Building cool and functional paper airplanes was never my forte but this site makes it easy for anyone to make a great one.  Labelled the “DC3″ of paper airplanes the site offers step by step instructions for turning a sheet of ordinary paper into a cool flying machine.  The author even includes a PDF page with all folds indicated so you can print it out and make a paper airplane that flies just like the real thing.  You know, for your kids. 

Skype now allows users to make calls to toll-free numbers in several countries free of charge, even if you don’t have SkypeOut.  You can now call the following countries using toll-free numbers:

Why is Skype doing this?  From their website:

If you’re a Skype user, here’s the deal. You can call the toll-free numbers in many countries even if you haven’t bought SkypeOut and don’t ever plan to. You can also use this to see that SkypeOut works well for you as a sort of “try before you buy at no risk”.

If you are a company or service provider who provides access to customers over the phone, it means you can accept global toll-free calls from users all over the world using the procedures and phone system that are already in place. (Well… you could do that also using the free Skype-to-Skype calls, but you may not want to, for various reasons. So we don’t push you, we believe in choice. Use whichever is more convenient for you.)

Unless you are as old as some of us around you may not remember that IBM introduced a pen-enabled ThinkPad in 1993.  The ThinkPad 750P was ahead of its time with no real OS support to take good advantage of the pen capability, and since the screen folded back to a slate configuration was the first convertible notebook as far as I can tell.  Alan Zeichick not only remembers the 750P fondly but he still has one and since he recently received the new Lenovo ThinkPad X41 it just seemed fitting to compare the two, complete with side by side photos.  Brings back fond memories, sniff.  Alan’s done a good review of the X41 so the article is a double treat for anyone looking for information about the ThinkPad Tablet PC.  Here’s a teaser:

But on the right side of my desk is an IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC, which blows the metaphorical socks off every Tablet PC that I’ve ever seen.

Join me today in wishing Tablet PC Show co-host Marc Orchant a very happy birthday!  It is a very special day for Marc as he can now get that big discount at Denny’s!   

There is little doubt the Motion LE1600 Tablet PC is one of the most capable slate Tablets available today and anyone who has followed Tablet MVP Rob Bushway’s journey with his LE1600 can see how great the device is.  Rob has chronicled his experience with the new Motion from the delivery by FedEx to a full review of the LE1600.  Of particular interest to many, well certainly to me, is how the new convertible keyboard holds up in daily use.  While slates are intended to be used strictly with the pen, Motion produces a convertible keyboard that is easy to carry with the LE1600 for those times when you need a full keyboard.  Rob has been using this keyboard for a while and he has penned his thoughts on using the keyboard for those who are curious.  It is apparent Rob likes the keyboard overall with some minor exceptions he has noted.  The biggest problem I think I would have with this keyboard is the inability to attach it to the back of the slate for transport with the extended battery attached.  How can any OEM make such a poor design decision such as that?

I am testing the BlogJet program for creating blog posts offline for upload at a later time. BlogJet looks really nice since it works with just about every blogging service out there (TypePad included) and most importantly lets me include graphic smileys!    I have used the program in the past but got away from it due to some early incompatibility problems with my particular setup but I think this current version (1.5) will work OK.  I also like the integrated spell check which is a big plus for me.  The latest TypePad upgrade broke the Google Toolbar spell check option in the TypePad rich text editor so this will let me edit in WYSIWYG and still spell check.  Check out the attached voice note that BlogJet makes very easy to do.  Not something I’m likely to use every day but it’s pretty cool. 

The Washington Post took a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC and according to the reviewer "gets it right".  The reviewer likes the feel of the pen on the screen and the quality of the hinge swivel mechanism.  If you are interested in another look at the X41 give it a read.  BTW, the reviewer’s wife wants one now.

(via Scott Sherman)

I have been a long-time follower of Jeff Kirvin’s Writing on your Palm website because Jeff’s writings are usually right on the money where mobile technology and PDAs are concerned.  While a big fan of Palm devices Jeff has never hesitated to use other products like the Zodiac (just discontinued) and Windows Mobile devices when he thinks they will better suit his needs.  Jeff has been writing a lot lately about mini-Tablets and how they might be the panacea that mobile enthusiasts have been seeking.  Sound familiar?     Jeff has a nice commentary on the forums for WOYP that takes a look at what WindowsVista might mean for mobile devices.  It’s a good thought-provoking piece that you might want to give a read.  From Jeff:

I’ve gone to great lengths recently to point out how Windows Vista can scale down to a PDA-like device. While battery technology itself isn’t likely to improve much, next-generation Centrinos will get more energy efficient, OLED screens will mature, hard Drives with flash-based cache will become common. Vista’s new Avalon display engine makes it much easier for developers to write applications that gracefully scale up and down to different screen sizes. By 2008, you’ll be able to buy a device roughly the size, weight, price and battery life of the current HP hx4705 that can run all the same apps you use on your desktop and automatically keep your data in sync over WiFi.

France Telecom is making a concerted effort to converge home communications and entertainment services into the Livebox service that has been available to customers for some time.  They recently announced the addition of "Liveservices" which adds a WiFi-based cordless home phone to the internet, telephone and television services that comprise the LIvebox offering.  The cordless phone device is called Livephone and uses a wireless link to Livebox’s Internet connection to provide cheap phone calls and other services. to subscribers.  The Livephone uses a connection to the user’s address book (web based) to find and dial numbers, and will also tell users if they have new email, display weather, traffic and news on the phone.  All of this can be accomplished without turning on a PC.  This is an excellent package for customers of France Telecom and is a big step on the way to total convergence in the home for communications and entertainment.

(via ITtoolbox)