The AlpineInker : Hardware, UMPC

Portrait Inking on the OQO Model 02

Ken Hinckley — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:19:00 GMT

The OQO Model 02 is almost the same size as my Moleskine Pocket Sketchbook. I suspect this is no accident. To illustrate the point, I scanned them side-by-side. The OQO is slightly narrower, which is necessary to make it fit in my shirt pocket given its 1" girth. By the way, don't let this scan fool you - the screen on the OQO is gorgeous. It's just really hard to scan properly. The other photos below give a better sense of what the screen really looks like.

I set up a custom cover page for my OQO in InkSeine to make it feel just like a new moley fresh out of the shrink wrap. Now I feel like writing important stuff in here.

I also scanned my pocket Moleskine to use for the inside pages. I love having this page style on the OQO - it just seems right.

I prefer inking on the OQO Model 02 in the portrait orientation. I can grip the device more comfortably in this orientation, and there is more room to plant my hand on the screen. This also keeps the touch-scrollers out from underneath my hand. I've experimented some with using the "secondary portrait" orientation, to flip those touch scrollers over to my left hand. That feels great, but since the keyboard rotate function only flips between the primary landscape and primary portrait orientations, it's inconvenient to go to the options panel and hunt for the command to flip to the secondary portrait orientation.

There's one other tip I have for working in the portrait orientation on the OQO's small screen. I was thinking about why it seemed easier to draw in my pocket Moleskine, even though it has nearly identical dimensions as the OQO. It's not so much the small screen size of the OQO, as it is the thickness.

So I slide out the keyboard, and I rest the meat of my palm on that. This feels more like resting my hand on the desk while I draw in my (thinner) pocket Moleskine. The OQO keyboard keys are fairly stiff so I never trigger them by accident while I'm doing this. Typically I do this while holding the OQO in my left hand; the photo below shows me doing this on the desk because I was out of hands to hold the camera, and no tripod was handy :-)

The keyboard is also convenient for hitting the Enter key, modifier keys, or the special OQO hardware hotkeys (such as the screen rotation, brighteness, and keyboard backlight) when the occasion demands.

That closes the book on this post. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and ideas about using the OQO as I continue to work with it.

Related Posts:

My very first impression of the OQO Model 02

Make a faux-OQO to see if the size is right for you

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.

Soup Up Your Tablet PC to be Ultra Productive

Ken Hinckley — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:47:00 GMT

I am having some great fun this week modding up one of my slate Tablet PC's. I have a nutty little idea that I am working towards, but mums the word on that for now... Either it will take the Tablet PC world by storm, or I will prove once and for all that I am a complete kook. Perhaps even both!

While I was thinking about this top-secret project, I rediscovered a great Channel 9 video. In the video Bert Keely shows how he has modded up his slate, delivered with his typical firehose of enthusiasm. Bert is an architect on the Tablet PC team and has been there since the very start. Even though this video is a few years old now, his advice is still bang-on, and his enthusiasm gets me excited about the Tablet PC all over again.

I could find nary a mention of this video, save to ask about it, in any the forums, haunts, or other dark corners of the blogosphere frequented by Tablet PC Illuminati. So I've uploaded the video to MSN Video and now you can play it right here in your browser (or get the Channel 9 MSDN Video download).

The video player that I am able to embed in this blog is a little lame. Apologies for that. Click on the link immediately below if you'd rather view it in MSN Video instead - that offers a better experience in my humble opinion.

View Video
Format: wmv
Duration: 03:35

Video: Bert Keely on Souping Up the Tablet PC (2004)

Bert is only just scratching the surface of tablet PC mods that are possible. Cestfiu has been posting about his quest to find the ultimate combination of buttons'n'stuff for his Lenovo, while e-gadgetjunkie seeks the ultimate stealth pen button settings. FeralBoy had the stroke of genius to throw small rubber door wedges in his travel bag, to prop up his tablet as needed.

Tablet stands are another popular "mod," but I have two really big beefs with those:

(1) Most importantly, they don't involve cutting, epoxying, melting, dremel-tooling, or otherwise risk bodily harm, carcinogenic vapors, or fatal impacts to your tablet; and

(2) They typically aren't suitable for my mobile kit. But here's a recent stand that looks useful, if not mobile.

If you're not just mobile but ultra-mobile, be sure to deck out your UMPC with a cool case and stuff.

While you're at it, don't forget to mod up your pen with felt-tip nibs and spring-loaded stroke nibs. Ordering these from Wacom is only slightly more difficult than gnawing your own foot off. But at least Mobile Maestro Steve S over in the GottaBeMobile forums has kindly posted the magic link.

I hope you have great fun with these ideas. Be sure to report back on your most clever, useful, or downright extravagant tablet mods!

Maybe you'll even soup up your tablet with something hotter than what I've got cooking on the back burner here at Microsoft Research...

PREVIOUS: Post #1 in the AlpineInker's Tablet PC Ultra-Productivity Series!

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