What features does Lonestar include?
Lonestar is the codename for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, the second release of Microsoft’s Tablet PC OS. This release adds several features that make the Tablet PC platform more viable, especially in the crucial data-entry category. At Fall COMDEX 2003, Bill Gates first demonstrated improvements to the Tablet PC OS’s Info Panel, the pop-up window that appears when you need to input Digital Ink into a Windows control, such as a text box. In previous versions, the software had to contextually determine whether you were writing letters or numbers, which was processor- and time-intensive. (For example, did you write a “5” or an “S”?) In the new version, developers can restrict the types of input each control can accept. So if an input box is designed for a phone number, it will accept only numbers and be better able to determine what you’re writing. And Microsoft redesigned the Info Panel to resize on the fly so that you can write more at one time, which is a nice feature. Tablet PC
