alonzo@microsoft.UUCP (Alonzo GARIEPY) (03/19/91)
[from one message] > But, since Pen Windows isn't out yet, there is one comparison > nobody can make yet. It should be noted that Microsoft's Pen Windows is as available as GO's PenPoint. In both cases preliminary releases have been given to software developers and hardware manufacturers. [from another message] > From what I have read, Pen Windows will not include any handwriting > recognition software, forcing programmers to write their own. What you read was incorrect. Microsoft has recognition software that was openly described and demonstrated long before the article in question. Three or four other companies have also announced their intention to provide handwriting recognition modules for Microsoft Pen Windows, and one has already demonstrated a prototyope. Personally, I am really keen on the idea of a pen-driven handheld. The size of computers is limited by the keyboard, and the smallest machines typically have poor keyboards. Typing on a proper keyboard is still the method of choice for inputting large amounts of textual information, but I think handwriting is better than hunting and pecking on a calculator or pocket organizer. Imagine a pocket calculator or computer that is all display with no keyboard. You just write data and commands with a stylus or use it to manipulate popup menus. You decide how much of the screen to devote to softkeys. A folding format would give you twice the screen area and a natural place to store the pen (inside the hinge). Screen real-estate and bulk are the real problems with handheld computers, and the way to deal with them is by eliminating keyboards. Attempts to do that with membrane keypads have been poorly received; handwriting and voice recognition are natural solutions. Alonzo Gariepy // The opinions here are mine and do not in any alonzo@microsoft // way represent those of Microsoft Corporation.
sburke@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Scott Burke) (03/20/91)
And someone out there is going to make a killing by designing an equation- recognition package that can understand handwritten mathematical symbols and equations. The obvious (to me) next step is to take such an equation processor and interface it to existing symbolic math technology... After all, I think the goal is to replace the "back of the envelope," and that isn't going to happen until graphics, words, and equations can all be transparently entered by the user. Scott. sburke@jarthur.claremont.edu
zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu (Andrew Zimmerman) (03/20/91)
In article <11309@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> sburke@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Scott Burke) writes: > >And someone out there is going to make a killing by designing an equation- >recognition package that can understand handwritten mathematical symbols >and equations. The obvious (to me) next step is to take such an equation >processor and interface it to existing symbolic math technology... After >all, I think the goal is to replace the "back of the envelope," and that >isn't going to happen until graphics, words, and equations can all be >transparently entered by the user. > >Scott. >sburke@jarthur.claremont.edu At a talk given here at Stanford, one of the Go people mentioned that they were talking to Mathematica people to do just that. They used the example of a calculator to demonstrate how apps should be rethought, and done differently on a pen based system. They said that they first wrote the standard calc (ie like xcalc) that had a screen and keypad. You would use the pen to "punch" the buttons. They said that while it worked, it wasn't "natural" to use. Instead, they showed a different calc, where you just wrote in an equation. ie like 5 + 2 = and it would give the answer. (I have a watch that does this, but not very well. Oops, I guess this is the wrong group to discuss that. Is there a comp.sys.wristcomputers?) Actually, the demo of the Go machine was very impressive. I don't think that they are a reasonable as a standalone computer, but rather a nice peripherial for another system. (A peripherial that can be used standalone, but which ultimately transfers the data back to the main machine.) ie, it would be great for editing, but not for the orignal entry of text. Andrew zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu
garye@microsoft.UUCP (Gary ERICSON) (03/21/91)
In article <71390@microsoft.UUCP> alonzo@microsoft.UUCP (Alonzo GARIEPY) writes: >[from one message] >> From what I have read, Pen Windows will not include any handwriting >> recognition software, forcing programmers to write their own. > >What you read was incorrect. Microsoft has recognition software that was >openly described and demonstrated long before the article in question. >Three or four other companies have also announced their intention to >provide handwriting recognition modules for Microsoft Pen Windows, and >one has already demonstrated a prototyope. I thought I had heard that one neat feature was allowing anyone to bolt in their own handwriting recognition software (there are several types of techniques that people have used). Can Go's system do that? I'd expect so. >Personally, I am really keen on the idea of a pen-driven handheld. The >size of computers is limited by the keyboard, and the smallest machines >typically have poor keyboards. Typing on a proper keyboard is still the >method of choice for inputting large amounts of textual information, but >I think handwriting is better than hunting and pecking on a calculator >or pocket organizer. I agree with this (and have for a few years now). That's one of the reasons pocket computers haven't caught on: the keyboard's too small. You really shouldn't be using a keyboard on that size device. >Screen real-estate and bulk are the real problems >with handheld computers, and the way to deal with them is by eliminating >keyboards. Yep. Again, it's nice to see manufacturer's attitudes, along with the technology, come around to this way of thinking. I really liked what the president of Go said in an interview. He pointed out that we have the wrong idea if we focus on handwriting recognition in a device like this. He said that the key will be forms and check boxes and, especially, gestures to communicate with the computer. If the software is designed correctly for a stylus, the need for really elaborate handwriting recognition should be low. >Alonzo Gariepy // The opinions here are mine and do not in any >alonzo@microsoft // way represent those of Microsoft Corporation. Gary Ericson - Microsoft - Work Group Apps
alonzo@microsoft.UUCP (Alonzo GARIEPY) (03/21/91)
In article <71416@microsoft.UUCP> garye@microsoft.UUCP (Gary ERICSON) writes: > I really liked what the president of Go said in an interview. He pointed > out that we have the wrong idea if we focus on handwriting recognition in a > device like this. He said that the key will be forms and check boxes and, > especially, gestures to communicate with the computer. If the software is > designed correctly for a stylus, the need for really elaborate handwriting > recognition should be low. His approach seems similar to Microsoft's. Graphical user interfaces were invented to alleviate the problems of purely textual interfaces, and the the pen doesn't change that. Applications can make some subtle changes to take advantage of the pen's ability to enter text and commands positionally, but usage of the pen in existing forms, buttons, lists, and checkboxes comes naturally. > I thought I had heard that one neat feature was allowing anyone to bolt in > their own handwriting recognition software (there are several types of > techniques that people have used). Can Go's system do that? I'd expect so. Go has also said they will allow that. Given the importance they place on recognition, you would expect that this feature is roughly equivalent to swapping keyboards to support different alphabets or layout preferences. My guess is that the key features of tablet computers to start will be price, size, display quality, available software, weight, memory, secondary storage, battery life, and pen quality. In other words, the hardware has a long way to go before it catches up with a pad of paper. Alonzo Gariepy // The opinions expressed in this message are alonzo@microsoft // mine and not those of Microsoft Corporation