<p>This morning's Detroit Free Press has a great article on Microsoft's One Note program.This is a terrific program for student note taking and recording interviews/lectures. While this program will work with desktops and laptops, it really shines with a Tablet PC.</p>
<p>A point made in the article is that your hand written notes can be translated into text. While true, notes do not have to be converted. You can leave your notes in your own hand writing just as you would if you were using paper. And your notes are still searchable...</p>
<p>It's between this, the R15, and the Tecra M4. Here's another question. How is this site's price so much lower (buy several hundred!)? What's the catch. Is it a slightly different version?</p>
<p>Jerew: The above link is the Acer forum at TabletPCBuzz.com. There seems to be a growing consenus that Acer's quality is becoming an issue as compared to Toshiba. You might want to read through the threads to see what Acer owners are saying...</p>
<p>As for the price difference between the two sites, the cheaper of the two didn't mention a WiFi card. That site sells it for $69 extra. The issue of SP2 isn't that great an issue. You can download it for free after you register your Tablet PC/XP Pro OS on-line or ask that MS mail you the SP2 cdrom. Each site does allow you to contact them with any questions. Ask plenty of questions! Make sure the Acer is new and not a refurbished model. </p>
<p>fluxuations of a hundred or two dollars on a big ticket item are extremely common online. Make sure they have a good reputation and go witht he cheapest.</p>
<p>Are there internal Bluetooth cards available for the R15, or do I have to go with the USB key sticking out of the computer?</p>
<p>Also, is the Toshiba R10 just a customizable version of the R15 (pretty much same stuff, if you add to the R10?)</p>
<p>One more. Toshiba System Guard Plan or the Best Buy Plan? (Considering Ithaca has a Best Buy) Which is better servie/faster/more convientient. Just a thought.</p>
<p>The customized R10 uses a USB Bluetooth adaptor. That would be the same for the R15 which is sold at the big box stores. You'd have to order it from ToshibaDirect.com or use a third party Bluetooth device. Kind of strange since the M205 uses a optional built-in card.</p>
<p>As for extended service contracts, I'd go with the Toshiba plan. If you need service during the warranty period and go to Best Buy, the techs would have to order the replacement parts from Toshiba anyway. You might as well cut out the middle man. </p>
<p>Go to the ToshibaDirect.com site and look for the warranty information. I believe you can type in a zip code and get a list of authorized repair depots. Many major cities will have one or more authorized repair depots and if not, most, I believe are either Fed/Ex or UPS stores which have a contract with Toshiba to ship your Tablet back to the factory.</p>
<p>Since the R10/15 have just come out, you may want to wait a month or so to see if Toshiba will offer some kind of back-to-school specials or rebates. My nephew got a $100 rebate last July which he used to buy an extra battery and a leather carrying case for his M205.</p>
<p>Grr. Making the final report to Pa. Looks like either the R15 from Toshiba or the Tecra. No middle man (BestBuy) They don't cover spills or drops. Big quesion. Laptop as a TV? I know CU TV is coming out, and I have an X-Box (which mostly collects dust) but I admit I like to play for a few hours a month. Can I connect this to my laptop? How so? What about screen life. If it is written on, used as a computer, and then used as a TV for movies and cable and games, would this really hurt it? Then again, the 3 year service plan/warranty should cover this. </p>
<p>How about the display. The Tecra M4 has a 1400 X 1050, while the R15 is 1024 X 768. Big difference for computer applications? How bout for DVDs or CU TV? </p>
<p>So many questions. Still, going to order tomorrow. Thanks so much. I hope this is answering other peoples questions as well. I know there were others who had similar concerns regarding their tablets.</p>
<p>The above links are for a USB WinTV/PC Card adaptor for PCs and laptops. You can find it them at Circuit City/BestBuy/CompUSA for under $100. The Hauppauge unit also supports video confrencing which makes it possible to hook up a webcam and do a face to face with your family if you have a cable or dsl connection at home. </p>
<p>The Aver-Media TV turner plugs into your PC card slot. It also functions as a PVR (something like TVIO). Sells for around $80. Then again, a cheap 20" tv goes for $100.</p>
<p>Both units have a S-Video input which allows you to plug in your XBox.</p>
<p>As for screen life, there should be no problems. Tablets were introduced in 2002. Screen problems were usually the result of accidental breakage rather than any wear and tear.</p>
<p>As for screen display, most laptops (including Tablets) have the usual 1024 x 768 resolution. For most applications, like dvd movie playback or casual tv viewing and gaming, it should be fine. Obviously, 1400 x 1050 is even better (and more expensive). The Tecra M4 comes with 64M of video ram standard. You can also pay more to get 128M which gets you some really decent game playing potential. And having a Gig of memory wouldn't hurt either.</p>
<p>So everything comes down to how much money you want to spend.</p>
<p>Tecra M4 it is. Thanks for all the help. I may not have discovered it and been so sure of my decision if it wasn't for your help, especially michuncle!</p>
<p>Just to keep the pot stirred, there are rumors that Toshiba may come out with a new version of the M200 series Tablet around the middle of July. The M200 series has a 12" rather than a 14" screen. It should still weigh in at 4 1/2lbs rather than 6 lbs for the M4. No word on possible price and specs... The only drawback of the M200 series is that it comes with an external dvd/cd-rw drive. Maybe Toshiba will change this with the new iteration...or not. </p>
<p>Just something to think about. And mid-July is getting pretty close to the start of the Fall College term.</p>
<p>A 12" screen isn't thatttt bad... It actually fits better on the typcial student class room desk and works well sitting in coach on "North-worst".</p>
<p>I still prefer the bigger screen and more power, even if it is heavy. I'm not going to be moving around with a whole lot. Don't mind the weight for the performance.</p>
<p>I'm a bit leary with going with a new product considering that this is my one and only computer... With almost every new product something is wrong, weak, or malfunctioning. Normally they can be fixed painlessly but going to a proven product might be safer... or at least that's what I'm thinking. That new IBM looks enticing but the Motion has been around a while and is fairly proven.</p>
<p>The above link is to an article from engadget.com about the Target/Toyota racing team using Fujitsu Tablet PCs in preparation for the Indy 500. </p>
<p>It's a great article for engineering students and shows how Tablets are used with Microsoft's OneNote and it's audio note capabilities to manage all the driver and engineering data. </p>
<p>The article has a great screen capture shot of the Indy race course and the annotations that were written directly onto the Fujitsu screen. Hopefully this will give people a better appreciation of how Tablets are used in real world situations...</p>