This (Homestarrunner.com) has been making the rounds inside Microsoft. Yet more proof that some Flash experts have way too much time on their hands.

Now, this is driving the Tablet PC concept a bit too far.

James McDaniel tells me to check out Enfish, which lets me search local email in Outlook files. Sounds interesting. Anyone use it?

That last article demonstrates what I was talking about yesterday. No one has seen Longhorn, so everyone everywhere can ascribe to it all their fears, aspirations, wishes, and whatever else pops into their heads. There wasn't a single correct statement in that article. Not one. But, lots of people will see that article and believe it, because it's "Linux against Microsoft" and anyone who writes about Linux in a favorable light must be telling the truth, right?

Oh boy. Do these guys have it wrong or what (about Longhorn)?

First of all, you all need to understand what backward compatibility means. No one at Microsoft ever said your old apps won't work on Longhorn. We have, however, said, that if you design an app for Longhorn that it won't work on old OS's.

Here's another quote: "Please, whatever you do, stay away from .NET. It is nothing but more proprietary lock-in from the biggest proprietary software company in the world. If you are working at a company that is considering using .NET, do everything you can to keep away them from it."

Hey, all you .NET webloggers, wanna have fun with this one?

Hmmm. Boring watches? Stewart Alsop probably will say they are.

What's the difference between me, and say, Microsoft's PR firm Waggener Edstrom?

Easy: I used the word "sucks" when I talked about a feature in a Microsoft product.

Note what effect that had. I attack our own products, then people come in and defend it. When was the last time you saw someone who didn't work at Microsoft defend a Microsoft product?

Today a reporter from the Seattle Post Intelligencer was talking to me about corporate weblogs. I told him that Microsoft's execs were being very brave to allow me, and others, to play in this new world.

But, I feel guilty about using the word "sucks." Why? Because the technology is actually pretty damn awesome. If you look at it the right way. I remember Chris tried it out for five minutes, though, and it didn't work very well, so he wrote off the whole Tablet concept.

The only way to keep my credibility with Chris was to admit the Tablet's shortcomings.

And, corporate weblogging is all about credibility, isn't it?

Oh, this is another good opportunity to put the standard disclaimer: The information in this weblog is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. This weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. It is solely my opinion..

Marc Canter: "The new Safari breaks our WebOutliner product."

Robert Lantry told me in IM that I missed the biggest deal about Tablets: "ebooks ebooks ebooks ebooks!" Yeah, I agree. But, I thought I covered that when I said that reading on a Tablet is a dream.

James Avery gets into FeedDemon.

Neil Cowburn: "The bottom line is this: should we work harder to make technology easier to use, or should we work harder to educate the masses? I think we need to do both."

True. Even Longhorn (which most people won't get to use for a long time) isn't going to solve all the technology problems in the world.

Simone exposes the work that evangelists do that usually doesn't get exposed to the public. But, I gotta thank Beth Goza for helping me find the right person. It's weird, now that I'm a Microsoft employee, I've been getting email like what Simone sent. "Can you get this fixed?"

One thing about Microsoft is that it really is a big place. It seems small from the outside, because the software that Microsoft delivers all fits inside a few DVDs, but finding the right person to fix a problem can take a while. Luckily I'm learning that there's some people who seem to know everyone inside Microsoft.

Splintercell: "That's totally a low blow below the belt, Chris! Tablet PCs deserve so much better than that." and "The whole platform is totally horrendous, right? And yet I still love it! Why?"

I've been beta testing FeedDemon for a few weeks and love it. Now you can beta test it too. This is the RSS News Aggregator from Nick Bradbury, the guy who wrote Allaire's (now Macromedia) HomeSite.

Ahh, the great Tablet wars. Chris Pirillo is on the attack about Tablets. Here's his point of view: "Let's take a laptop, make it (possibly) a little thinner, call it something else, and then jack up the price." You can read the rest over on his blog, and the original quote that started this all off over on Lockergnome.

A little background: Chris forwarded me an email from a guy who was considering buying 50 of them, and this guy (who Chris asked me to keep out of this) wanted to know why Chris was so down on Tablets. So, I wrote Chris an answer of why I was so excited by them. I'm not the only one, by the way. Look at the popularity of the forums over on TabletPC Buzz.

OK, first, let ME take the anti-Tablet PC side of the fence. Why? Because, if you're gonna debate, you better show you can take the other side of the argument and do a bang up job.

So, what is wrong with TabletPC's?

1) Most of them can't play Flight Simulator. Chris is right. These are machines that don't have the latest chip sets, don't have 3GHz processors, can't display more than 1024x768 resolution.

2) They are too expensive. The NEC is around $2400. The Acer is around $1500. The Toshiba around $2300. For machines that can't display more than 1024x768. For machines that don't have PIV's.

3) Handwriting recognition sucks. Sometimes I write a sentence like "Chris Pirillo is a bobblehead" and it comes out as something completely different. Heh. On the other hand, sometimes it's amazingly accurate (and my handwriting is definitely getting better the more I use it).

4) You can't write anywhere on the screen. In most apps, you gotta use the Tablet Input Panel, and many apps don't recognize ink.

OK, so, why am I such a big advocate of Tablets then, if they suck so bad?

For the answer, let's look at what what kind of people will or won't like Tablets. This is REALLY IMPORTANT and something that Chris fails to do.

Tablets will suck for Chris. Why? Have you ever watched him work? I have. He sits at a desk all day long. He never gets up from his computer. He has a 3 GHz machine with a gig of RAM and a stunningly beautiful 19" LCD monitor. It's important that you know that, because if I had such a system, I'd probably think that Tablet PCs suck too.

Tablets aren't really great laptop replacements. If you look at them that way (as Chris is doing) you'll end up agreeing with Chris that they suck.

These are types of people who I've noticed do not like Tablets:

1) Coders. Most devs are like Chris. They have nice machines. Multiple monitors (if they are lucky -- although anyone who tries to use Visual Studio without multiple monitors is really into pain).

2) Gamers. If you play 3D games, you probably won't like Tablets.

3) People who compute only while sitting in one place all day (like Chris -- don't be thrown off by his moblog, he really doesn't compute much while standing up).

So, now that I've covered the "glass is half full" view of Tablet PCs, what are they good for?

1) Any job where you need to compute while standing up. Notebooks just don't work if you are a nurse, or a lawyer, or a sales person, or a teacher and you need to walk around while using your computer. Chris, don't knock those who need to work while standing up. I can already hear "well, then, use a PocketPC which only costs $300, instead of the $1500 to $2500 that Tablet PCs cost." Not a good argument. The PocketPC OS is a mere shadow of what Windows XP is.

For instance, I know of waitstaff using the Tablet at Las Vegas' Aureole restaurant. They have 50,000 bottles of wine in the back. A PocketPC wasn't good enough for them to let customers see their extensive wine collection. A Tablet PC is.

Or, how about the Chip Ganassi racing team? Ever been in a pit area during a major car race? There's no place to set down a laptop. Here's an article on how they used a set of Tablets. They only came in second place in motorsports' biggest race. Not bad.

2) Any place you need to use ink to communicate. Say, for instance, you are drawing out what your architecture might look like. Try doing that with ASCII text. Even PowerPoint. Not as easy as ink. Not as collaborative.

3) If you're a non-English writer. I've seen a few Japanese folks who use Tablets, for instance, and they shred on them. Much easier to write Kanji than type it.

4) More socially acceptable than clicking on keyboards. If you are in meetings, it's much better to write with a pen than click away on a keyboard. It's socially nicer.

5) Reading weblogs. Reading on a Tablet is far far far better than reading on a laptop. Why? Cause of the form factor. It's far easier to pull a tablet into bed. It feels more like a book than a laptop.

6) Digital photography. It's far nicer to use a pen in Photoshop than a mouse. Is your mouse pressure sensitive? Didn't think so.

7) Anti-computer folks. I've seen a lot of people who aren't computer users take right to the Tablet because it isn't intimidating. A machine with 100+ keys on it is intimidating. A tablet is much nicer for many people to learn on.

8) Forms. I am in the middle of buying a house. I've already signed my name about 20 times, and I'm only halfway through the process. I know of some companies who are completely converting the mortgage and home purchase forms to the Tablet so that you can sign digitally instead of killing some trees. Here's how Gentiva health care is saving a lot of money by using Tablet PCs.

Here's a list of reviews from a variety of news sources about the Tablet PC.

Oh, and check out what Loren is doing with Tablets. Awesome.

So, let me know what you think about Tablets, either pro or con. I have a lot more to say too. I love my Tablet and would never give it up.

Dave Winer: "I don't control RSS."

Doc Searls is tired of blogging about blogging. Hey, how about bloggers who are tired about blogging about bloggers who are tired of blogging about blogging. Say that 10 times fast.

Chris Pirillo goes on the "anti-Tablet PC attack."

My answer to come shortly.