Windows Applications At The Tip Of A PenWindows Applications At The Tip Of A Pen

A t the heart of Microsoft's upcoming Tablet PC is a version of Windows XP that lets users enter handwritten notes in documents and manipulate on-screen objects using a digital pen. Soon, the interface will become prevalent throughout Microsoft's product line. Even Microsoft applications and operating systems running on desktop PCs will be able to read the data type Microsoft calls "digital ink."

"One thing we understood very early and have been faithful to as a design principal is that you have to be able to run all your Windows applications with a pen," says Microsoft distinguished engineer Chuck Thacker. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, which will run on hardware due next year from Compaq and other vendors, includes a set of controls that let developers support digital ink and stylus use in their applications using the C# language, Visual Basic, and the Win32 API set.

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition will also include Microsoft's .Net Framework run-time environment and class libraries, and ClearType software for more legible on-screen reading. Included with the platform is a new application called Journal, which lets users take handwritten notes, then edit and search those notes as if they were text.

"One reason Microsoft is going to make the Tablet PC successful is they're making it so easy to write for it," says Mike Cherry, an analyst at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft and a former Microsoft employee. "Previously, you had to be a pretty good C programmer to create an ink application."

Some independent software vendors are already beginning to write for the Tablet. Groove Networks Inc., in which Microsoft invested $51 million, is working on a version of its peer-to-peer groupware that would let users mark up PowerPoint presentations and other files using digital ink.

Autodesk chief technology officer Scott Borduin says the company is experimenting with pen inputs for its industrial mapping software, Architectural Studio design application, and Streamline mechanical blueprint environment for mobile devices. "When you start talking about a 10,000-part semiconductor manufacturing machine, it simply will not work on a PDA," he says.

Corel has a version of its Corel Draw Essentials tool running on Tablet Windows and envisions its Painter application also running on Tablets. But the company says it's "still in the assessment phase." Meanwhile, Microsoft's Visio division is building into its app the ability to annotate and mark up technical drawings and diagrams with digital ink on a Tablet.