...for this.

Wake up: my niece shoving breakfast in my face. Not enough sleep after too much travel, and I start the day already behind schedule. It's time to haul hay. I've been hauling hay since I was five years old, and it just doesn't ever get easier. Quite the opposite, instead.

Go outside: first round of hauling. No, not in, out: the horses won't touch this new hay, so we have to haul 200 bales back to the farm. The farmer, initially very understanding, has turned inexplicably hostile, and dropped us as a customer.

To the farm: hostilities flare on all sides as we unload 200 bales. Why can't people be adult?

To the new farm: hauling the replacement hay. 180 bales this load.

To the house: unloading. Teenagers getting whiny. Decide we can do without them for the rest of the day. More work for the rest of us, but less annoyance.

Back to the new farm: 120 more bales.

Back to the house: just in time for sunset. Unloading by flashlight. Oh, joy...

Done at last: the horses will eat for the winter, so Sandy's happy. She comes out of the bathroom, and I grab her and kiss her, depositing half the hay dust that's on me onto her, after she had just brushed off the dust she had accumulated.

A perfect day...

...ETA: 11 days, and counting, for this.

Gateway confirms that all the parts are in, and it's just waiting in the production queue.

...for this:



No, I didn't forget. Just got tied up in the Microsoft double secret training.

And yes, I'm running short on CX200X photos.

...ETA: 16 days, and counting for this:

...for this:



Gateway still reports the status as Order Processing, whatever that means.

...for this:

...for this:

Ah, well, I expected it. And actually, the repairs are an improvement, of a sort: previously, the M200 couldn't detect when the screen was rotated and laid flat for Tablet use. Instead, it would decide that the lid was closed, and it would go to sleep.

Now when I rotate the screen and lay it flat, the M200 doesn't go to sleep. Of course, when I just close the lid, it doesn't go to sleep, either: it just keeps on running, sucking up all the battery power and heating up the carrying case. And when I rotate the screen and lay it flat, the M200 doesn't actually detect that it has rotated, and it doesn't flip into portrait mode.

Oh, well. I can always manually rotate into portrait mode. And I can always manually put it to sleep.

20 more days. Almost 19...

UPDATE: On the plus side, it's now detecting the battery, and the keyboard is working well. Thanks, CPR of Grand Rapids!

...the fine folks from CPR of Grand Rapids have once again exceeded expectations, repairing my M200 in just three days.

I'm not getting my hopes up. It's still a Toshiba. But it's working well enough to write this post.

...for this.

(This one's just for my buddy, Epee Bill.)

...for this.

Due to a paperwork snafu, my Gateway CX200X has been pushed back three business days, five total days. ETA 22 days, and counting. Grrr...

Due to a very large number of business opportunities coming up, including a can't-miss training opportunity in the Seattle area, we have decided to postpone our Tablet PC Programming BootCamp in Boston. Details when we learn more.

I was looking forward to that class, but there just wasn't time to get properly prepared for it and attend the new training that opened up and prepare for other classes and conferences and finish up my book. I'm burning the candle at all three ends as it is. So it's better to postpone and do it right than to try for the unattainable and disappoint the students.

As a consolation prize for me missing the class, I'll have to settle for being home for this. Darn!

And hey, if you want to see a really, really powerful Tablet PC in action, just join us when we reschedule the class!

My Gateway CX200X

• Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition


• Microsoft® Works 8.0 (I know, I know... But you can't not order this with a Gateway machine, unless you order something more; and I already have licenses for the something more...)


• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 770 (2.13GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)


• 2048MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)


• ATI Radeon X600 64MB Graphics w/ HyperMemory Technology


• 80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive


• Notebook Total Protection Plan — 4 year parts/labor/on-site/4 year technical support w/ 4 year Accidental Damage Protection


• Integrated 802.11b/g wireless networking card


• Primary 12-cell Lithium ion battery with AC pack and 1 yr. limited battery warranty (to accommodate additional cells, this battery extends beyond the end of the system)


• Additional Primary 12-Cell Lithium ion battery and 1-yr. limited battery warranty (to accommodate additional cells, this battery extends beyond the end of the system)


• Microsoft® One Note, Microsoft® Experience Pack and Microsoft® Education Pack (Gotta have OneNote for my Tablet!)


• Norton AntiVirus 90 day introductory offer


• 7-in-1 media card reader (Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Pro®, MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital™, xD Picture Card, Mini Secure Digital™, RS-MultiMediaCard™)


• Modular 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD±R/±RW/CD-RW)


• Type II PC card slot


• (3) USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), VGA


• 14.0" WXGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 768 max. resolution) with Rotating Hinge for Tablet Functionality


• Full-Size Keyboard and EZ Pad® Pointing Device


• Gateway Executive Stylus w/ Continuous Sensing Technology


• Integrated sound and stereo speakers, headphone/speaker jack, and mic jacks


• Integrated V.92 56K modem


• Integrated Broadcom® 10/100/1000 Ethernet Adapter


• Six months America Online® Internet access (Another one of those things Gateway is just gonna give you, like it or not.)


• Adobe® Acrobat Reader® 6.0


• Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet (SP2) Backup CD

And best of all, it's not a Toshiba! Never buy a Toshiba. Toshibas are junk.

Ever have a night when you really need to get up early, and yet things keep you up late, and finally it seems like the safest course is just to stay up? Or does that only happen to me? Either way, this is one of those nights. In five-and-a-half hours, my plane leaves Atlanta. I've been away from Sandy and the dogs and our home for four weeks. I am going to be on that plane. And I already learned this week that this hotel's wake-up calls are still pretty unreliable. And while the M200 has pretty good speakers and usually serves as my alarm clock, it's having some problems right now. (Never buy Toshiba. Toshibas are junk.) And this 3500 has had the speakers repaired, but they pretty much suck, and I can barely hear them. (Never buy Toshiba. Toshibas are junk.)

So at this point, the safe way to be sure I'm on that plane is to stay awake until I board, and then sleep on the plane. So to find things to keep me going, I decided to do something I haven't done in a while. It's time for another installment of Seen around the tech blogs.

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Richard Hale Shaw makes an interesting argument against the C# using statement (not the using directive; and thank you, C# team, for that bit of confusing language). I disagree with him; but it will take time and sleep before I can fully explain why. The short preview: he says you can't force people to use your class correctly; I say I can, and I'll show you how, soon.

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Joe Kunk passes along some suggestions on porting MFC code to .NET, including some discussion of tools to automate parts of the port. Since I have a presentation on this topic, I'm going to check out those tools.

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From the Earth to the Moon links to this discussion of where the Apollo capsules are today. Until it shut down, the Michigan Space and Science Center in Jackson was home to the Apollo 9 capsule. (Commander McDivitt was a Jackson-area native.) I used to go there for inspiration whenever I had a spare afternoon. When I think of what those engineers accomplished at a time where the sum total of all the computers at NASA amounted to less memory than I have in my hand, I realize that no job of mine is that tough. It was a sad day when I learned that MSSC had closed. Now I have to go all the way to San Diego to see Apollo 9. Of course, my flight home tomorrow ends in Dayton (I started this trip with INETA meetings in Cincinatti and Dayton), and Apollo 15 is at the Air Force museum there; and later this year I'll be in Huntsville for another INETA presentation, where Apollo 16 is. So I'll get my fixes then. (Bonus: outside of Dayton and on the road toward home is the Neil Armstrong Museum!)

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James Avery is looking to switch blog engines, and wishes he had a decent, easy to use and extend .NET solution. I could be wrong, James, but I think it will be really easy to build your own with ASP.NET 2.0.

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Tablet PC Buzz points out this post by Josh Einstein about fixes that will make Tablet PC components work properly under .NET Framework 2.0. I'm getting a new version of Tablet UML ready, so this was important news to me!

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Space Law Probe has a round-up of reactions to China's manned space launch.

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I don't have James Hudnall under Tech Blogs, because I think of him as a comics guy. His Espers is one of my favorite series. But he's also a computer geek. This week, he posted about the latest story on e-paper, and we drooled over the possible comic book applications.

Marvel has released 40 Years Of The Amazing Spider-Man on CD. I haven't picked it up yet, because I'm afraid someone may get it for me as a gift, and I wouldn't want to spoil that. I really would love to read that collection on a Tablet PC (particularly my new Gateway CX200X Tablet PC, to be ordered next week); but a programmable e-paper comic would be equally cool.

(And I hope that Marvel and DC and others release a lot more of their back stock this way.)

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Mike Swanson shows off the 5 best videos from the PDC. I wish I could've been there, but I was earning the money that will pay for my new Gateway CX200X Tablet PC.

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Matt Propst announces the Formal Cancellation of Grand Valley Programming Competition. That's too bad, but I hope they can pull it off next year. Josh Holmes and I were asked to be judges. One of my oldest programming memories is high school programming competitions at Grand Valley, so this would've been like going full circle.

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And speaking of Josh Holmes, he has a couple of posts on his latest work with Compact Framework and Win CE. Josh is my goto guy on this Windows handheld stuff, and he should be yours, too.

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Sam Gentile posts about a Channel 9 interview with him and Ward Cunningham. Since neither gentleman is shy — especially with their opinions! — it's pretty no-holds-barred.

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And speaking of Robert Scoble (the guy behind Channel 9), he's on a crusade to get Microsoft to focus on blog searching.

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Julie Lerman has a 512MB memory chip for a Toshiba Portege M200. Julie, Julie, Julie... Some day you'll learn: never buy Toshiba. Toshibas are junk.

Look at this Gateway CX200X Tablet PC, Julie. Look at the 14" wide-screen. Isn't it... tempting? Look at that optional 4-year, on-site, parts and labor and accidental damage warranty look... comforting?

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Lora at What Is New posts that the Windows Mobile PC Team (i.e., the Tablet team plus) now has a group blog.

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And speaking of the Windows Mobile PC Team... This is a little belated note (since I just learned of their blog from Lora): they write of the work their people did in helping to support Hurricane Katrina relief. I've already noted the contributions by Best Buy, WalMart, Home Depot, Edward Jones, McDonald's, and others; so it's only fair that I point out that my favorite software company has pledged over $9 million in cash, materials, and support to the relief effort. Thank you, Microsoft.

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Howard Lovy has retired NanoBot. That's too bad, but his new job probably keeps him plenty busy.

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Thom Robbins forwards an announcement of the general availability of the "Project Server Visual Studio Team System Connector" application. "The solution provides guidance for integrating Project Server and Visual Studio Team System. It demonstrates how Project Server and Visual Studio Team System can be integrated together to provide extended value for project and resource managers and guides developers through the process of building and customizing components that link the project management and software development tools. This is a foundation for partners to build applications that can integrate the two server products and provide specialized functionality."

As someone who's more and more excited about process and practices, I'm pleased by this news.

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James Kendrick — a.k.a. jkOnTheRun — links to this Detroit Free Press story about Bill Gates's visit to Ann Arbor. (Oh, sure, Bill... Come to town when I'm three or four states away! OK, I wouldn't have been invited anyway, since his presentation was for students. But still...) I think the story hints at one reason why I suspect for Microsoft's strong support for the Tablet PC: Bill loves his Tablet, and has wanted one for a long time. You don't believe me? He described his vision of the platform in drooling detail way back in The Road Ahead (or maybe it was Business @ the Speed of Thought — I'm on the road, remember, so I don't have my books with me). There are few people who are more fanatical about Tablet PCs than I am, but Bill's clearly one of them. And so I have a sneaking suspicion that, just as Microsoft will always sell a version of Basic so long as Bill's involved, so too will they make sure that somebody's making new Tablet PCs for Bill to play with.

(NOTE: The above is tongue-in-cheek, and I know nothing about Microsoft's internal platform decisions nor the reasons for those decisions. But I do know that it's true that Bill loves his Tablet PCs.)

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And speaking of jkOnTheRun... He links to more proof that Toshibas are junk. And he has a plea:

Let’s help Tracy get her Tablet back. Anyone with a Toshiba horror story about repair or customer service difficulties please chime in here with a comment. Let’s see if a string of unsatisfied customers can get Toshiba’s attention about Tracy’s plight. It’s worth a shot as she has nothing to lose since she is already without her precious.

I'm about to throw some links your way, James, as you asked. But at this point, you may already know my conclusion: never buy Toshiba. Toshibas are junk.

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There! That worked out just about perfectly. I planned to start prepping and packing at 0600, and it's 0553. That gives me just enough time to do a cursory proofread, and then post.

When next you hear from me, I hope to be H*O*M*E! Sandy, I'm on my way!