Software will make or break Tablet PC

A free video game that will be available for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system Thursday, when hardware makers debut new portable computers based on the operating system at a splashy New York City event, highlights the pen-based features that more important business applications will take advantage of.

Characterized as a "productivity killer," according Kelly Berschauer, product manager with Microsoft's Tablet PC team, Tablet Pool embodies the opportunity that software vendors will have when building more productive products for the new hardware designs. When positioned flat on a desk, the Tablet PC becomes a pool table, and the stylus pen -- designed for writing hand-written notes on the device screen -- a pool stick.

Twenty-something hardware manufacturers and distributors are backing the Tablet PC initiative, and will release devices of various shapes and sizes as early as this week. Many of these hardware makers say that the success of the Tablet PC lies in the software that will be available to run on them.

Arif Maskatia, chief technology officer at Acer Inc., which has built one of the first Tablet PCs that will be available to consumers, said that Microsoft has done a fine job making sure that enough software is available to attract a diverse market.

"Microsoft has been working for the last two and a half years with ISVs (independent software vendors) to maker sure software is enabled," he said.

More than 20 ISVs, including SAP AG and Adobe Systems Inc., will announce applications Thursday designed specifically for the operating system that take advantage of its pen-based features. Some applications will be available immediately; some will be free; but all will show off new features that Microsoft is betting will reshape the landscape of mobile computers.

One of the operating system's core features that initial applications will take advantage of is Microsoft's digital inking technology, which allows users to sketch notes and diagrams on electronic documents. A companion feature is the handwriting recognition engine that translates hand-written notes into typed text, with variable success, according to many who have tested it.

Microsoft will post on its site a downloadable add-on that adds inking capabilities to the Office XP productivity software suite. For example, users will be able to write e-mails by hand or ink comments into an Excel spreadsheet. Adobe will add inking into a future version of Acrobat Reader, the company said, and Autodesk Inc. said it will do the same with its 3-D rendering software.

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