Gates Unveils 'OneNote' Office Application

In his Sunday evening keynote address at COMDEX Fall 2002, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced a new addition to Microsoft Office dubbed "OneNote." Slated to enter beta testing early next year, OneNote captures notes within its tabbed interface for easy organization and access. Tablet PC users will be able to store handwritten notes and draw pictures and diagrams using the pen input device.

Auto-save and search capabilities will be included with OneNote. The tabbed interface will also enable management of multiple notebooks for categorizing different types of notes.

"Note-taking is a highly personal process that has not been well supported by computer software," said Microsoft group vice president of productivity and business services, Jeff Raikes. "OneNote complements individual styles for capturing and organizing thoughts. It pairs the flexibility of a paper notebook with the organizational efficiency of digital content. By creating new applications such as OneNote, we are keeping the Microsoft Office family fresh and making strides to meet our goal of improving information-worker productivity."

OneNote is the second new application to be introduced as part of the Office 11 Family, which is currently in its first beta phase. In October, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showcased XDocs, a word processor that utilizes XML-based forms for organizing and sharing data collected in documents.

Microsoft expects to ship OneNote in the middle of next year, but as with XDocs, the company has not yet announced pricing and packaging details. Interested Office users can get an early look by signing up for the OneNote beta program.