I have no input to give on Trinity, but I
do have a tablet PC (Gateway CX2724), and I LOVE it. Our lecture slides are given to us in PDF form before the lecture, and this coupled with Microsoft OneNote (esp. 2007) is a wonder. I sit there in class, record with the built-in microphone, and write scribbles all over the slides. Later, I print them off at 4 slides a page, after typing up my notes.
Here is the big misconception people have about Tablet PCs, so I'll try and clarify. When it comes to taking notes, there are 2 types of 'handwriting recognition'. Now, I have horrible handwriting, so this may be different for you. When you write all over the screen, often times in different directions and at very quick speeds, it will be difficult to highlight them, click a button, and have flawless handwriting --> text conversion (although this option does exist). The way I use it is the same way I would use paper and pen - I write my notes on the slides, and then fill them type them into more organized documents later. However, say you went for a Slate style tablet (mine's convertible - swivel screen, etc), where there is no keyboard, and you needed to look something up on the internet. Boot up firefox/IE, go to the address bar, and the TIP (table input panel) pops up. Write, in your normal handwriting (even my horrible chicken-scratch), and it'll almost perfectly translate - and if not, it is v. easy to fix it as you continue writing.
as a side note: one of the most amazing features that i found is so simple, but i'm so glad it's there. it's called the 'scratch out', or something like that. if you're like me and write so fast that you don't have time or are just too lazy to flip to an eraser, just scratch out what you want erased - and poof! it's gone. i say i use this on an almost daily basis - not because the digitizer doesn't make my writing look like i want it (it definitely does), but because i write too fast and tend to jumble/mash/confuse my letters.
oh yeah also, throwing drawings and diagrams, and even stealing little images from teh internet and throwing em in your notes is a breeze
and nowadays, some tablets are hardware wise just as good, and cost the same as, if not less, than their normal counterparts - so why not?
any more questions just PM me, i tend not to check the forums too often anymore (whoo summer!
)