So the W3c have a working draft of InkML and looking at the authors there is no sign of Microsoft at all. Interesting enough HP, Corel, Apple and IBM as well as others are there.
I can see why Apple and Corel would be very interested.
But whats this xml spec do?
This document describes the syntax and semantics for the Ink Markup Language for use in the W3C Multimodal Interaction Framework as proposed by the W3C Multimodal Interaction Activity. The Ink Markup Language serves as the data format for representing ink entered with an electronic pen or stylus. The markup allows for the input and processing of handwriting, gestures, sketches, music and other notational languages in Web-based applications. It provides a common format for the exchange of ink data between components such as handwriting and gesture recognizers, signature verifiers, and other ink-aware modules.
Which you must agree with me, is highly amazing and I cant wait to see how this blends with other standards such as rdf, svg, etc. Theres already talk of SMIL.
A photo taken with a digital camera can be annotated with a pen; the digital ink can be coordinated with a spoken commentary. The ink annotation could be used for indexing the photo (for example, one could assign different handwritten glyphs to different categories of pictures).
Once again a dual category post = Tabletpc and XML