...seems to be usable! I had previously tried the Windows XP version and decided that it wasn't worth the effort, but having recently upgraded my tablet to Windows 7 I thought I'd give it another go.

Yesterday I took my machine in to work and along to a technical presentation, and tried taking notes with it "live".

It's not as quick as "real" handwriting, because it doesn't get everything right and you do have to go back and make corrections, but there are few enough that it's not too painful.

And in a sense it is real handwriting, because unlike Graffiti on the Palm, you don't have to modifying letter forms for the machine. You just write in joined-up writing and the software will try to figure it out.

Mostly it does a pretty good job even straight out of the box, thanks to a lot of handwriting data collected and analyzed from previous versions of Windows. You can also train it though, to do a better job of recognising your own personal hand.

So, I think that handwriting is now a credible alternative for interacting with a machine that supports it. However, I'm not sure how likely it is to get much use. First of all, you do need specialised hardware, although you no longer need a special version of the operating system. More importantly though, the type of people who are likely to want a tablet are also  likely to have got used to typing, and are likely to be faster doing so.

I like writing on my geriatric Palm, because it feels more natural than typing, to write on a little "notepad". It also feels more creative. I'm not so sure that this is true of a tablet. Because a tablet is really a specialised laptop, it's bigger, heavier and more unwieldy, and you have to lie it flat to write on it; or lean it against a table-edge, which is what I did yesterday. Your hand rests on the screen as if it were a piece of paper, but of course it doesn't feel like one as the tip of the stylus slides over it. Not having done much manual writing for years, l also find that my hand gets a bit tired writing anything as long as this.

Yes, this post is handwritten in my own handwriting, with the tablet balanced on my left leg as l sit on the sofa half-watching a DVD. It works, but it's tiring; so TTFN folks. :-)

To make up for the previous post on November 5th, about British sci-fi and fantasy TV that could only be watched online if you were inside the UK, here’s some that you can only watch if you’re outside the UK (including Edge of Destruction, which I’ve never seen − <gnash, grumble>). They’re on the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel. Unfortunately I can’t explore it effectively because I’m in the UK, but it definitely has:

• Edge of Destruction (First Doctor)
• The Krotons (Second Doctor)
• Carnival of Monsters (Third Doctor)
• The Caves of Androzani (Fifth Doctor)

and

• Day of the Triffids
• Quatermass Experiment (2005 live remake)

Because it’s viewable outside the UK, it’s advertising-supported; I don’t know how intrusive that will be.

When I was still at school in the early eighties, there was a young minister at the local church who lent me a copy of an album made by a band he’d heard at university in Edinburgh, where they were based. Only 500 copies of the album were made, to mark their retirement from gigging, and originals are apparently now highly collectable, fetching prices of over £1000.

Of course I returned the record after a few listens, and kept no copy – it’s quite possible we didn’t have a tape recorder at the time, even if it had occurred to me. But I remembered it as being a good album. One song in particular made an impression, something about Narnia.

This evening, for no  particularly good reason, I suddenly recalled the name of the band, which had long ago slipped to the back of my mind, and had a quick search on Google.

They’ve recently reformed and have a web site!

Not only that, but you can listen to the whole of that 1978 album online, and even order a CD copy from Amazon.

The band are called Cædmon, and have apparently been described as a number of things: Acid Folk, Prog Folk Rock, Psychedelic Folk, Wyrd Folk and Christian Folk Rock (the last being how they saw themselves at the time). The album is Caedmon’s Hymn, named after one of the tracks:

Forget the labels and give them a listen. Being what they are, they may not be your cup of tea, but I would recommend listening to Aslan at least before making up your mind. There’s not a lot of production, so there’s quite a clean, almost stark sound to their songs, with a female lead vocal, male backing, and few, distinct-sounding instruments. The sound is mostly folky, but with intermittently attacking electric guitar that justifies the rock labels. For a bit of variety, try listening to Living in the Sunshine, which has hints of jazz and calypso; and I was also glad to hear Ten Maidens Fair again – a story song retelling the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. I’m a sucker for songs that tell a story.

Visit the web site, listen to the album online, or buy it at Amazon. There also recent demos to listen to (mostly male vocals –apparently the former lead vocalist is too busy being a vet to rejoin the band). Ouagoudougou is interesting, with slightly Geordie-accented vocals over African-influenced music. A bit rough-edged, but I enjoyed it.

P.S. The band is named after the earliest named English poet. Cædmon's Hymn is his only surviving work, set to music on the album.

STV reporting of yesterday’s opening; so if you’re curious you can catch glimpses of our office. Some like qidane and tobyaw may spot folk they recognise (not me). The Insights item is at around 2:50. There's an annoying sponsor message first, and it's UK-only "for copyright reasons".

Poppies were required wear at work today. So was a suit, and so I wound up wearing two poppies, one on my coat and one on my suit.

Suits are not every-day work-wear for us, but then it was the day that Alex Salmond was officially opening our new office. In order for us to get the maximum personal enjoyment out of this momentous experience, employees were encouraged to tell their friends, presumably so that you can all feel jealous, or awe-struck or something. So there you go; you’ve been told! I saw the back of his head from a distance, if that helps to impress you.

Somehow people being treated as VIPs makes me come over all egalitarian, I’m afraid, despite respecting the FM’s abilities and recognising it’s a good thing for the company.

But today merited my coincidental two poppies none the less. With respect to Claude Choules, a British veteran living in Australia who often misses a mention, this was the first Armistice Day with no living World War I veterans in the UK.

That is a bit of a milestone. My eldest grandparent was only a little too young to have been involved, and within our lifetimes the number of British survivors of the war has dwindled from many to one. Inevitable, of course, but worth marking.

Thanks for Bill Stone, Henry Allingham, Harry Patch, and all the others they represent who didn’t travel with us so far, like my great uncle Pat.