Tablet PC Show #31
The Tablet PC Show #031 (MP3 - 14.1MB- 41 min)
Welcome to episode 31 of the Tablet PC Show! I’m a bit tardy with this episode and I put the blame for my lateness on my children…
News and Updates:
After the news, I delve into the new Origami and UMPC devices. I spend some time discussing their features and dimensions and worry about the low resolution (800×480) of their screens. Will Windows applications run well enough at that resolution? And then the big question which is, will YOU buy one of these things? Are they too small and underpowered, or is the extra portability too good to pass up?
That, in fact is the poll question of the week, which you can take here.
This certainly won’t be the last time we discuss the UMPCs and I expect they’ll become a regular part of the podcast as they become a major part of the Tablet PC world!
Next, I discuss several options for improving your use of multiple monitors and/or multiple systems sharing the same keyboard and mouse. There are of course plenty of hardware solutions for using multiple monitors or multiple systems, but they can be expensive and they’re not necessary. There are very good, very inexpensive software solutions available that can help you make the most of hardware you already have.
Windows supports using mutliple monitors on a single system right out of the box. And with most Tablet PCs or laptops, you don’t even need any extra hardware; just plug in the external monitor and you’re ready to go. However, there are ways to improve your multiple-monitor experience and UltraMon can help. It provides taskbars for each monitor (something Windows does not), an easy way to snap windows from one monitor to another, and the ability to maximize windows across all monitors. It has additional features as well and runs for $39.99, however that price will let you use it on every PC in your home.
If you’ve got a desktop machine that doesn’t have a second video card, hooking up a second monitor could be a problem. But with MaxiVista, you can make use of any other PC you happen to have lying around, like your Tablet PC, an old laptop, or a second desktop system. MaxiVista sends the display information for a second monitor over your network to the second machine which then uses its monitor as a secondary monitor for your primary system. It can chew up quite a bit of network bandwidth, but generally works very well. MaxiVista costs $29.99 (which is cheaper than it used to be) and also includes some KVM functionality…
KVM is an acronym for “Keyboard/Video/Mouse” and it refers usually to hardware that lets you operate several systems from a single keyboard, mouse, and monitor. The solution that MaxiVista provides isn’t quite KVM because you’re still using two monitors, so it’s really “KM”, but it is very useful. Assuming you have two systems with monitors sitting side-by-side, MaxiVista will let you roll your mouse pointer off of one monitor and on to the second one. Once your mouse is on that second monitor, your keyboard and mouse will control that second system. To use your primary system again, just roll your mouse back over to the primary monitor.
A cheaper way to get this same functionality (but without the multiple-monitor functionality that MaxiVista provides) is offered by Synergy, an open-source utility that is free. It can be tough to configure, but will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and the price is certainly right.
Another similar option is Desktop Rover from Neslo Software. It is not free, but adds Pocket PC support to the mix, letting you roll your mouse onto your Pocket PC and control that device as well. It costs $19 for a single license that will let you control one PC and one Pocket PC, but to control two PCs, you’ll need two licenses.
As long as we’re talking Pocket PCs now, there is another solution available for those devices as well. SideWindow from Innobec Technologies lets you use your Pocket PC screen as an additional monitor when docked. It doesn’t add a lot of extra screen real-estate, but your Pocket PC screen probably isn’t doing much of anything useful when it’s docked anyway and the extra space is perfect for a Yahoo! Widget or two.
I completely forgot to name a Site of the Week, but I’ll be sure to do so next time.
Music:
Intro: “Wallawalla” by Drop Trio
Outro: “Second First” by Drop Trio
(Music available at magnatune.com.)