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The fall of Big Paper

forbes.com

21–27 of 27 posts

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#21
post #12

What would solve a lot of my problems with paper and current electronic solutions: Imagine some kind of touch mirasol with a matte screen and very thin body. You have a mode available where you can write on it with a stylus and can easily erase using your finger. As you write, you get instantaneous updates that simply show your handwriting, making it look very similar to if you had written it on paper. Certain motion…

The Newton had the handwriting recognition that was decent (kind of, if you printed and trained the unit enough) and it could convert a written word to computer text as you wrote. You could also just write and later on convert everything to text.

The same applied to diagrams as well. Draw a sloppy box, and the Newton could clean it up for you, turning it into a vector image.

Everything was automatically saved---there was no "desktop" or "files" on the Newton (in many ways, it's the proto iPod/iPhone). What you are asking for is possible with today's technology, except for the folding bit.

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#23
post #12

What would solve a lot of my problems with paper and current electronic solutions: Imagine some kind of touch mirasol with a matte screen and very thin body. You have a mode available where you can write on it with a stylus and can easily erase using your finger. As you write, you get instantaneous updates that simply show your handwriting, making it look very similar to if you had written it on paper. Certain motion…

Instead of using a stylus to write text perhaps invent a grid of letters; when you tap a letter it appears on the screen. I wonder if it would ever take off?

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#24

I wonder if having multiple tablets so that we didn't have to switch apps so much to take notes would render paper obsolete. Imagine a student with three tablets open side by side, one in a note app, one in a textbook app and a third one for other apps. With tablet prices going down in prices, this isn't such an unbelievable scenario. I haven't seen anyone using multiple tablets yet. Has anyone else witnessed it?

I wonder if at some point we'll bypass the issue entirely with spatially-aware LCD glasses. Want to visualize some data? Just draw it in the air, and move it wherever is convenient.

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#25

I wonder if having multiple tablets so that we didn't have to switch apps so much to take notes would render paper obsolete. Imagine a student with three tablets open side by side, one in a note app, one in a textbook app and a third one for other apps. With tablet prices going down in prices, this isn't such an unbelievable scenario. I haven't seen anyone using multiple tablets yet. Has anyone else witnessed it?

I wonder if having multiple tablets so that we didn't have to switch apps so much to take notes would render paper obsolete.

Where does the assumption that we mostly use paper to take "notes" from things we read in other computer media come from?

Imagine a student with three tablets open side by side, one in a note app, one in a textbook app and a third one for other apps.

And why not imagine just one tablet with note-taking integrated or a way to switch between apps momentarily?

It's not like you don't already divert your eyes and attention from the physical book to the paper you take notes in in order to take a note. So, why have two tablets?

Also why the third tablet? If the student is studying some textbook and keeping notes, why would he have other apps open? So he could destroy his attention span?

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#26
post #8
post #3

While programming I love scribbling down notes and ideas on a notepad. There is something about the change in mindset or context from screen and keyboard to pen and paper that helps me see the whole picture of what I am working on, or even just get a thought out of my head temporarily to be able to stay on the current task. Does anyone else do this, and have you found any piece of technology to replace that?

I have a real desire for a ~ 8.5x11 (or A4, it doesn't really matter I guess) size whiteboard built into my desk right in front of my keyboard. That could probably replace paper for 95% of my ideas. If they could come out with a finer tipped marker, I would be in heaven.

I have one that's roughly 11x17 and not mounted to anything. Works great!

Re: The fall of Big Paper

#27
post #25

I wonder if having multiple tablets so that we didn't have to switch apps so much to take notes would render paper obsolete. Imagine a student with three tablets open side by side, one in a note app, one in a textbook app and a third one for other apps. With tablet prices going down in prices, this isn't such an unbelievable scenario. I haven't seen anyone using multiple tablets yet. Has anyone else witnessed it?

I wonder if having multiple tablets so that we didn't have to switch apps so much to take notes would render paper obsolete. Where does the assumption that we mostly use paper to take "notes" from things we read in other computer media come from? Imagine a student with three tablets open side by side, one in a note app, one in a textbook app and a third one for other apps. And why not imagine just one tablet with not…

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