September 10th, 2009
Note taking with a tablet-pc is fun! Using just the bare bones setup – a tablet with a stylus and Microsoft OneNote (or Windows Journal which comes as a default option for those with Microsoft Vista or higher) you can do some pretty amazing things. Imagine having an unlimited supply of paper, with customizable choices of font, color, print, media, etc. The best part of using a computerized system is that you can share, discuss, collaborate, record, and save space with notes effortlessly.
You may use the tablet-pc to record class lectures, synchronize the recorded audio with course notes, mark PowerPoint presentations, convert hand-written notes to text, and organize notes however you’d like to.
1 - Type, 2 - Draw, 3-Write to Text
Unlike a conventional PC or even a laptop, tablet-pcs are almost always smaller and therefore easier to carry, typing is faster than writing on paper, and if you so will – you may hand write or draw art directly onto the tablet-pc.
As always, there are always caveats to any technology – and tablet-pcs have them too. Using a tablet exclusive for note-taking is well and good – however if you want to switch between handwriting, typing, browsing, email, etc. – then you have a problem. The current solution is cumbersome and transitioning between these may throw up a bug every so often. However, with the introduction of Windows 7 and possibly a tablet-pc edition – these issues may very well fade-away.
Although this article is largely limited to those of us who use the PC, there is hope for those using Macs and Linux computers. There are rumors abounding that Apple is working on creating a fully functional tablet for running OS X and there are current Linux tablet solutions that are easily located with a Google search for “linux tablets”.
Other Resources
1. Things to consider when buying a Tablet-PC
2. Tablet -PC Reviews
3. Tablet PCs in the Classroom
4. Wikipedia – Tablet-PC