Before you read this, I know that I have left off some piece of tablet software that you dearly love. But for people looking to understand the basics of Tablet PC software, these apps will open enough doors that they will find whatever I left off. Feel free to tell me what I missed in the comments. (With attitude please!)

Ink Enabled - Software that allows you to interact directly in that program using ink instead of using middleman software like the TIP. See Below.

TIP - Tablet Input Panel. This is a small piece of tablet PC software that harnesses the full power of modern computing hardware, not to solve world hunger, but to convert the chicken scratch handwriting that you have leftover from being a lazy six year old into something that can be understood by a software application that is too dumb to simply let you use ink directly. But I’m not bitter.

Floating TIP - Yeah, it was like the TIP dude, but floating. Out there in the clouds. Above your cursor. Don’t you see it officer? Uh, they’re clove cigarettes. Yeah. You don’t see the floating tip man? Did you install it on your UMPC? It’s not there by default on a UMPC, only on a tablet. You have to like, install it separately dude.

Experience Pack/Education Pack/Touch Pack - In the early days of Tablet PC’s, software traveled in packs for safety. A pack provided some protection from the ravages of hungry software reviewers. An application was harsh and cold and deserved a severe review. Packs were warm and fuzzy collections of little apps, like bunnies. Easy to download and take home to your tablet named Sammy or Binky. The Touch Pack continued this tradition on the UMPC. It’s older siblings, the Experience and Education Packs are now in the wild for everyone to enjoy. But the Touch Pack is still only easily available on a UMPC.

Line Rider - Like Meth for a Tablet PC. Only better. All those other schmucks have to use a mouse to draw lines in this wildly addictive game. You get to use a PEN to DRAW. Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner!

OneNote 2007 - See OneNote 2003. See also Positive Effects of Steroid Use. OneNote 2007 is familiar enough that you won’t get lost and improved enough that you won’t go back. Just read some of the blogs by people smarter than me in the tablet space and you’ll see more than you ever wanted to know about how to use OneNote.

TEO 3.0 - Tablet Enhancements for Outlook. ”Yes that’s right dispatch, it’s Outlook alright. But it’s bigger somehow, and badder. Oh my god, it’s got a pen! Send backup!”  TEO turns Outlook into Rambo. Please buy this software. My wife will be mad if I make Josh Einstein move in with me and pay his bills so he can continue developing TEO. His wife will be mad too.

PDF Annotator - What Adobe Acrobat wishes it could be, on it’s best day, with a pen.

Windows Journal - OneNote, before it grew up. Still very nice, like playing Atari Flashback even though you own an XBox 360.

URotate - If you have a Q1(and I believe some other UMPC’s), this is like a Merry Go Round for your screen. Dump the default screen rotation and use this. Let the Q1 have a little fun!

(Note: Upon rereading this, I’ve found a surprising number of drug references. Perhaps that’s because I find the stupidity of drug use to be incredibly sad and use humor to poke fun at that stupidity. Perhaps its because Tablet PC’s are extremely addicting. Unfortunately, all of you will probably understand these references too.)

Apparently, I am unable to write a short post, deal with it. Let the long list of things I left off begin.

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