Because the very first video clip and picture leaks went public final week of Microsoft;s alleged second-generation Tablet Pc, tipsters have been working overtime.Because Microsoft isn;t commenting in any way on Courier (the official statement is “we don;t comment on rumors or speculation”), it;s tough to separate fact from fiction at this point.But some tipsters are a little more connected than others. And one of my connected tipsters has shared some new info with me that I;m posting now,
Office Professional 2010, given that it seems more verifiable.I say “verifiable” here, not in an official sense, but based on a new Courier video clip clip Gizmodo posted on September 29. Gizmodo;s new clip shows more details about the journaling model around which Courier;s user interface seems to revolve. From Gizmodo;s explanation:“The (Courier) journal can actually be published online, and it;s shown here as able to be downloaded in three formats: a Courier file,
Office 2010 Professional Plus, Powerpoint or PDF. There;s also a library that looks a lot like Delicious Library, where things like subscriptions, notebooks and apps, are stored.”That sure makes the Courier sound like it fits in with Microsoft;s uber-”three screens and a cloud” vision — via which devices, TVs and PCs all share common cloud-based services, storage, etc.The Courier journaling metaphor isn;t so different from Microsoft;s OneNote note-taking app that is currently the showcase app for existing tablet PCs, my “connected” source said. He explained:“The concept started as a software idea on how one would really build OneNote from scratch if you could for the Tablet form factor. That then morphed into building a tablet. If you look at the most successful pocket personal computer today - it is still the Franklin Covey Planning Products. So, the idea was how do you create a digital planner.”My source also claimed that the working system underneath Courier is — at least currently —
Windows 7. (That;s not as crazy as it might seem, offered that the OS underlying Microsoft;s Surface is Vista — and
Windows 7 is touch-enabled.)You can;t install
Windows 7 apps on Courier, the source said,
Office 2007, and that;s intentional.The original Microsoft Tablets “failed considering the applications were not tailored to a tablet form factor - that is, Word still had toolbars and menus and scollbars. So, a tablet needs to be like an iPhone - a UX that is specific for the form factor,” the source said.My source said that Courier is an incubation project, meaning it;s further along than a Microsoft Research project, but still not in the commercialization pipeline. That said,
Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise, he heard the delivery goal is mid-2010. That seems pretty darn ambitious to me, but he also said Microsoft is currently leaning toward using the Xbox model — in other words,
Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus, making the device itself, and not relying on its current Tablet partners — so that could speed things up a bit.I can;t verify any of what my source has told me. But I figured I;d put it out there, as it jibes with what Gizmodo has unearthed.What;s your take? Is the Courier protoype we;re hearing and seeing bits and pieces about something you could see having wider appeal than the current era of Tablets?