Adventures in home working

There is a flurry of debate in the blogs because Peter says, I Still like the tablet.  But I am all out of love, well I have a story to tell about Tablet love as well.

 

I got my first Tablet, a HP TC1100, in January and it was love at first sight,  I just took to the slate format and at the time forgave the terrible keyboard, (although it didn’t take me long to remember my old IBM keyboard with increasing longing).  I wrote all about my early experiences in my tablet blog.  Well my circumstances changed and I found myself working mostly from home so the mobility benefits I was getting from the tablet reduced and I started to look at the platform more objectively.  These are some of the conclusions that I came to, but I think it’s a pretty personal view so don’t expect any conclusions that I draw to apply to you.

 

The Tablet didn’t work for me when I was mainly deskbound:

 

1. I love screen real estate, before I had a Tablet I had a 1400*1050 resolution ThinkPad A20p, it had a great keyboard to, (I love IBM keyboards).
2. At home now my desktop drives a 19” 1280*1024 LCD and a 19” 1600*1280 Flat screen LCD and I still have my ThinkPad A20p as a management console for my home lab.  So for me the 1024*768 screen on the TC1100 was just not up to the job.
3. With a screen that size the Tablet is a huge improvement over a PDA, but it’s a lot bigger, I have just settled on an IPAQ 4150 so you can see that size, or lack of it in true portable device is pretty key for me.
4. As an auxiliary display things improved considerably but the docking station was a bit ‘strange’ and I still found myself struggling to use the small screen for anything really useful, when I had a glorious 19” LCD as my secondary.  I tried using it to monitor my email but I found I could do that just as easily on my IPAQ, which had a brighter screen as well.
5. I found it slightly under powered compared to my desktop, but I could have lived with this, it had 1GB of memory and this seemed to make up for the slower processor and hard drive.

The true mobile experience I was hoping for never happened:

 

1. When I first got my Tablet one of the real benefits I was looking forward to was being able to take anywhere and use it inside and outside.  However all too often I found that the lighting was not right.  Outside it’s practically unusable and this was a real disappointment.
2. I also never came across a really good case that I could use at work and home that was small enough to always take with me everywhere
3. Battery life however was never a problem for me as I had two batteries and I managed 6-8 hours.
4. The end result I ended up leaving it behind and wishing I had a Pocket PC so that I could take something everywhere.  In the end I bought a Pocket PC!

I still needed a keyboard:

 

1. I was impressed by the handwriting recognition when I got the Tablet and blown away when I started testing XP SP2, but I still needed a keyboard for so much of the work I did when I was mobile, even when I was just sitting watching TV, answering a few emails or reading blogs I missed the keyboard.  This was a real shock to me as I just love the slate format, its just that the slate format is only really useful when you are making very short notes, browsing/reading or making hand written notes or drawings.  If you are doing any serious writing or PowerPoint for example you really need mouse and keyboard with today’s applications.  Strangely enough PDA’s seem much easier to use in slate mode, they are lighter, the applications are better optimised and my expectations about being able to write are much lower.
2. I have found since switching back to a laptop when mobile, a IBM ThinkPad T40, that I use it much more sitting in the lounge or in the garden than I used my tablet.  Quite the opposite of what I was expecting when I let the Tablet go.

So what did I like about the Tablet:

 

1. I loved the slate format
2. I thought the HP hardware design was fantastic, apart from the keyboard, they should have recognised how important the keyboard was still going to be
3. I thought the handwriting recognition was first class, especially in SP2 and was vastly improved over that on my IPAQ, however it should be put in its place, a useful complement to the keyboard, or a bonus when you just have the slate with you
4. I loved the natural interaction model, and the more applications that are developed to take account of it the better
5. I loved OneNote, but still think it could be optimised slightly more for the pen interface,  look at a product like Pocket Informant for some clues
6. I loved some of the concepts, but not the reality, for example the voice recording and recognition just did not meet my expectations

What needs to be done to get me back in love:

 

1. I need a first class keyboard
2. I need a much higher resolution screen, one I can read an A4 page on, 1400*1050 would be just fine!
3. I still want to be able to use it in slate mode, keyboard detached, to minimise weight and maximise portability
4. I want some innovation put into cases, or protection so that I can bung it into my rucksack and take it wherever I would take a pad of paper
5. I need to be able to read the screen outside
6. The price point needs to be right
7. It needs to be light enough without the keyboard to hold in one hand

Interestingly all of these improvements are hardware, there have been a lot of criticisms of the platform, but I personally liked it well enough, sure improvements would be welcome but these are unlikely to win me back on their own.  At the end of the day today’s hardware does not allow for the radical new way of working that the operating system and applications already support. 

For another personal perspective, I looked at the needs of one of my daughter’s who suffers from Raynauds and Scleroderma.  I think a Tablet would be just perfect for her, I wrote that up here.

This is a short article that I wrote for the occupational therapist who works with one of my daughters who has Raynauds and Scleroderma.

 

There are a variety of different types of technology assistance that would benefit Jennifer in an educational setting.  My perception is that a range of techniques will be required that reflect the unpredictable nature of her symptoms and the variety of different tasks that she needs to perform.  There is no magic bullet solution that meets all of her needs.

 

Writing

 

When Jennifer has to write for extended periods there are a number of issues that need to be considered:

 

1.       Her ability to dictate in a fluent fashion is limited at this age

2.       Her hands get cold

3.       Her hands get tired

4.       Sometimes the movement/dexterity of her hands is limited

 

What solution options are available in addition to traditional pen and paper?

 

1.       Voice recognition

2.       Hand writing recognition

3.       Simple gesture recognition

4.       Different types of keyboard

5.       text substitution

 

Each option is considered in brief below:

 

Voice recognition

 

Voice recognition is still not a mature and easy to use technology.  Some of the important characteristics are described below:

 

1.       The software, (SW), requires training and this process requires some dedication and can be very frustrating

2.       The SW works best when the person dictating has mastery of fluent speaking

3.       The SW works best in a quiet environment, although some people have reported success in a normal office environment with a high quality noise cancelling microphone

4.       Considerable skill is required to use the SW for anything other than raw text input.  In addition keyboard less editing of text input can be complex and very frustrating. 

 

All of these characteristics are indicators that Voice Recognition will not be a magic bullet for Jennifer.

 

My view is that one should expect to use the SW as a complement to other techniques, where it is appropriate, and almost always alongside a keyboard and mouse or a stylus.

 

Hand writing recognition

 

Hand writing recognition has improved dramatically in accuracy and is now approaching 99%+ accuracy in SW that will be available in the mainstream operating systems by mid 2004.

 

Hand writing recognition may seem a strange option for someone who struggles with spelling, and traditional pen and paper however there are some significant advantages:

 

1.       The SW works for people with fairly bad handwriting.  Jennifer’s writing is neat by comparison

2.       The SW allows the person to write large letters, much larger than would be appropriate for pen and paper

3.       The SW recognises words by comparing against a dictionary, so for a poor speller accuracy can be increased significantly

4.       The SW does not require significant training

5.       Correction of words that have been incorrectly recognised is a fairly natural process and presents likely words from the dictionary improving spelling

6.       If the digitiser used for entering the text is a Tablet format PC, the screen is warm and will keep Jennifer’s writing hand warm.

7.       Using the same Tablet PC interface it is possible to transition between voice input and handwriting input seamlessly.  This is useful for example if the stylus is used for correction and voice for bulk text entry.  Or the stylus used for difficult words or for maths and voice used for descriptions.

8.       Maths SW is also available to automatically calculate the answers of maths problems

9.       Handwriting can be captured without conversion to text.  Or can be converted to text later if required

 

Voice recording

 

As a complement to the two techniques above, rather than convert voice to text, it is also possible to record voice directly.  There are some significant advantages to this as a complementary technique:

 

1.       If Jennifer is getting behind she can just record her voice and she or her SSA can translate to text later if needed

2.       Notes and annotations can be saved as voice

3.       Note taking SW is available that merges the voice and text streams so that it is possible to hear the person’s voice at the same point in time that a note was being written.

 

Simple gesture recognition

 

There are alternatives to hand writing recognition that involve significantly less hand movement and much simpler gestures.  This software can be used as a complement to the other techniques.  It has the following important characteristics:

 

1.       A stylus is used, so it has some of the benefits of handwriting recognition when used on a tablet, i.e. the writing surface is warm

2.       The stylus movements are much simpler, generally just straight lines and L shapes

3.       The movements can be small or large

4.       A game is available to aid in learning

 

Different types of keyboard

 

There are a wide variety of specialist keyboards available that allow single handed typing.  Gel keyboards for low impact etc.  Although the mobility of a device with these keyboards is limited and they are only likely to be of benefit for extended text input.

 

Text substitution

 

Used in conjunction with most of the above, this allows short words to automatically be expanded to long ones, or difficult things to type to be substituted with easy things.  It has the disadvantage of making people lazy, but it would help Jennifer.  For example if you type:

 

1.       dt, then the date and time can be substituted like this: 03/11/2004 @ 02:48 PM

2.       dont can be automatically converted to don’t

3.       address can be substituted to

Road

Town

County

Postcode

 

Note taking

 

A lot of school work is about note taking, research and idea assembly for projects etc.  A variety of powerful techniques are available including, some of which have already been mentioned:

 

1.       Ability to record teachers words, make text notes and listen to the teachers words later to reinforce the text note or to clarify the note

2.       Ability to take notes using a keyboard, voice recording, handwriting and handwriting conversion to text.  Or a mixture of these

3.       Ability to annotate scanned in workbooks, text books and handouts, annotations can take any of the above forms

4.       Ability to aggregate information from lots of sources, scanned, web, and personal input into a project

 

All of these mechanisms are integrated in products like:

 

1.       Microsoft One note

2.       Microsoft Journal

3.       Agilix GoBinder™ For Students

 

Annotating

 

Annotating is key for students.  In Jennifer’s case especially so as she is likely to focus on annotation of existing material and notes, rather than note taking.  The primary technologies available are:

 

1.       Freehand drawing using a digitiser, ideally integrated into the tablet PC format

2.       Freehand writing

3.       Handwriting converted to text, likely to be used for project work and other formal submissions

4.       Voice annotation, (see comments above)

5.       Voice to text, (see comments above)

 

Compilation/Project work

 

Project work is ever increasingly important.  Project work involves:

 

1.       Research

2.       Assembly of material

3.       Integration of information from diverse sources

4.       Annotation of this information

5.       Original input

 

All of these activities are served by Note taking solutions like Microsoft Onenote described previously.

 

Diagrams and Art

 

If any activity suited itself to the tablet, stylus driven input model it’s diagramming and art.  Software is available that:

 

1.       Converts freehand gestures to lines, circles, flow charts etc

2.       Software is available that allows the production or graphs, and other diagrams using mouse or stylus

3.       Voice or text annotation or freehand writing annotations can be added to these diagrams

4.       They allow a person with reduced dexterity to produce neat well organised work

5.       They provide powerful ways to correct mistakes, especially useful for people with low dexterity.

 

Other considerations

 

1.       It would be great if Jen did not have to carry lots of books, notes etc around with her.  A tablet format device with scanned notes and books or eBooks would be ideal.

2.       Preparation for the future.  The skills learnt in using technology to support the learning process would be invaluable in later life

3.       Self sufficiency.  The tools described would potentially reduce the level of SSA input, but make Jen more self sufficient and equip her better for later life.

 

Recommendations

 

1.       Jennifer should continue to spend a significant amount of time reading out loud at school and home, as this will improve her fluency and prepare the ground for voice recognition SW later

2.       Jennifer should undertake a trial of a tablet PC, recommended to be Tablet PC version 2004, (available mid year), for approximately 2 weeks for handwriting recognition.  Potentially small changes made now in her style could significantly improve successful use later

3.       Jennifer should begin to play with voice recognition SW at home, (equipment is available), so that it comes easily and naturally to her when she has to learn it for real

4.       Jennifer should begin to play with Microsoft OneNote to keep her personal diary, so that she becomes familiar with navigation, and use, (voice annotation, voice recording etc)

5.       Consideration should be given to equipping her with a Tablet PC and handheld scanner during her first year at high school.  Access to ebooks and scanned books should be explored through the school and school book suppliers 

Microsoft Monitor is probably the best blog out there if you want a real insight into Microsoft and provides consistently high quality challenges to Microsoft as well.  This entry on the Tablet PC is typical of what to expect.

I recently read Getting Things Done, and wanted to apply it using Lotus Notes.  I struggled a bit and to tell the truth I have not fully implemented it even after a month of playing around.  I am trying again now that I have a new PDA, better synchronisation software, mNotes and some hints and tips from Eric Mack on using Notes and GTD and on using Notes for task and action management.