Here's a nice little OneNote add-on called Instant Navigator that gives you another way to find your notes. Once you install it, you can start typing any part of a note title and the results are instantly updated as you type. I rely heavily on the excellent and native OneNote search feature, but more search options are always welcome. From what I can see, the free add-on is supported on Vista with OneNote 2007.
(via OneNote Extensibility)
We already know that the "Send to OneNote" issue on machines running the 64-bit version of Vista won't be addressed until the next release of OneNote. I'm sure that the problem affects very few individuals as well, since there are very few Tablet PCs capable of running the 64-bit version. If you're one of the few, the proud, the 64-bit inkers, then here's a little workaround for you.
Dan Escapa offers the solution steps for you, but it's only a partial workaround as OneNote won't OCR your artifact under this method. You'll end up using another program to send your output to a TIFF image format, which you can then insert into OneNote for markups. Part of me wonders why you can't just the included Snipping Tool to bypass the installation of another app, but I don't have a 64-bit Tablet PC to test with. I know you can't save a snip as a TIFF file, but wouldn't a JPG work for a single page of info and accomplish the same thing?
You may have seen me venting over Microsoft's ridiculous failure to supply a 64-bit virtual printer driver for OneNote's great "Send to OneNote 2007" feature. This is the feature that is a must-have for me as I routinely print documents directly into OneNote 2007 for reference. The HP tx2051 Tablet PC that I am evaluating came with 64-bit Vista Ultimate installed and this is how I discovered that the Send to OneNote feature does not work (nor install) on the 64-bit version of either WinXP or Vista. The GottaBeMobile guys were also surprised to hear this and this week since they were at the MVP Summit on the Microsoft campus they asked the Redmond folks if they are going to release a 64-bit driver for this feature:
64-bit support for the Send-To printer will not be coming until OneNote 14 releases to the public. There are no plans to address this with a patch or service pack. So, if you rely upon the Send-To feature in OneNote, I'd recommend sticking with or going back to 32-bit Vista.
So the answer is clear, if this feature is a must for you then don't even consider 64-bit Windows because Microsoft not only doesn't have your back but they've painted a big, red target on it.
Can't say that I've ever needed to do this, but I can see why some folks might want to view two sections in OneNote side-by-side. It's actually quite easy and Dan Escapa's method can be applied to many apps in Microsoft Windows.
1. Just click "Window" in the menu and choose "New Window" or CTRL+M; your choice. This will open up OneNote in a second window.
2. In your Windows Taskbar, CTRL-click both active OneNote Windows to select them.
3. Right-click on one of the OneNote selections in the Taskbar and in the pop-up menu, choose "Show Windows Side by Side"
Now you'll have both OneNote sections sharing an equal portion of the screen so you can cross-check facts, update older notes, or whatever. Steps 2 and 3 above can be applied to any active windows by the way: you always have the option to show active windows side-by-side with this approach.
Firefox users rejoice! The "Send to OneNote" feature that's native to Internet Explorer can be replicated in Firefox with the "Clip to OneNote" extension. The extension was originally written for Firefox 1.5 and OneNote 2003, but with some help from other sources, Amit shows how to enable it for Firefox 2.x / 3 and OneNote 2007. You'll need the original extension installed and then you'll create two new configuration keys in Firefox. Once done, you're good to go. Amit has the simple instructions over at Digital Inspiration that provide all the details.
Once installed and configured, you'll have a right-click option in Firefox. Simply highlight any parts of a web page (text, pics and links) and then choose the Clip to OneNote selection in the right-click context menu of Firefox. Anything you've highlighted will be sent over to OneNote for later use.
Craig Pringle pointed to a handy feature of OneNote today that I have totally missed before. I use OneNote very heavily and have never seen what Craig pointed out and it is going to be a huge time saver for me. What I often do is take notes in OneNote while referring to information in another program or window and I have always toggled between the two windows while doing so. It works OK but it's a pain to keep jumping between OneNote and the other window while taking notes. Craig points out that in OneNote you can tell it to keep the OneNote window on top of other windows meaning you can take notes on your OneNote page while keeping the other program open for reference. Talk about a big time-saver in this situation! Thanks for pointing out the obvious to us, Craig!
In my Flu-recovery mode, I neglected to point out the anticipated OneNote powertoy earlier this week. Thankfully, several of you reminded me via e-mail which tells me two things: you like free powertoys and my personal memory leak issues are now public. ;)
As expected, the free add-on helps you mark and later retrieve favorite bits in OneNote, similar to bookmarks in a browser. With it, you can tag a page, section or notebook as a favorite, making it easier than ever to quickly navigate to the content you need. A handy little function for when OneNote's awesome search feature might be overkill.
There isn't much info to go on, but there's a good chance we'll see a new OneNote Powertoy arrive early next week. There's some last minute testing going on, so of course, all bets could be off but you'll want to watch for it. What is it? Only a hint can be given at this point on the unsupported function: it will help you "through the maze of notebooks". Should be interesting, especially for folks taking advantage of the multiple notebook feature in OneNote 2007. Thanks for the tip, Phil!
This free powertoy should be incredibly useful for anyone who purchased a Tablet PC but then later added Microsoft's OneNote. Windows Journal comes with every Tablet PC to give you a basic note-taking application, but it's fairly bare-bones. You can ink and convert your writing to text with Journal, but if you really want to step it up, you'll want to explore OneNote. Ahhh... but therein lies the problem: what can you do with all of those older notes from Windows Journal once you add OneNote to your software stable?
Up until last month, not much. Dan Escapa points out an importing tool developed by Lin Wang that solves the issue. Lin's free Journal to OneNote Importer saves all that inking effort with an external application to pull in your notes. Sweet!
Kevin's note about note taking pointed to an interesting paper note-taker and how that system works well for him. I have to admit I got a bit dizzy looking at some of those busy note pages shown in the article but my motto is "always use what works best for you". That said, the paper notepad doesn't cut it for me because left to my own devices I am far too disorganized to be able to maintain a paper note system. I did that in the past and spent much of my time, often unsuccessfully, looking for that nugget of information that I needed and knew existed in my notes somewhere. Several years ago I gave up on that futile effort and my digital note system has worked flawlessly for me since. Here's how my digital notepad works for me.
Continue reading "The digital notepad vs. the paper notepad" »
Dan Escapa addressed this particular issue at the OneNote Extensibility blog and I'm sure we've got a few 64-bit Vista users that might be impacted. Some folks are looking for the incredibly useful "Send to OneNote" function in OneNote 2007 on Microsoft Windows Vista, but they've come up dry. We knew the feature uses a print driver, but what we didn't know until Dan shared the news was that the feature isn't available in the 64-bit version of Vista:
"...the Microsoft Office Document Imaging tools are not available on 64-bit and therefore the Send to OneNote print driver isn't available."
Microsoft and the OneNote team are definitely aware of the issue and Dan hopes to have it addressed in the future. No promises at this point, so keep your fingers crossed.
Jay sent us a note this morning and along with kind words about the site, he asked our thoughts on a home inventory solution: "I’m about to begin research on a means of creating an electronic home inventory that will enable me to photograph items and document all relevant information (purchase date, price, receipts, warranty info, serial numbers, etc.). I’m willing to pay for software to do this, and I’ve also toyed around with rolling my own via Excel or Access."
Now there's a multitude of ways to approach this challenge, but my immediate thought was to use software that we've talked about extensively before...
Continue reading "Reader question: how can I inventory my home?" »
It's draft night here in the development and just like last year, I'm armed with OneNote for my draft cheat sheets. This year, I'm using info from the same site as last year: FFToolbox. Instead of piles of printed paper, I'll be drafting with my Samung Q1P UMPC and (new for this year), the Sierra Wireless 875U AirCard. I'd rather not rely on the commish's WiFi that everyone will be hogging. Unfair that I have a mobile advantage? Perhaps, but after about 10 years of drafting for fantasy football, using OneNote sure beats papers everywhere. I found that out last year when it never took me more than 15 seconds to make a pick.
I've already used the Snipping Tool in Vista to capture all of the player info. I have a new OneNote notebook just for the draft and there's a page for each player position plus a page with the Top 100 picks. As we draft, I'll use the highlighter in OneNote to cross off the players taken both on their position page as well as the Top 100 page if they're ranked. BTW: one of the non-mobile tech secrets to good drafting? Pay attention to the bye weeks. There's nothing worse than taking two good players in the same position that have the same bye week. ;)
I know I've said this once before (many times, actually), but for our newer readers sake, bear with me while I repeat this: "OneNote is the best piece of software to come from Microsoft, in my opinion." Of course, that means nothing to Mac users...or does it?
Nadyne Mielke is a user experience researcher at Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit and she's hearing more and more about users wanting OneNote for the Mac. If you'd like to see it or if you just want to sing the praises of OneNote from a Windows perspective, why not hop over to Nadyne's blog: she's looking for feedback on why folks would want to see OneNote on a Mac. I'd also love to see a way for some OneNote Mobile functionality on the iPhone and of course, inking in OneNote is a fantastic experience when you need to search those notes. Just for the record; I'll be using OneNote again for this week's fantasy football draft, just like last year when I almost won it all. ;)
(via Dan Escapa)
I love to share how my gadgets tools fit into my work days so it's time for another "Day in the Life" article. In these articles I walk you through my entire work day and fill you in on how I use my gadgets to be productive. Strap yourself in 'cause here we go!
Alarm rudely awakens me at 5:00 (yes AM) and I stumble downstairs to the first cup of coffee of the day. Having grabbed the coffee I spin into my home office and undock (pushing the little button on the side of the dock) the Lenovo ThinkPad x61 and spin the screen around into slate mode. Settling into the Man Chair, I turn on the news to check when to expect the day's flooding and hit up Google Reader to check my RSS feeds that have come in during the night (don't you internet people ever sleep?). I also open up Outlook 2007 and process any email that came in overnight. Both of these tasks work well in slate mode on the Tablet PC. I have toggled the x61's d-pad to page up/down mode (as opposed to scroll up/down) so I move down my list of Reader items by paging down one screen at a time. Google Reader automatically marks that I've read each item I pass as it leaves the screen so I am free to interrupt this process whenever I want and not miss any unread items. As I spin through the feeds I tag (star) any items I want to follow up in greater detail later. Clean and simple and even with a couple of hundred items I process it in less than 20 minutes. I finish my coffee and feeds at the same time and head up to shower and get ready for my day.
Continue reading "A day in the life- a tale of two tablets" »
I just got back from running the kids around and see a direct Twitter tweet to me from Kathy Jacobs. Great news out of TechSmith today with the introduction of a SnagIt to OneNote accessory! This plug-in allows you to take any of your SnagIt screen clips and shoot them from the preview mode right to OneNote. You can mod the location of where to send your 'snag' to any place in your OneNote notebooks.
While the SnagIt to OneNote tool is free, SnagIt itself isn't. Both SnagIt and Camtasia Studio are well worth the price IMO, but Kathy's got a free license key for each of these two products. You'll need to drop her a comment in this post, so check out all of the details and be sure to enter by August 1st. Thanks for the Tweet, Kathy!
Jezlyn popped a note in our nearly clean Inboxes late last week to tell us about VoodooPad. I figured it was the latest game accessory for the Wii, but I was way off. VoodooPad is a Mac OS X application that has many of the characteristics and features found in my favorite Microsoft application: OneNote. I've only just started to play around in the app, but my first impressions are very favorable thanks to features like these:
There are many more features and while the package doesn't truly emulate OneNote, it has some very similar use cases. The VoodooPad Lite app is the free version, which is limited to 15 pages and has a watered down feature set for light duty. The full VoodooPad version is $29.95 while the Pro version is $49.95 and adds functions like a built-in web server and data encryption. I'm continuing to look it over, but since I found value in the first few minutes, I wanted to pass it along now.
Here's a OneNote setting I never stumbled across but William at The Student Tablet PC did: you can reduce the frequency of OneNote background activities to stretch that battery just a wee bit farther. Remember that similar to Vista and Windows Desktop Search for XP/2000, OneNote is indexing your chicken scratch, audio recordings, OCR from photos, typed text and more in the background. That effort takes extra processing power and a little disk I/O, so by reducing the frequency in this setting, you'll theoretically use less battery power. Of course, you might have to wait longer for recent items to be indexed, but as we say in the mobile tech world, it's all about compromise. Nice find William!
It's no secret that I live in OneNote. I take a lot of handwritten notes every day but I also use OneNote as an information repository. I routinely collect all documents I receive that are pertinent to a particular project and I put them into OneNote. I do this mainly by printing them using the OneNote virtual printer which works well with the Word, Excel, PDF, screen shots and Project documents I receive. They are captured into OneNote in a form that lets me ink right on top of them should I have a need to do so. Paper documents I receive I scan into OneNote which works the same way.
Occasionally I need to share a page or two of my notes with colleagues who do not have OneNote and the best way to do so happens to be the easiest. One of the first things I did after installing Office 2007 was to get the add-in that adds PDF output capability to all the Office programs. I use this all the time to distribute Word or Excel documents that I don't want altered, plus it has the benefit of providing the document in the universal PDF format. It's a must-have plugin for Office. When I need to send a page or two of my OneNote notes I save it to PDF from right inside OneNote and send that. This has the benefit of saving an exact copy of my note page, whether it's handwritten, scanned information, or a document I have printed to OneNote. It works very well, is extremely quick, and since it's a PDF I don't have to worry whether the recipient can handle it or not. Great solution to a need that couldn't be easier.
I live in OneNote 24/7 on my Tablet PC. It's the first program I fire up each morning, that's in the event I even closed it the night before. It's the single biggest thing missing from the Mac experience and I don't lament every single day that I don't have it on the MacBook Pro. I've used OneNote so extensively and for so long that I forget that it can be a complex program to the new user. As a writer I can sympathize that there is nothing quite so daunting as a blank note page staring you in the face. Reader Jose Mendiola of Palm Insider wrote me an email with some questions about OneNote worth sharing:
Thanks to your comments and suggestions, I am now a big fun of taking notes during meetings with the Q1 and One Note. I have one question though, which I would appreciate you would treat at JKOTR or via email: what do you do with your notes after taking them?? I know it's a silly question but I am not sure if you would convert them into text (not always easy), file them as a jpg, or store them on the native format.
Read on to view my response.
Continue reading "What to do with those OneNote notes after you take them" »
Yogi Berra-like quote: "Until you 'get' OneNote, you just don't 'get' OneNote". People hear us referring to Microsoft OneNote all the time, but I often think they either figure it's just a basic notebook app or they get overwhelmed by the many features and functions. So, how exactly do you 'get' OneNote?
A good start is this post by Dan Escapa; Dan highlights the oft-overlooked OneNote 2007 Guide Notebook that's included with the product. Call it a virtual manual that should be perused even if you typically don't read the manual. It's filled with usage scenarios to illustrate how OneNote 2007 comes in handy. Dan also has a few links to external videos and and tutorial articles, so if you never quite figured what OneNote is all about, you'll want to click of few of these. I still maintain the opinion that OneNote is among the best, if not the best, bit of software that Microsoft has developed to date. OK, except for the new Hold 'Em in Vista...I like that too.
Got a reader question in the ol' inbox this morning and after I responded directly, I added a new "Reader Question" category here and also thought to share the question and answer. The question was: "Does Mobile OneNote come in OneNote 2003? Or is it just 2007?"
OneNote Mobile is bundled free with OneNote 2007 and isn't available as a separate download or installation, so you'll need a licensed copy of OneNote 2007 to use the smaller cousin. Since the mobile version resides on your Windows Mobile device, either Pocket PC or Smartphone edition, you'll also need ActiveSync installed on your host computer if you plan to synch notes or pictures from OneNote Mobile to OneNote 2007. There's a complete quick start guide available from Microsoft if you have OneNote 2007 and are curious about the mobile component.
I've found the mobile client to be very useful on the road, especially when paired with a UMPC. If you're curious how I've used the application in the past, we've got some examples here and there. All in all, a very effective piece of mobile software, and a great addition to OneNote 2007.
If I had to pick a "killer app" for a Windows device, it would be Microsoft OneNote. That's arguable of course and just my personal preference. OneNote is a SAS to me; a "Swiss Army bit o' Software" because it's easy to use and it provides features and functions that maximize my productivity. If you have any doubts on the personal experience, we've got plenty of items in our OneNote category that should enlighten.
Now I find a dilemma. What's the "killer app" on a Mac? Is it a solid browser like Camino or Opera? How about Quicksilver; a name that I see bubble up to the blog surface repeatedly? Parallels is fantastic too, but that gets me back to Windows apps and eats up my battery. The floor is yours; can you lend a mobile brother a hand? Share your "killer app" for Mac in the comments and be sure to tell me why I should try it.
Is there no end to the OneNote 2007 PowerToys? Actually, I hope not because just about every one of them address a particular situation with a quick and easy solution! Last week, we mentioned the three latest PowerToys, but Dan Escapa has another in his OneNote bag of tricks: Sort Pages.
Like all of the others, it does exactly what it's called: the Sort Pages Power Toy will sort a section's pages into alphabetical order as shown by the snippet I grabbed from the OneNote Extensibility & More blog.
Chris Pratley reminds us that there are currently three PowerToys available for One Note 2007, with the promise of more on the way. Remember that PowerToys add a great feature but are unsupported solutions. I use many of the Tablet PC PowerToys and have yet to experience an issue, but there's always a first time, so use at your own peril!
Currently available are:
The OneNote Extensibility & More folks just made some Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows available; these two presentations provide a fantastic high-level overview on the functions and features included in Microsoft OneNote. I know that we've highlighted many use cases and OneNote tidbits before, so if we haven't convinced you to at least try OneNote for free, then maybe these brief slide shows will!
How did we miss this 10-minute video overview of Microsoft OneNote 2007 earlier in December? Kathy Jacobs and Betsy Weber from TechSmith sit down for a brief overview of the newest OneNote version. If you're not familiar with OneNote, this is a fantastic video for first-timers and it really shows the power of the application.
Oh, I suppose we should mention that TechSmith sells the Camtasia application they actually used for the video and screen capture, so you indirectly get to see how that app works as well. I highly recommend the ten minutes if you've got it to spare. I'm sure you do, since you're probably still waiting on the 300 MB ST 5112 Tablet PC video review we published today. ;)
This fix for OneNote 2003 is actually from May of this year, but I don't think we covered it. The OneNote Extensibility & More blog published the info yesterday and it addresses a specific OneNote 2003 issue on touchscreen devices. I haven't seen the issue on my touchscreen UMPC, but apparently, OneNote will sometimes cause a pen stroke to disappear as soon as you lift the pen from the screen. If you've got a case of vanishing scrawl in OneNote 2003, there's a patch available from Microsoft. The issue is specific to OneNote 2003, so if you're running OneNote 2007, you won't see this problem. If you're not running OneNote 2007, remember that you can download a free 60-day trial.
Even though the purple still isn't likely washed out from their hair from the "Office goes gold" celebration, that doesn't mean the OneNote team is taking the rest of the year off. They're still finding the time to keep people in the OneNote loop. Just today they're reminding any OneNote Mobile beta testers to remove the beta client from Windows Mobile devices before installing the final production version. I'll be doing that once I get OneNote 2007, but not a second sooner. It's too darn useful of an application! Don't believe me? See for yourself:
If those don't convince you, be sure to check out Microsoft's official OneNote Mobile 2007 Quick Start Guide as it explains all of the functionality on single web page. While you do that, I'm going to search the web to see if Bill ended up with purple hair from that head rub. It's cool Bill; I color my grays too.
With OneNote 2007 officially just around the corner, the timing couldn't be better for this OneNote Mobile 2007 guide from Microsoft. It's a one-pager that covers the basics of the mobile client, with topics like:
I've used OneNote Mobile in some real-world situations (here and here) and have found it extremely useful to solve a problem; in fact, it's on my "must have installed" list for any Windows Mobile device. It's that good and if you want to get an overview of the basics, this guide is just the ticket.
Whenever the contents of my daily gadget bag changes I try to remember to post it here on jkOnTheRun and a recent post on fellow Houstonian Kent Newsome's blog reminded me it was time to update my daily kit. Here is what I now carry with me daily in my Boa Booq XS backpack:
Samsung Q1 SSD- my daily workhorse. I am taking notes all day on the Q1 with OneNote 2007 and when I am at a desk I use the Q1 as a mini-laptop.
Samsung organizer and USB keyboard- protects the Q1 in the backpack and turns it into a full laptop in 5 seconds
Verizon XV6700 phone- Windows Mobile 5 and EVDO, a good combination. I tether the XV6700 off and on throughout the day when I need connectivity. Of course I use a WiFi hotspot if one is available. I am able to keep up with email whenever I have time free to process it.
Boxwave miniSync cable- I use this to tether the XV6700 to the Q1. The retractable cable contracts to such a small size it fits in the tiny MP3 player pocket in the Booq bag. The beauty of having the phone tethered to the Q1 is that the phone is charging the whole time it is attached. I also have a charge only retractable cable that I use if I just need to charge the phone and don't want to take extra time for ActiveSync to fire up.
IOGear mini Bluetooth mouse- I use it when in laptop mode in the organizer. A fully charged mouse will last days before needing recharging.
BatteryGeek Portable Power Station- I leave the PPS in a pocket on the Booq bag and connect it while in laptop mode so the Q1 is always fully charged when I head into meetings. When a meeting lasts a couple of hours and I have to head across town to the next meeting I connect the Q1 to the PPS right in the Booq bag with the charge cable running from the Q1 pocket to the PPS pocket. This way the Q1 charges the entire time I am travelling to the meeting and it usually picks up a sufficient charge to get me through the upcoming meeting. If the Q1 battery level ever drops too low for comfort during a meeting I simply plug in the PPS cable for charging without having to remove the battery from the bag. No one is ever the wiser in the meeting. This is probably the slickest setup I have ever used. The PPS will run the Q1 for at least 18 hours and leave me with a fully charged internal battery.
Ultimate Ears Super.fi Pro 5 headphones- simply the best headphones I have ever used. When I have free time between meetings, especially in a noisy Starbucks or the equivalent, I plug into some nice music (or podcast) and the headphones totally block out the noisy environment.
TomTom One portable GPS- simply the easiest GPS navigation system I have ever seen. I use it every day, it is always on while in my car. Even if I don't have a route programmed I like to see which cross streets are coming up and it's a good compass. I usually do program a route, however, because I can't tell you how many times I have run into a major traffic problem and pulled off the freeway to bypass it. The TomTom One instantly calculates a new route and gets me to my destination as quickly as possible. For security reasons I sometimes throw the TomTom in the Booq bag, it's so small it takes almost no room.
That's it, as my gadgets have gotten more capable the number of them I have to take every day has dropped dramatically. What's in your gadget bag?
OK, you might not be in the OneNote 2007 beta program, but this is a one of those "save for later" tidbits that can come in handy. OneNote 2007 has a fairly extensive guide to get you started once you install and open the product. While you might zip through the guide and decide you'll never need it again, what happens if you close it or worse...you *gulp* delete it?
Have no fear because the OneNote Extensibility blog is here! Solutions to restore or reload the OneNote Guide are available here. If you're interested in the new features or want view a OneNote 2007 demo, Microsoft offers plenty of info on the OneNote page.
I swear I don't sit up at night and think of these uses for OneNote Mobile and a UMPC. They really just happen! Previously I used this hardware and software solution for a pool project at Home Depot as well as my fantasy football draft. I'm 2-1, for the record...not sure if it was the mobile tech involved or I'm just a good coach. ;)
Anyway, today I had to send out my Xbox 360 for repairs based on it freezing up last week. As promised, Microsoft sent me a pre-paid UPS mailer so I packed it up and drove to a UPS Store this morning. Then it hit me: I don't have the tracking number and of course, I never carry an ink pen. Sure, I could have asked for one from the UPS folks, but c'mon! There has to be a mobile solution to capture the tracking number and then easily use the digital data to track the package, right?
Continue reading "OneNote Mobile, RSS, a UMPC and a broken XBox 360?" »
Hopefully, you got in on the Office 2007 Beta program earlier this year. If you did, be sure to check in around 9 a.m. Redmond time for a Technical Refresh of Beta 2. The productivity suite build looks to be the last public beta package before prime time product availability in....well, that depends on who you ask.
The general expectation is that Office 2007 availability will coincide with Vista and\or in January 2007. How's that for an exact guess? If you have used the beta 2 version of Office 2007, be sure to share your impressions and tell the folks that missed out what you do (and don't) like from a productivity standpoint in the new Office. I've used it since May as my full-time productivity suite; my overall impressions are that Beta 2 was pretty solid, so I'm looking forward to see what was fixed. BTW: according to Daniel Escapa of the OneNote team, this TR will include an update to OneNote 2007 as well!
Real world usage of mobile technology is what it's all about. Sure, we'd all like to have a coffee table full of UMPCs and gadgets like Hugo (great pic BTW!), but after you've equipped your mobile arsenal, how you actually use the tools is really the end game. I've tried to highlight some real world scenarios with Home Depot and Fantasy Football, but neither of those do justice to Warner's post over at Gotta Be Mobile.
Warner provides a full listing of what he uses from a hardware and software perspective in his daily mobile routine. Better yet, he shares what specific business need or problem that each aspect solves. This is a must read that shows you how mobile tech can be applied to nearly any daily situation if you get creative, get the right tools and get the mobile mindset!
Just another use of a UMPC along with Microsoft OneNote; seasoned OneNote'rs might skip this, but I like sharing different uses of the application, especially with a UMPC since it can basically go anywhere. Previously, I used this approach on a Home Depot trip. Last night, I applied it to the Fantasy Football draft and found it extremely useful. You fantasy league players know the pains of carrying several draft cheat sheets and sorting though mounds of papers telling you that you should "Forget last season, this year [insert player name] will be the man for his team as well as the sleeper in the league."
Riii-iii-ght.....I like my method with OneNote much better; especially when the League office has an open WiFi connection to check on player injuries and updates....
Continue reading "OneNote 2007, a UMPC and....fantasy football?" »
Reader Colin Walker jokingly commented he expected to hear how I used the Tablet PC to inventory the stuff in my home during my current move. He must have only been half joking because he knows me too well. 
I am using a simple system to help get set up in the new house that involves my Treo and the HP tc1100 Tablet PC. The first thing I am doing is taking pictures of each room to show not only what was in the room at the old house but also where it was placed. Not that we want to duplicate every room but it is helpful to see how it was before when deciding on the new arrangement. I take these pictures using the Palm Treo from within OneNote Mobile, and they get synced into my Tablet OneNote 2007 notebook when I connect the Treo wirelessly.
Once the photos are in OneNote I am using ink notes on the Tablet to note anything I think will be helpful, like outlet requirements for some equipment. I can note that a lamp has a particularly short power cord so we can consider that for the placement in the new house. This has been working great so far and it’s so simple to do, and much easier than creating an entire inventory by hand. So there, Colin.
Marc Orchant has written an article on organizing and sharing your information with OneNote 2007 that is excellent for newbies and oldies alike. In the article Marc deals with information overload and how you can organize your way into a near Zen state using multiple notebooks in OneNote. The article is on the official Microsoft Office web site so you know it's good stuff. If you are curious what OneNote 2007 might be able to do for you and you are not using the Office 2007 beta then don't miss this article, and if you have recently loaded up the beta 2 and you're not sure how to get going with OneNote 2007 you will find everything in the article of interest. Nice job, Marc!
-jk
Discontinued or not the HP tc1100 Tablet PC I have been using for a good while is still the most versatile mobile device I have ever used. This has been driven home to me anew as I recently started a new project with a major oil company that has me spending a lot of time in their offices. They have supplied me with my own office to use while I am working in house and even though I have a desktop PC with twin 19 inchers I also have the tc1100 in laptop mode with the keyboard on the desk beside me. I don't like to put my Tablet on client's networks so I always have it connected to the web via EVDO so I can easily deal with my email from other clients. The tc1100 is always plugged into an outlet so the battery stays nice and fresh when I need to go cordless. This is very frequent as I am going from one internal meeting to another and when it's time to head off for one I detach the slate from the keyboard and carry nothing to the meeting but the Tablet.
Andrew Wheeler's OneSnap powertoy for Microsoft OneNote was declared a contest winner a few weeks back and the application is now available on the MSDN blogs. Andrew was one of five winners in a Microsoft OneNote powertoy competition and after reading about the functionality, I can see why.
OneSnap adds a small camera icon to Internet Explorer; when you find a web page you want to capture to OneNote, simply hit the OneSnap icon, much like the Send to OneNote powertoy. The difference lies in the control you have as to where in your OneNote notebook you want OneSnap to send the clipping to. With OneSnap, you can deftly choose which Folder and Section the clipping will reside. Sweet powertoy Andrew!
(via UMPCBuzz)
-kct
OneNote heavyweight Chris Pratley and his wife are the proud parents of a brand new side note, Skye. Baby and mom are doing fine and we want to wish them both congratulations on this banner event. Photos of the baby are on Chris’ blog and we wish them well! Chris is probably not sleeping too much these days so it would be courteous to lay off any complaints about OneNote 2007 for a few weeks. 
-jk
It is no secret how important OneNote 2007 has become to me, it is easily the second most used application on every computer I use (Outlook is first). I have written many times about all the cool features in OneNote 2007 and I’m not going to rehash those now. One of the most useful new features, however, is the ability to share your OneNote 2007 notebooks among multiple computers, if you only knew how to configure it properly. Mr. OneNote himself, Chris Pratley, has written a nice article that describes how to configure OneNote 2007 on several computers to make sure your notes are always in sync no matter which of the many computers you might be using at the time. This article is a must read for those who regularly use two or more computers.
-jk
Those of you running OneNote 2003 should check out all the winners in the Microsoft OneNote PowerToy contest. There are some really useful utilities for OneNote users:
All of the developers won a copy of Visual Studio 2005 and a Tablet PC! Congratulations to all the winners.
Rob Bushway of GBM has published a great interview of Microsoft’s Chris Pratley. Chris is the OneNote god so if you’re into the program like I am then you better shoot over there to listen.
-jk
I reported earlier that OneNote 2007 beta 2 is now available for public consumption and OneNote Mobile is part of that offering. OneNote Mobile is a Windows Mobile program that is intended to provide a convenient way to take notes on a Windows Mobile smartphone and have them sync up with the desktop version of OneNote when back at your desk. The OneNote program manager, Chris Pratley, had indicated in the past that OneNote Mobile would only support Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition but I am happy to report that it works fine on my Palm Treo 700w. This is significant because the Treo is not the Smartphone Edition but is the Phone Edition. Apparently Microsoft listened to all the complainers who wanted a version of OneNote Mobile for the Phone Edition so if you were holding off installing OneNote Mobile because you don’t have a Smartphone you needn’t worry.
Continue reading "Some hands-on time with OneNote Mobile from Office 2007 beta 2" »
Overall I am happy with Office 2007 Beta 2 and the performance improvements over older beta versions. All of the programs feel downright snappy, even on my Tablet PC that is in desperate need of a rebuilding. Very well done, Office team! I was also surprised to see that the first time I synced my Windows Mobile 5 Phone Edition, the Palm Treo 700w, that a system tray balloon informed me that OneNote Mobile was available if I cared to install it. I did and it is very cool and adds a OneNote Notes item in the sync configuration in ActiveSync and is primarily a way to take notes on the mobile device for inclusion in OneNote later. It doesn’t seem to allow ink notes which is a bummer but text is fine including advanced formatting like tables and bullets. I haven’t played around with this much but surely intend to.
If you're not part of the Office 2007 beta but keep hearing great things about the upcoming product, feast your eyes on this Channel 9 video with Jessica Arnold. Robert Scoble stopped by Building 36 to check in with Jessica, who is the product manager for Outlook. Robert whets your Outlook whistle with this 34 minute video that provides tons of details and screenshots of the newest features.
Integration with other products like OneNote and Sharepoint are a central theme and the new interface is both familiar, yet nicer. Clearly, the Outlook team has strongly considered usability, search and flexibility with this planned release; watch the video and tell me if you agree.
-kct
Darren Strange has produced a great video overview of OneNote 2007 that highlights the interaction between this new version and the other applications in the Office 2007 family. Of particular note to me is the ability to have notes become tasks in Outlook, and when you mark them complete in OneNote it is flagged complete in Outlook too. Very nice stuff and the video has pushed me over the edge. I'm going to install the Office 2007 beta today.
I am already getting a lot of questions about whether this program or that program will run on the new UMPC. The simple answer is yes. The UMPC runs full Windows XP Tablet Edition (and later Vista) so it will run any program you can now run on any WinXP device. The smaller screen may require some developers to tweak their UI or dialog boxes to optimize them for the UMPC but they should work fine as they are now, especially with the ability to downsample the UMPC screen. Chris Pratley addresses how OneNote works on the UMPC in a blog post today. Lora Heiny has written two excellent articles on What Is New for developers who want to optimize their programs for the smaller UMPC screen. Aspiring UMPC developers can download the UMPC Display Emulator here.
Chris Pratley has a nice post describing the new drawing tools that will be included in OneNote 2007. Which would you rather see:
