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From: edjames@ic.Berkeley.EDU (Ed James)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Flat Displays and Portable Computers
Message-ID: <1223@ucbcad.berkeley.edu>
Date: Wed, 14-Jan-87 20:40:33 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbcad.1223
Posted: Wed Jan 14 20:40:33 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Jan-87 18:57:56 EST
References: <1191@ucbcad.berkeley.edu> <191@its63b.ed.ac.uk>
Sender: news@ucbcad.berkeley.edu
Reply-To: edjames@ic.Berkeley.EDU (Ed James)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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In article <191@its63b.ed.ac.uk> bob@its63b.ed.ac.uk (Bob Gray) writes:
>Make it with a touch sensitive screen, Throw away the
>keyboard and the pointer (mouse), and use a stick for making
>notes on the screen.
>
>A handwriting analyser would be nice, to clean up my writing
>and reduce storage needs, but a bit beyond current software.
>
>All the advantages of a real bit of paper plus the computer
>power of one of todays bit-mapped workstations with a mouse.
>It gives a whole new meaning to writing a program.
>	Bob.
>	ERCC.


Ug!  Touch sensitive screens?  I have enough trouble keeping *other* people's
grubby finger prints off my screen.  :-)

I can type much faster than I can write.  My hand gets stiff after an
hour of writing, but this rarely happens when I type.  As for 
writing on a screen, did you every use a ball point pen on a solid
surface?  Paper 'gives', a screen surfaces doesn't.  The writing surface 
would have to be slightly soft, but this would probably shorten it's
useful life greatly.

It's a really fun idea, and potentially incredibly useful.  I am even
beginning to believe it's within current technology to produce one
that was fairly cheap (~$1K).  So who's gonna build it?  :-)
									--ed