I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site demos
of asp.net apps to clients).

Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things

Thanks

Roger

Yes, especially now that you can boost the RAM to a gig or more on some
systems. I prefer my Tablet over a desktop because it doesn't require I sit
in a chair with the monitor in a fixed position. Remember, the Tablet PC
operating system is Windows XP Pro, so if you can run a program on Pro, you
can run it on the Tablet.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet PC Universe - www.tabletpcuniverse.net
Tablet PC Chat - http://thetabletpc.net/support.htm
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:uYZIm4%238DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).
>
> Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger
>
>

Hi,
For the past month, I've been using the Acer 300 as my main machine. It is
easily fast enough to run Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. Also, it's usually
quiet. The fan only runs when the CPU is under load. Finally you can
expand the ram to 2 Gb if you need to.

The only thing I would suggest upgrading out of the box is the hard disk
unless you can live with 40GB.

--
Chris De Herrera
http://www.cewindows.net
http://www.tabletpctalk.com

"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:uYZIm4%238DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).
>
> Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger
>
>

If your question is "is it usable?" then answer is yes, it is. If your question is "worth it additional money I have to pay over the regular notebook?" then the answer actually depends on what you expect from TabletPC. If you are a businessman, willing to eliminate paper and user computer only, then the TabletPC is the only way to go, as you may use it to take notes during meetings, and it's much more affordable than regular notebooks for that. It is also convenient to read internet sites laying on the sofa. However, there is a price you pay besides additional bucks. First of all, be aware that TabletPC has to be tiny, otherwise it will be to heavy to keep on one hand when using another for writing. This means it has a limited battery capacity, which means that you will probably get at most 2 hours of continuous operation. And secondly, they have limited set of ports and relatively small screens.

Most of your arguments don't apply to the Acer 300. It's a 14.1" screen and
certainly weighs a good bit more than than many of the others. It also
offers an excellent battery life.
--
Terri Stratton
Microsoft Windows MVP / Tablet PC
http://thetabletpc.net
Expert Zone - http://microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/default.asp


"Aram" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:50709DFE-1F9D-49C0-A109-68D296C91278@microsoft.com...
> If your question is "is it usable?" then answer is yes, it is. If your
question is "worth it additional money I have to pay over the regular
notebook?" then the answer actually depends on what you expect from
TabletPC. If you are a businessman, willing to eliminate paper and user
computer only, then the TabletPC is the only way to go, as you may use it to
take notes during meetings, and it's much more affordable than regular
notebooks for that. It is also convenient to read internet sites laying on
the sofa. However, there is a price you pay besides additional bucks. First
of all, be aware that TabletPC has to be tiny, otherwise it will be to heavy
to keep on one hand when using another for writing. This means it has a
limited battery capacity, which means that you will probably get at most 2
hours of continuous operation. And secondly, they have limited set of ports
and relatively small screens.

Hi, Roger,

There's a review of the Acer 300 by one of the users here on my site at
http://thetabletpc.net/reviews.htm You might want to check it out for
another first-hand opinion.

--
Terri Stratton
Microsoft Windows MVP / Tablet PC
http://thetabletpc.net
Expert Zone - http://microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/default.asp


"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:uYZIm4#8DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).
>
> Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger
>
>

Roger,

I've been using the Acer 301XCi for a week now and LOVE it. I'm currently running Adobe Photo Shop 7.0, Visio 2003 and the of course the normal Office apps without any problems. Actually the other day I was playing with a tiff file in PhotoShop that was approximately 500meg. It was a little slow to convert the tiff to a jpeg but it didn't crash or hang.

I have to agree with my friend Chris De Herrera regarding the Hard Drive size. Acer states that they have a 60gig available but if you can afford to upgrade out of the box you should. I'm already down to 20gig free. :-(

Wojo

Thank you all for your comments and feedback. Looks like I'll drag the
credit card back out and order one of the Acer 300s :-)

Roger

"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:uYZIm4%238DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).
>
> Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger
>
>

Kicking and screaming? 8-) You'll enjoy the Tablet PC, Roger, and I
believe your credit card will be pleased with your purchase.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet PC Universe - www.tabletpcuniverse.net
Tablet PC Chat - http://thetabletpc.net/support.htm
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:%23ZVBJMK9DHA.2416@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> Thank you all for your comments and feedback. Looks like I'll drag the
> credit card back out and order one of the Acer 300s :-)
>
> Roger
>
> "Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
> news:uYZIm4%238DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> > I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC
instead -
> > the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs
powerful
> > enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> > everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> > edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
> demos
> > of asp.net apps to clients).
> >
> > Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Roger
> >
> >
>
>

Since I bought my Tablet I only use my desktop machine for high-end games
(which is really what I bought it for). However I would recommend some sort
of a docking station so you do not need to constantly plug/un-plug cables.
The "yank and go" feature is quite nice.

--

Gary A. Bushey
SPS MVP
bushey@mindspring.com

"Roger" <roger_id********.com> wrote in message
news:uYZIm4%238DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site
demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).
>
> Appreciate anyones advice on how they find these things
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger
>
>

Hi,
I'm disappointed in your comments. They do not reflect the new series of
machines that have been shipping with the latest Pentium M processor.

Vendors such as Gateway have understood that price/value are important and
their pricing is similar for Tablet (M275) vs Notebook PCs (450) with
comparable specs. The prices are easily under $2,000 which used to be the
pricing for the high end Tablet PCs.

As for size, the Acer and Gateway have 14" displays. The Toshiba has a 12"
high resolution display - clearly the Tablet PCs are making strides in the
screen size beyond the original 10" displays that were common with first
generation Tablet PCs.

On the ports, the Acer and Gateway units have USB 2.0 and Firewire as well
as a PC Card reader as well as vga, modem and ethernet and optical drives
(including DVD/CDRW options). The Acer even has a smart card reader and
gigabit ethernet. Other Tablet PCs have USB 2.0 and FireWire as well.

Finally on the battery life side, the Acer TMC300 claims 5 hours with the
standard battery. Clearly this is beyond the 2 hours you described.

--
Chris De Herrera
http://www.cewindows.net
http://www.tabletpctalk.com

"Aram" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:50709DFE-1F9D-49C0-A109-68D296C91278@microsoft.com...
> If your question is "is it usable?" then answer is yes, it is. If your
question is "worth it additional money I have to pay over the regular
notebook?" then the answer actually depends on what you expect from
TabletPC. If you are a businessman, willing to eliminate paper and user
computer only, then the TabletPC is the only way to go, as you may use it to
take notes during meetings, and it's much more affordable than regular
notebooks for that. It is also convenient to read internet sites laying on
the sofa. However, there is a price you pay besides additional bucks. First
of all, be aware that TabletPC has to be tiny, otherwise it will be to heavy
to keep on one hand when using another for writing. This means it has a
limited battery capacity, which means that you will probably get at most 2
hours of continuous operation. And secondly, they have limited set of ports
and relatively small screens.

In article <uYZIm4#8DHA.2856@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl>, roger_id********.com
says...
> I'm thinking of dumping my aging notebook and getting a TabletPC instead -
> the Acer 300 series look good but my question is - are Tablet PCs powerful
> enough to use as your main PC (not necessarily for programming but for
> everything else (usual Office suite type stuff) and does XP Tablet PC
> edition include IIS (since I'd like to be able to use this for on site demos
> of asp.net apps to clients).

I have an Acer C300 and love it. I have also been considering switching
to using it as my only machine because I get tired of remembering to sync
my files all the time. (Although this would be a problem with any
laptop.) I decided against it because there are some things that seem to
take a lot longer than on my desktop such as opening a .PDF file. I think
this is because the hard drive is not as fast as my IBM Deskstar hard
drive. This was the fastest drive I could find at a reasonable price when
I bought it.

You may have seen some of my posts in the past complaining about various
tablet PC and OneNote problems, especially with handwriting recognition.
One thing I have noticed about having the larger screen is that it DOES
NOT actually give you more room to write. The digitizer is fixed at the
screen resolution which is still 1024 x 768 even on the 14" screen. This
means you have to write bigger to get the same recognition accuracy.
However you CAN see things a lot better and reading .PDF files is a
dream. I have found I get a reasonable trade-off between recognition
accuracy rate and handwriting size if I set OneNote to view the page at
75% zoom. I also turn on the smallest grid rule lines. This gives me
lines that are almost exactly 5/16" apart on the screen. I much prefer
the thin spaced college ruled notebook paper because I normally write
pretty small but I got used to it.

Many have complained about the battery life of Tablet PC's but I have no
problems with my Acer C300. I get at least 5 hours out of every charge.
Usually more by turning off the screen when I am not actually using it. I
set up the tablet buttons so that the button normally used to rotate the
screen turns it off instead. Then just putting the stylus near the screen
lights it up again. I did an experiment and just left the thing running
(I had to set it to the Always On mode) with the screen off. After about
6 hours with the screen off I still had over 50% charge. I find I get
tired of working long before the battery even gets down to 50%.

Something else pretty cool... I can watch an entire DVD plus all of the
extras and usually still have about 38% charge left! And I can do it
while holding it in my lap while lying back on my sofa or in bed. Try
that with one of those external drive tablets that claim to be lighter
but don't count the weight of all the other crap you have to haul around.
You'll end up breaking a connector for sure as soon as you reach for your
soda from the coffee table.

One final tip. This model also comes with a built-in SmartCard reader and
software for securing your tablet so that your data will be encrypted and
unusable without the SmartCard inserted. When you first start up your
computer it will start you through the process of installing this
software and configuring it to use the cards. Unless you really, REALLY
need to secure your data, AND will RELIGIOUSLY remove the card when you
aren't using the computer (even though it is hard as hell to get the
cards out), AND will always remember to bring the card with you when you
want to use the computer, AND don't mind that you will inevitably forget
and be stuck without the use of your computer for the want of a little
plastic card, then you shouldn't install the software. Not that I had
problems with it (I never used it) but as an experienced computer
consultant I can tell you that ANY program that inserts itself between
your files and your apps is going to cause problems with some of them
eventually.

I got the Acer TM C301 a week ago and started using it for school and work right away. The only draw so far that I have experienced is when trying to access large amounts of data from the dvd/cdrw, its a bit slow. I am able to play mp3s right from the drive with no delays but large files access delays might have something to do with the speed of the standard HD. I have run photoshop 7, Remote Desktop/TS, FP, and SQL Client Tools all at once and had no delays. I even tested a game "Crusader" and was suprised at the clarity. I have been able to run Visual Studio 6 with no issue so far. The most surprising thing so far was the acuracy of the handwritting rec, I have very poor penmanship but it gets like 95% of my chickenscratch. I believe MS might have beefed up the voice recognition as well because it seems a lot better from when I tried it a year ago. ($30 headset, not internal)