Yesterday on10 shared a video spotlight on a fifth grade using all tablets and going paperless. The tablet shines in an educational environment.

Today is day 472 in my engaging Tablet PC journey and some might have noticed I haven’t been writing as much about the tablet since my I/O problems began near Day 445. It’s amazing how much wind from sails computer hardware problems can bring on. It’s true that if I would have shipped it in for repair I would have gotten it back by now, but a lingering thought disturbs me that this isn’t really hardware related, despite what Motion support told me.

Support was just a little too quick to tell me to send it in for repair (on my dime, of course).

I still have the tablet hooked up and use it daily, although since I can no longer use the USB port for some key functionality, I’ve started finding creative ways to use other devices with my 10% broken device. For example, I’m relying even more on Synergy than I did before to control the device from another computer, especially during keyboard functions.

Just fix it already
I need to block out some time to actually get to the bottom of these alleged I/O problems. I believe they are driver related and that by reverting to the original factory install I might be able to bring things back to normal.

So here I’ve been sitting, some $2,500 USD of tablet in front of me with a 90% working machine. I can use the digital camera via USB and mouse, but not the keyboard or CD or my powered USB hub in its current condition

Origami lust
Meanwhile, I’m excited about the UMPC aka Origami and a purchase of one of those might get me back on track with feeling the tablet love. I think the pricing is right on that device and I like how it can be controlled by touch or with stylus. I can see several portable uses for those devices and I’m willing to lift my don’t buy a tablet until Vista comes out ban to buy one of these simply because of how cool they look. I’m concerned about the battery power.

Do hardware problems get you down?
Do you find when you have computer (hardware) problems that it can cause you to lose interest in a computing device? I even went as far as to put away my Tablet Guy … the horror!

• Day 445: Tablet I/O board problems
• Origami “taking shape as a very small tablet computer” says CNET
• Day 508: 10% broken and easy to forget about Bluetooth
• Origami = Ultimate Mobile PC
• Tablet PC musical keyboard neat but not useful
• $159 or $269 for lowend Linspire powered machine at Fry’s