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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Flat Displays and Portable Computers
Message-ID: <7522@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Jan-87 16:45:00 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.7522
Posted: Wed Jan 14 16:45:00 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Jan-87 16:45:00 EST
References: <1191@ucbcad.berkeley.edu>, <191@its63b.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 24

> 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.

Not if you're going to be entering substantial amounts of text.  Typing
is much faster than handwriting because it uses simpler motions and gets
the fingers going in parallel to some degree.  It's also a lot easier on
the muscles for prolonged work -- remember that you can't rest your fingers
on a touch-sensitive screen!  (This is also a problem for prolonged use of
stick-like pointers even in the absence of text entry.)

Don't forget a gallon drum of Windex for cleaning the touch-sensitive screen,
by the way.  They pick up fingerprints fast.

> A handwriting analyser would be nice, to clean up my writing
> and reduce storage needs, but a bit beyond current software.

Actually feasible, I believe, given that it can watch the character being
drawn.  The sequence and direction of the strokes adds a lot of useful
information.  Recognizing "pre-printed" handwriting is hard, but I recall
it being manageable with the extra information.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry