is my Tablet PC, Outlook 2003 installed, dasBlog on the server side, and finally a wired or wireless Internet connection, and I can do this. It's nifty.

Technology certainly continues to grow and change.