Another long Friday… Don’t forget the Tablet PC!

This one was a bit different. Sunny yes, but I spent a few days as a non-manager doing an actual server install for a client in Seattle. Normally, you won’t find me doing actual coding or billable work, but this is a big client (one of the big wireless companies) and it was just easier to do it myself and make us look good.

Driving home from Seattle on I5 though? 4 hours of traffic. I spent the WHOLE time on the phone for work calls. Even stopped and bought a charger and a headset so that I could drive 40 and be on the phone.

Working on a deal to integrate SAP, Oracle and Peoplesoft Purchasing into a network using Tibco. Amazing how some programmers have a can do attitude and others sound like nothing can be done! Just have to throw that out there. And often the guy who says it can’t be done is the one who does it in an hour!

Not to forget that Tablet PC. As someone (Lora I believe) pointed out, MSN does support ink. In fact, INCREDIBLY well. But that is for chat. I am beginning to architect the pieces of an IM client that does SO much more. I want a single place in my Tablet for both IM and for notetaking. Gmail as well I think! And I’m not talking about simple here.

Those notes? I need to be able to mine that data from my desktop! I need to be able to get at it from any web browser. That is the beauty of paper. You take the notes with you. With the Tablet, if your battery is out, or you just want to quickly see that note, you’re stuck.

So I want to use the underlying chat protocol to send those messages to a central server. I want them to get put into a searchable archive. If I take messages when I’m not on a network, I want the app to sense the network and send queued messages to the server.

I haven’t yet decided that the server needs to then send them back out to my desktop, or notebook. Maybe it only has to be a oneway push. But what about notes that I take on my desktop? I want them to be available on the tablet. Even if the tablet isn’t on the network. So I guess I am really talking about a mesh of some sort…

Well, just a few of the things that I’m pondering…

Smile, it is SATURDAY!