The AlpineInker : Hardware, Fun

Dig for Tablet PC Ultra-Productivity with the INTELLIMOLE

Ken Hinckley — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:38:00 GMT

A conversation with the Tablet PC MVP's this week reminded me of a productivity hack I constructed for my tablet a while back. I guarantee that you will either absolutely love this hack, or think it is the stupidest thing you've ever heard. In my experience, there is little gray area when I mention this idea to people.

It's no secret that buttons are in short supply when you're working with a tablet PC, particularly in the slate mode. Most tablets offer a paucity of buttons along the bezel. But even tablets that do have decent bezel buttons infuriate me because nearly all tablets place them on the right side of the screen - the same side where some 75% of users are holding the pen. So I have to fumble with the pen to use the buttons. Why they are not on the left by default is beyond my ken.

I do use the barrel button on my pen, but only begrudgingly so. It's a bit awkward, I hit it by accident, and it often messes up my pen strokes even when I do intend to hit it.

I was digging around for alternate solutions to this dilemma. I realized that I had to get everything off of the pen and tablet.

My solution? Kick that tablet into high gear with the INTELLIMOLE.

The INTELLIMOLE peeks out Tablet PC productivity running out of gas? Then step on it!

Here's what you'll need:

A wireless mouse, and a willingness to commit bodily harm to it.
A foot switch.
A soldering iron.
Black electrical tape.

Rip open your mouse (unscrew it if you are feeling humane) and just wire up the foot switch to the contacts for the wireless mouse's right-click button. Use the black electrical tape to cover up the optical mouse eye so it won't disturb the pen's cursor position. Throw the footpedal under the desk, and just make sure that the wireless mouse and the receiver are within range of one another. This is what my completed INTELLIMOLE kit looks like:

Now you can stomp your foot to right click whenever you like, without interfering with your pen or tablet. Use the Control Panel settings for the mouse to reprogram the right-button click to some other function if you like.

The downside is that you do have to plug the wireless mouse receiver into your tablet's USB port, so it's really only useful while you're using your tablet on a desk.

For that foot switch, if you want the best experience, I strongly recommend purchasing a round one. That way it doesn't matter which way it is oriented when you go to step on it. The Linemaster GEM V3 switch is a good choice, albeit a bit pricey at $50 from Allied Electronics. They do also have an assortment of cheaper ones (that aren't round).

Perhaps Tablet PC designers will finally take pity on us one day and sprinkle a button or two along the left edge of that tablet bezel as well. I'd dearly love to have a programmable "magic wand" button there that would be available for tablet PC applications to use as they saw fit.

Until then, I'll continue to tunnel through the netherworlds of Tablet PC productivity with the INTELLIMOLE.

Other Posts in the AlpineInker's Tablet PC Ultra-Productivity Series:

Faux-OQO with origami

Ken Hinckley — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:17:00 GMT

It's been a very busy couple of weeks for me, so I haven't had time to attend to the blog, or much of anything else for that matter.

But one thing that has been on my mind from time to time is the OQO Model 02 Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC). It's an intriguing device but I have wavered for some time now on whether or not it is the right device for me, and whether it will offer the right fit for the projects I have in mind for it. I don't know anyone who owns one, so taking one for a test drive has not been an option.

The active digitizer on the device is extremely appealing to me. Obviously, I want to use InkSeine on it. The passive touchscreens that I've tried on other devices are rather unsatisfactory for inking.

But yeah, I keep hearing the screen is small on the OQO. But how small is it? The entire device measures 5.6" by 3.3" and is 1" thick. It weighs just one pound. Some people like the OQO's diminutive stature because they can slip it in their pocket. Others don't much care for it, because their big meaty hands just cannot write on such a small screen.

Got it. But how big is that really? How would that feel to me? Would it be useful in my nutty research project ideas? I just can't decide!

What to do, what to do?!?

Finally I could stand the waffling no more. I had a bit of time today, so I made a scale model "OQO origami" by using InkSeine and PowerPoint together. Then I printed the origami, cut it out, and folded it up into my own little "Faux OQO" device. I taped it to some cardboard to make it a little more rugged, and I carried it around with me during the day. It looks surprisingly realistic. Maybe, just for kicks, I should try to fool my co-workers with it. Tomorrow I'll have to pretend to drop it down the stairs, or fumble it off the railing of the four-story atrium that we have here in the new Microsoft Research building.

This bitmap probably won't print out to scale, but my OQO origami PowerPoint will. I've attached the file to this post so you can join in the fun. It's attached as a .zip file because I can't directly post .ppt files on this blog. Just open up the zip and you'll see the ppt file in there. The attachment also appears as a link at the very end of this post.

Now you can make your own Faux OQO and truck it with you in your travels. See if it stirs your gadget lust as well. Better yet, have some fun and pretend you are using it in meetings, on the bus, or on the subway. Fake out some gullible rubes. Go ahead.

If they get mad when they discover your ruse, just tell ‘em the AlpineInker made you do it.

A 30-second Hardware Hack to Make You Ultra-Productive on Your Tablet

Ken Hinckley — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:03:00 GMT

A while back I came up with a hardware invention to make me more productive with my tablet when I'm using it on a desk. I figured why not give a boost to the sagging global economy by unleashing this little gem on the world now, even though it's still at what we might call the "early prototype" stage.

Here's everything you'll need to send your productivity off the charts:

Block off 30 seconds in your day-timer for construction. I also recommend closing your door and telling your secretary to hold your calls because you'll really need to concentrate.
An optical mouse.

The Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical is a good choice because you can use it in either your right or LEFT hand (more on this soon), but use whatever you have handy.

A Post-It Note.

A real paper one. You might have to special order one of these because I hear people don't use paper anymore these days.

Scotch tape (can get by without it in a bind).
A marker and/or highlighter.

Optional, but more fun. Personalize your device and show off your craftsmanship to jealous co-workers.

Flip the mouse upside down like a turtle.
Stick the post-it over the optical mouse eye on the bottom and tear off any excess paper. Don't stare at the light!

a. Use a little scotch tape to help secure it in place during heavy use.
b. I've written "NO CURSOR!" on my Post-It with a heavy black marker. It was more fun that way and I really wanted to tell that mouse take its little pointy arrow and go stick it somewhere.
Use another Post-It to add a decorative touch to the top. This makes your INTELLISCROLLER look different from other mice. A crude scotch-tape job on the curved surface also makes it bumpy, giving your INTELLISCROLLER it a nice tactile distinction as well. Here's what mine looks like:
Now, if you're right handed, point with the pen in your right hand while you use the INTELLISCROLLER in your LEFT hand for scroll, right click, left click, and double click. Since the buttons are new separated from the pen, you'll get much less interference.

a. This is where having the optical eye covered comes into play. This "mouse" won't accidentally disturb your pen position while you use INTELLISCROLLER to click, scroll, etc.
Use the Control Panel for the mouse to customize all of its buttons.
a. I have the wheel-click on my INTELLISCROLLER mapped to CTRL. This makes it a breeze to use my pen for CTRL-tap multiple-selection or CTRL-drag to copy files.
b. At times I've also had it set up to switch to the next application when I click the wheel. This way, you won't miss ALT-TAB so badly when you're using your pen. I've decided CTRL is more useful to me though.

I'm thinking about proceeding directly from this prototype to the "INTELLISCROLLER 2.0." That one will instead use a small notebook-sized wireless 5-button mouse. That would make it easier to lug this thing around as part of my mobile kit. If truth be told, my INTELLISCROLLER has been getting left out of my travel bag more often than not. Having yet another wire in there, which inevitably ensnares everything else in the pouch into one gargantuan Gordian knot, is a major limitation of this first prototype.

On a 5 button mouse, I'm thinking I'd probably use one of the extra buttons for Ctrl (to get it off the wheel button- it's too easy to roll while clicking, which sometimes leads to errors) and the other I might use for switching to the next app window, or maybe SHIFT, or something else?

Now in all honesty, I am not really expecting this device to become an overnight internet sensation. But there is a real grain of truth to its utility.

Why is such a thing useful, even if marginally so? Well, with all the standard apps that don't really treat a digital pen with the respect it deserves, actions like right-clicking, Ctrl-clicking, or double tapping are critical to be able to get things done quickly.

And as we all know, these can be really frustrating at times when you're using a pen.

Now I'm well aware that there are standard options in the control panel to customize this stuff, set up the pen button for right click, or to use tap-and-hold to activate context menus. But these things are band-aids to the fundamental problem that a pen doesn't have good buttons in the first place. On a mouse, you can press the buttons without disturbing the cursor position. On a pen this is just not possible. No matter how you set up all those crazy options, to some extent they interfere with the pure joy of knowing that every time you set your pen to the screen, you will leave digital ink, AND NOTHING ELSE.

I hope there is a more clever solution to all of this, and maybe ultimately it means that every app there ever was really should be re-written to understand the pen better.

But for now the INTELLISCROLLER is the most salient symptom of my desperation.

Update: sumocat over on the GottaBeMobile comments thread recommends:

pick up a gaming keypad, like the Belkin Nostromo, to do this. It's already designed to do these things and can also execute commands like cut, copy, and paste.

Well I think that's a great suggestion. I hope to get myself one of these and try it out! But I'm a little bit sad to hear that the INTELLISCROLLER 2.0 may already be obsolete before it could hit the market. On the other hand, a hidden virtue of the 30-second hack is that it is really easy to rip the NO CURSOR! Post-It off of the INTELLISCROLLER if you find you need an actual mouse (in emergencies only, of course).

NEXT: Post #2 in the AlpineInker's Tablet PC Ultra-Productivity Series!