On 9/6/07, Ted Gould <ted@gould.cx> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 2007-09-06 at 15:17 -0700, Dazed_75 wrote:
> >       * Is there a Linux (or Linux utility) that lets the user use a
> >         tablet PC in that manner?
> >       * Is there any real downside to such a system (e.g. inherently
> >         underpowered, etc)?
>
> I haven't tried it, but I'm considering using Xournal[1] for this the
> next time I have a chance.  Xournal allows you to load a PDF
> "background" and mark on it with your mouse/stylus/whatever and have all
> those annotations in another layer.  I use this extensively for marking
> up documents that people send to me on my Nokia 770.  I think it'd work
> for presentations also.  At the end of the day Xournal exports back to
> PDF with the background and the annotations on top.
>
> The only real downside for me is the fact that Xournal stores everything
> as bitmaps.  Really should be vectored.  It doesn't support any type of
> handwriting recognition either -- though I've never really wanted it.
>
> > Note, that using a graphics tablet does not sound good for a couple of
> > reasons, not the least of which being the difficulty of relating the
> > touch point on the tablet to the content of the presentation.  Writing
> > on one is even worse.
>
> I have no problem with this -- I find it's just a matter of getting used
> to using the graphics tablets.  But, Xournal was designed more for
> tablet computers, and works great on the 770.
>
>                 --Ted
>
> [1] http://xournal.sourceforge.net/
>
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>
Nifty.  Looks like there are several of these things based on the Jarnal
page that page links to.  Interesting that the ones I looked at both use
.pdf files as background on which to make annotations.

I also found http://tuxmobil.org/tablet_unix.html although some of the links
there are broken, it is clear that a number of folks have tried to use Linux
on tablet PCs.  Unfortunately one needs to follow a lot of links to see
which ones got the stylus input working.  It does seem like these two sets
of resources may provide an answer.

Thanks for the help!


-- 
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being
either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
  - George F. Will