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Tablet PC OS Gets Free Update

Longhorn may be a couple of years off, but Tablet PC users won't have to wait that long for an update. Microsoft plans to release a free upgrade, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2004, by mid-2004.

Code-named Lonestar, the upgrade focuses primarily on improving handwritten input. For example, when you place the pointer in a location that can take text (a document, browser address window, and so forth), the Text Input Panel--the window in which handwriting recognition takes place--will automatically appear as a small bubble that, when activated, will grow to its full size and appear close to the chosen text field instead of at the bottom of the display, as it does now. Microsoft has also given the TIP context-recognition capabilities--for example, if you're filling in a browser address window, the TIP will be more likely to recognize a URL as such. You'll also be able to catch and fix mistakes in the TIP before sending text to an application.

New development tools will allow creators of third-party applications to incorporate some of the operating system's new functionality into their software. Meanwhile, the beta of the upgrade is due in early 2004, with final code to follow sometime this spring.

Yardena Arar