The paper computer
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The paper computer
1–10 of 97 posts
Re: The paper computer
#2If I understand this correctly, you're talking about using paper as a computing interface? That's such a neat idea!
Re: The paper computer
#3If I understand this correctly, you're talking about using paper as a computing interface? That's such a neat idea!
Yeah, and it's really worth checking out https://dynamicland.org/, because Bret Victor is actually doing this -- slash pointing the way to what such a world could look like. It just seems like now might be a good time for specific smaller parts of that vision to be carved off and developed further. I say that largely because of the advances in multimodal AI, which maybe haven't been fully applied yet in this area.
Re: The paper computer
#4Reminds me of Paper Website from the Tiny Projects series, discussed back in 2021.
Re: The paper computer
#5If I understand this correctly, you're talking about using paper as a computing interface? That's such a neat idea!
Yeah, and it's really worth checking out https://dynamicland.org/ , because Bret Victor is actually doing this -- slash pointing the way to what such a world could look like. It just seems like now might be a good time for specific smaller parts of that vision to be carved off and developed further. I say that largely because of the advances in multimodal AI, which maybe haven't been fully applied yet in this area.
And a shout-out to https://folk.computer/ as well! They're not as far along in terms of feature parity, but they are open source, and exploring the space in other directions.
Re: The paper computer
#6How about hacking a remarkable e-ink tablet as an easy prototype? The remarkable is basically a "better paper" already.
Re: The paper computer
#7Receive email, render page with the email and a reply section and a unique ID, print it out physically
Human picks up all the sheets out of the printer, writes out replies with pen
Human puts the stack of answered email sheets in a multi-page scanner
Scanner physically scans them, agent transcribes them and matches them back to the incoming emails via the unique ID on each sheet, sends replies
You could adjust this flow for anything where human input is just one part of a larger sequence: just add print -> write -> scan into your flow where you'd normally have a human type. It's kind of a rebirth of faxing
Re: The paper computer
#8How about hacking a remarkable e-ink tablet as an easy prototype? The remarkable is basically a "better paper" already.
This was my gut reaction as well as an eInk enthusiast, but I think the author is looking for something quite different. As much as the rM is a calmer, slower-paced device by design, it's still a device with a screen that doesn't have the same physical affordances and spatial flexibility as pieces of paper.
Re: The paper computer
#9Receive email, render page with the email and a reply section and a unique ID, print it out physically Human picks up all the sheets out of the printer, writes out replies with pen Human puts the stack of answered email sheets in a multi-page scanner Scanner physically scans them, agent transcribes them and matches them back to the incoming emails via the unique ID on each sheet, sends replies You could adjust this f…
I will say scanners are somewhat unergonomic, but if you had a high enough definition camera, you could photograph the document in its "natural environment". Granted, it's harder to get an evenly lit picture that way, but I think it's a nicer interface.
Re: The paper computer
#10I love the idea.
Just the other day, I noticed my thinking was so hijacked by distractions while building something (with AI help) that I started writing in a notebook to stay on track. The last time I'd written in the notebook was 3 years ago; in this case writing stuff down in it really helped to get me unstuck.
I'm excited to imagine workflows that could make computing a more physical activity. Thanks for writing and sharing this.