Walter Hutchens’ Blog

Over the last year and half, in what we may fairly term my period of “computer madness,” I’ve tried nine different PCs and five smartphones or PDAs. I thought I’d chronicle here the series of ideas and rationalizations that helped animate this adventure.

My over-arching rationalization for this technology binge was that I was trying to get the right tools to help me write. Given the importance to my career of producing articles for publication, almost any cost could be justified (or so I told myself, repeatedly).

I wanted a 1) mobile device that would 2) allow me to access the Internet most anywhere and 3) be useful for inputting text.

Operating under this general approach, a series of specific rationalizations propelled me from product to product.

My period of computer madness began when problems developed with the Sony Vaio notebook computer that I’d bought upon moving to Maryland to become a professor in 2002.

It was only the second “Wintel” machine I’d ever owned. I’d bought the first when my daughter was born in August 2000.

I did write one law review article with my second Vaio, but then it developed a series of problems. I sent it in for repairs multiple times. During one iteration of that process, I began to think it might be time for a new computer. I began reading about products currently on the market. I thought having something small that I could carry with me all the time would help me write.

As I read computer magazines, I learned that Service Pack 2, an update for Microsoft Windows, included some key improvements for the Tablet PC version of Windows. Reviews indicated the handwriting recognition had been dramatically improved.

I also read about the HP iPAQ 4705, a “Pocket PC” with a high-resolution color screen and the ability to run something called “PocketWord” and other “Pocket” versions of familiar applications.

I’d had a Newton and enjoyed it, so I knew that 1) pen input and 2) a highly portable computer were things I’d like. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to get a Pocket PC or a Tablet PC. I solved the problem by buying both.

Initially I was just going to order a Pocket PC, but in searching Amazon for one I saw an advertisement (sinisterly delivered at just the right time) for an NEC slate-style Tablet PC. It was offered at just over $1,000. I rationalized that the $650 iPAQ and the $1,000 Tablet PC together would cost less than the approximately $2,000 I’d spent on my previous laptop.

I was initially awed by the Pocket PC. The screen was stunning, and I was able to do a lot with it. But, regrettably, I soon discovered the “Pocket-” marketing campaign is misleading; my iPAQ was not as powerful as I’d hoped. I’ve written separately about my PDA/smartphone experience , but my basic conclusion was that, despite great effort to outfit the device with helpful software and accessories, a Pocket PC simply wasn’t going to serve me well as substitute for a full-blown laptop.

The NEC slate was a delight in many ways. It was a full-blown Windows computer (unlike the iPAQ) yet it was about the size of a typical notepad in a leather case.

The Tablet PC version of Windows XP delighted me, too. The handwriting recognition is quite impressive. It seemed about as good as what the Newton provided.

Pen input offered some other wonderful capabilities, including the ability to annotate electronic documents:

This is very helpful for grading papers and editing.

Though the NEC was outstanding in many ways, it had some problems, too. Sometimes it couldn’t be roused from sleep without rebooting, which made it too unreliable for meetings. The battery life was too short. And even though it was the smallest PC I’d ever owned, I felt it was too big to carry everywhere the way you’d carry a mobile phone without hesitation (it wasn’t too heavy but rather too big—obtrusive in a non-business setting).

So in round one of this period of computer madness, I found that a Pocket PC isn’t really powerful enough (isn’t really a PC) and that my slate-style Tablet PC was a bit under-powered and too big to keep with me all the time. I was, however, convinced that the Tablet PC platform is great for some things (mainly, using “ink” for taking notes and marking up “documents” that I need to edit).

Just as I was feeling disillusioned with the iPAQ and NEC slate, I stumbled across JK on the Run, a blog subtitled “using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds.” It’s a great information source. Its author James Kendrick has a profound mobile tech/gadget fetish, and he writes without the oh-so-hip sarcasm typical of some other gadget sites. James’ blog had several posts about how he’d installed the Table PC operating system on a Sony U, a tiny “ultra-portable” computer.

As soon as I read James’ entries, I knew I wanted a Sony U. It seemed like the perfect merger of the NEC slate and my Pocket PC—a small device whose portability would almost equal a Pocket PC but one that would, like my NEC slate, be a fully-functional Windows XP Tablet PC. I quickly ordered one.

At the time I learned about it, the U series was a still sold only in Japan. So I ordered mine from Dynamism, a firm that specializes in importing fancy gadgets to the US. I paid extra to get a U FedX’ed to me, and I enthusiastically unpacked it in my office in College Park. It booted up and started running through the registration process. I was awed by the screen quality and size. But suddenly the screen went black. The unit just died. Bad luck again!

I sent it back to Dynamism (they were very nice about it—I got a full refund) and ordered a U750 directly from Sony (they announced they’d be selling a US version of the U just about the time I ordered the U70 from Dynamism).

My U750 arrived while I was home in Alabama for Christmas. I was giddy about it. I even made a little video about my U.

Because the U was a Windows XP computer, I could use on it all the programs I normally relied on—Picasa, a web browser, Microsoft Office and Wenlin (which doesn’t exist for any PDA).

I paid about $750 to join the Microsoft Developer’s Network in order to get the Tablet version of Windows (I failed to find a viable alternative—consumers cannot buy the Tablet PC version of windows (only OEMs can), and I couldn’t extract it from the CDs that came with my NEC). When my MSDN membership code finally arrived, I successfully converted my U into a Tablet PC.

The display was brilliant; Sony calls their premium laptop screens “Xbrite,” and I adore the glossy, sharp, rich colors they offer.

Though the screen was tiny, this didn’t seem like a problem—you held the computer near your face for surfing, using both hands. The well-designed controls were placed around the edges next to the screen.

I surfed, emailed, blogged, managed photos and generally reveled in the tiny, capable device.

I took the U to Hong Kong in January 2005. I was leading a travel course on doing business in China. I used the U during some class meetings—presenters gave me USB thumb drives and I loaded their PowerPoint presentations on the U, giving them a wireless controller to advance the slides. I took a lot of photos and saved them to the U’s hard drive.

But, alas, the U developed problems. It started running slowly. The problem worsened until the computer was almost unusable. This may have been due to to a “memory leak” in the Tablet version of Windows, a bug that became widely recognized later (but perhaps not, because I restarted the computer several time, which would I think have reset the memory problem). Perhaps I had accidentally banged the computer around, damaging the hard drive. Whatever the source of the problem, the U’s slow performance became crippling and caused me to be unable to complete and share with the students a slideshow that I’d planned to show to cap off the class. (I finished it later, using a different computer while the U was repaired by Sony). That began to break the spell of enchantment.

Also, I discovered that while I adored the U’s size, I didn’t like having the keyboard and optical drive as external components. I didn’t like having to remember to keep up with them. Also, toting around external components meant the U was not really as small as it seemed.

If the device had worked reliably I wouldn’t have been as irritated by the U’s expense, but once problems emerged the cost of the U became another factor weighing against keeping it. Sony charged an extortionate amount for an higher-capacity battery and bootable optical drive, both of which I’d bought. The MSDN subscription had been unconscionably expensive (as a means to acquire an operating system). I’d also ordered a leather case and some other accessories. Adding all that to the cost of the U itself, I’d spent a staggering amount.

Another critical issue was that I found that writing with a stylus wasn’t a very fast way for me to input text. As good as Windows’ handwriting recognition has become, I find a keyboard is still better for rapid, accurate input of substantial amounts of text.

A critical issue with a tool is its “transparency,” meaning do you “see” through the tool, forgetting it is there, so that you concentrate on the work, not the tool. Keyboards are highly transparent. Pen input is not yet transparent enough, at least for me. The U, like the NEC slate and the iPAQ, was not going to be the device I wanted.

Feeling frustrated by my expensive and time-consuming attempts to use “unusual” devices, I decided to sell the U and take my wife’s suggestion to buy a “normal” computer.

I looked at a few different models. The list of finalists included: a Sony T, a Sony FS and a Toshiba M45. The T was a tiny but conventional clamshell-design notebook computer. The FS and M45 were both full-size notebooks, each offering a big, brilliant display.

I decided 1) to go for a bigger computer with no “weird” functions and 2) choose the Toshiba M45 over the Sony FS. I went for a full-size computer because I was still frustrated by the U and my experience with the NEC slate and iPAQ. I chose the Toshiba over the Sony model because I’d had some bad luck with Sony–I’d had problems with the U and was still annoyed with the repair problems I’d experienced with the Sony Vaio whose break-down helped trigger this whole period of computer madness.

I adored the Toshiba M45. The keyboard felt silky (and after the U I was delighted to have one!). Its “TruBrite” screen was lush—it had sharp, vivid, saturated colors. It was a joy to look at photos on that screen–I recall drinking in the glossy blacks. The M45′s 100GB hard drive was also luxurious. I’d never had a computer with such a large hard drive. For the first time I gathered all my digital photos in one place. I loved the ability to do that.

But the M45 had weaknesses that were the converse of its strengths. It was big—not a computer I could comfortably carry with me everywhere. Also, the battery life was short.

I still imagined that having a device that I could keep with me virtually all the time would help me write.

This led me to think again about a Sony T. I test drove one several times in different computer stores. The keyboard though small seemed quite viable. The battery life was much longer than what I was getting from the Toshiba. I longed for something that portable.

Finally I succumbed and got one. It was a T250 (I think the T150 was the latest model available when I bought the M45, but the T250 was out by the time I went back to get one).

For a while, the M45 and T250 provided a kind of equilibrium—one computer was big and luxurious and served as a desktop substitute while the other one was ultra-small and well-suited to travel.

Somewhere along the way in this period of computer madness I started using eBay to sell the devices I’d found unsatisfactory. The existence of a secondary market for electronics had been a critical factor enabling my technology addiction; I could recover a good bit of the value of products I’d used a few months.

But I also found stuff to buy on eBay.

On eBay I learned about the Sony Picturebook series. They are tiny notebook computers Sony sold a few years ago. They have built-in keyboards but lack optical drives.

With both the M45 and the T, I didn’t need, obviously, another computer, but the Picturebooks were seductive—so small. Also, I thought I’d like to experiments with Linux, and I didn’t want to use one of my expensive new computers as a guinea pig.

I read about the different Picturebook models and began to conservatively bid on some. Over several weeks I bid on many Picturebooks on eBay before finally getting one at a bargain price. When it arrived I blogged enthusiastically about it.

The Picturebook was too slow to be my main laptop, and the hard drive was too small to hold my photo collection, but it was a great size. I could carry it virtually everywhere. I liked its unusually wide screen. It was an excellent device for email and writing in a word processor.

I did try installing Linux on it. But that hit some hurdles because I didn’t initially have a bootable optical drive (Sony practices an insidious vendor lock-in, making their computers boot only with Sony external CD drives).

But, alas, my Picturebook was stolen. I put it in a bag that I placed on the floor at a public meeting in the Smith School. Someone made off with it. Damn bastard.

I considered replacing the Picturebook but never found the one I wanted at a cheap enough price. Plus, while I loved the form factor, Picturebooks were not made to run Windows XP with a lot of open programs. And as I noted their hard drives are rather small. Plus, with older computers there is a greater risk of break-down. So I haven’t replaced my stolen Picturebook, though I remain a fan of the design.

I was generally quite happy with my T250/M45 equilibrium, but in time I missed having a Tablet PC. I wanted one so that I could put ink annotations on student papers I had to grade. I also wanted one for taking notes. Also, I knocked the M45 off the coffee table one day, after which its hard drive began making a faint whirring sound. Might be a good time to move on, I began to think.

I knew that my next Tablet PC would have to be a convertible one, not a slate design like the NEC or U.

It was difficult to shop for Tablet PCs, though. I am picky about screens and keyboard, and these are subjective things. You need direct, personal experience with a device to make a judgement about its screen quality and keyboard feel. However, even the largest US computer chain stores don’t typically carry more than one or two Tablets—if that many.

I saw the Toshiba R15, a “consumer”-oriented model, in some stores. Initially I rejected it, thinking its screen appeared washed out. But one night at an Office Depot I took another look. I decided the screen wasn’t that bad, and the keyboard felt nice, too. Moreover the R15 was not, comparatively, that expensive. I was supposed to leave for a conference the next day and wanted a Tablet for note-taking. After inquiring about the return policy, I bought one.

The R15 was the first “convertible” Tablet PC I’d owned (a conventional clamshell style notebook whose screen can be converted for use as a Tablet). Immediately it was clear that for me a convertible is the right form factor. I liked having the keyboard and optical drive built-in, not as separate components that I’d have to remember to carry.

A keyboard remains for me the best tool for rapid, “transparent” text input. For those occasions when I want to use pen input, I could swivel the R15′s screen around and have a slate, albeit a thick, heavy one.

My wife left for an extended overseas trip and took our Sony T250, so I got a Sony T350 to use as my travel laptop.

The Sony T’s and Toshiba R15 offered a pretty good equilibrium for a while. I had a convertible Tablet PC with a fairly large screen, and when I need something smaller with longer battery life I could use one of the T’s.

But eventually I developed an itch to have a really, really big screen. I was using MindManager more and more, and a big screen helps when you are creating sprawling maps. I began looking at “desktop replacement” laptops.

I bought an HP Pavilion dv8040us. It’s the most powerful mobile computer I’ve ever owned. It has a 17″ screen, 160 GB of hard drive storage and a fast AMD Turion 64 processor running at 1.8 GHz. I adore it.

But the HP weighs eight pounds. It’s too big and heavy to carry casually. I sold the Sony T350 and T250 to pay for it, wanting to keep the Toshiba R15 since it was a Tablet PC. But the R15 is bulky and weighs more than six pounds, not that much less than the HP.

I wanted something 1) ultra-portable like the Sony T’s but 2) a Tablet PC like the Toshiba R15.

I found that merger in the Fujitsu P1510. It’s ultra-portable, even smaller than a Sony T, but it’s also a Tablet PC.

With the battleship HP and the tiny Fujitsu I’ve again established a good equilibrium in my computing life. My itch to find a new device is, for now, in remission.

My terribly expensive and time-consuming quest to find a device to help me write has been fun in many ways, but unfortunately no gadget can do much to solve writer’s block. It’s a psychological issue, not a technical one.

Another lesson of my quest is that there is no perfect computer. There is no perfect notebook computer for two main reasons:

First, designing a notebook computer involves a series of trade-offs between various features, size, weight, battery life and affordability.

Second, even if a particular notebook offers the optimal set of trade-offs for your needs most of the time, your moods and needs vary, so the optimal set of trade-offs for one moment is not the optimal arrangement for another.

The solution for me is to have two computers. This is an admittedly extravagant approach. But I find having two quite different devices provides something close to equilibrium. It addresses my alternating dissatisfaction with either single device (or dissatisfaction with a single device that tries to compromise between the best attributes of multiple devices).

Anybody currently in Beijing want to buy a slightly used Toshiba R15 Tablet PC?