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Weblog:   Bad Handwriting and the Tablet PC
Subject:   RE: I'd love an Apple Tablet
Date:   2003-09-29 17:10:13
From:   derrick
Response to: I'd love an Apple Tablet

OK, so I have to ask you, because obviously you've scribbled more on a Tablet PC than I have: Why is it that you don't lose your notes anymore? And why do you take better notes with a stylus than with typing. I'm curious, and I think others would be interested too.


PS: Glad to see Tablet PC fans out there to keep the embers burning.

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  • RE: I'd love an Apple Tablet
    2003-09-30 10:37:22  anonymous2 [Reply | View]

    Let me start off by admitting that I organize poorly and have never taken to note taking with a keyboard. Tools like sticky brain have never grabbed me. I tend to use whatever is handy to write notes on, and then lose the notes. Being non-organized, I could never keep things in any coherent order within the paper notebook anyway.

    So I got a Motion tablet. For whatever reason, using it as both a laptop and a tablet has been intuitive for me. I open a note or journal, start writing and save it. It is easy. And when you need to draw a network diagram or something like that, it is great. So is the ability to switch ink colors and pen sizes.

    I do not rely on the writing to text translation very often. I can recognize my handwriting just fine in the notes. I could care less if someone else really needs to read it. Now it would be nice if I could write anywhere in the screen and have the text translated well into whatever program I was using. Typing URLs and commands in a shell prompt come to mind.

    • Derrick Story photo RE: I'd love an Apple Tablet
      2003-09-30 13:50:05  Derrick Story | O'Reilly AuthorO'Reilly Blogger [Reply | View]

      I'm glad you followed up with my question because you confirmed what I suspected. These different types of tools -- Tablet PCs, laptops, PDAs -- appeal differently to different people. It depends on how you're wired, right?

      That's why I love these types of conversations. When each of us is contemplating what type of tool to buy, it really helps to read why others have made the choices they have. The Tablet PC will probably never do it for me, and the laptop alone will probably never do it for you. But the fact that people can read *why* is what's cool.

      Much thanks!
  • RE: I'd love an Apple Tablet
    2003-09-30 09:08:30  anonymous2 [Reply | View]

    I'm a college engineering student who probably could not live without my tablet pc. I would never dream of taking math, physics, or engineering notes by typing them on a laptop. The multitude of diagrams, tables, charts that I just draw would take too much time using a mouse and keyboard. The professor would have moved on by then! And the organization that OneNote provides is a boon to someone unorganized like myself.

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