Issue: 2007 - Vol. 4 - Issue 2 - Mobility

CoDe Focus Mobile Editorial by Markus Egger

Welcome to our second CoDe Focus issue on mobile PC development.

We all know that applications have evolved, and not just towards Web deployment, .NET Framework development, and mash-up functionality.

Growing up in the 80s, two of the concepts that drew me in to computer science were computers that were small enough to take with you (called “Luggables” then) and displays that were thin enough to hang on a wall.Technology has come a long way in that time-and the Ultra-Mobile class of personal computers that run the Windows Vista™ operating system is a great example of that progress. So what is a UMPC and why would I be interested in writing an application that is optimized for it?

“Why should I upgrade to Windows Vista™?” is the single most-asked question I get at work these days. Curiosity is driving a lot of folks towards this latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft. What’s new? What does it do? What’s in it for me? Everyone wants to know what’s so special about it and if it is worth it. “How much time do you have right now?” is usually my first reply, closely followed by, “Do you have a laptop?”

When Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition appeared in 2002, developers were sometimes confused about whether to write code on a Tablet PC or if it were possible to develop Tablet PC applications on existing desktop computers.The solution turned out to be fairly straightforward, if less than intuitive. However, with the addition of Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPCs), multiple releases of the Tablet and Touch Technology API, and now the Windows Vista™ operating system, this ques...tion arises again: What do you need to do to set up your developer environment and create applications for these form factors?See More

The Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) presents a new opportunity for existing applications to extend their potential audience. Microsoft® Windows® desktop applications can mobilize onto the UMPC platform, providing users with desktop functionality while on the move. Windows Mobile™ device applications can take advantage of the larger screen size and storage space of the UMPC to extend the application capabilities.

I think we’re making progress toward the goal of bending computers to conform to human factors rather than bending my human factors to conform to the way computers accept input.Ultimately, our brains will be plugged directly into “the grid,” but until then, users still have to learn how to type, control a mouse, and press buttons in certain sequences. The arrival of the Windows Vista™ operating system with Microsoft® Windows® Tablet and Touch Technology is another step t...oward really natural computing.See More

In the past year, new technologies from Microsoft have changed how we can add ink to Web sites and the change is definitely for the better!

Ink is a first-class citizen in the next generation of Microsoft® Windows® user interfaces.Microsoft built ink functionality into all versions of the Microsoft Windows Vista™ operating system, and the new Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) makes it easy to ink-enable your applications. Even using ink over moving video is easy in WPF!

The Tablet PC SDK makes it easy to incorporate digital ink and handwriting analysis into applications; and now the InkAnalysis API (available in Windows Vista™ as well as downlevel to the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system through a redistributable) takes it one step further.Actually, the InkAnalysis API exposes some of the lower-level functions that make handwriting recognition possible. It also exposes some functionality that can improve recognition results, suppo...rt shapes, alternative recognition results, and spatial analysis. In this article, I will take a deeper look into what goes on behind the scenes and how to take advantage of the tablet team’s hard work.See More

The Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) expands the market for PC games that run on Microsoft® Windows® XP, as long as developers consider certain design requirements to ensure a good user experience. In most cases, a single version of games can span both the UMPC and traditional PC platforms.

Providing access to information on your PC without having to boot the PC is one of the goals of Windows SideShow™.Windows SideShow device technology consists of a separate screen, CPU, and memory that you can use to view this information. The devices range from displays on the back of laptop lids to remote controls to credit-card sized screens you can put in your pocket. This article will explain how your applications can provide information on a Windows SideShow device.

Most applications will require some form of text input. By using the ITextInputPanel API you can optimize the pen text-input experience on Tablet PCs.If you have ever used a Tablet PC, you have most likely used Tablet PC Input Panel. Input Panel is the handwriting input tool that lies on top of your application so that you can insert handwritten text into any non-ink enabled Microsoft® Windows® control. Using Input Panel programmability is a great way to ensure that Inpu...t Panel provides the best possible pen input user experience in your application.See More

You have decided to take the plunge and create a Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition operating system-aware application. This decision comes with a new set of requirements when it comes to enabling Tablet PC-specific features and deployment of your application. This article will take you through the process of creating a Tablet PC-aware application and deploying it in the enterprise.