InkWell? Where is the tablet?

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  • Reply 21 of 33
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    [quote] It will be a cold day... when I enter text with a stylus instead of a keyboard. <hr></blockquote>



    Have you ever tried? I would hate to write a book this way, but for some things it sure beats a keyboard. Like what? Like when you go to the library and you need to look up the call number for Vision Research. You don't want to have to put your computer down to type and you sure don't want to stand and hold it in one hand well you peck at the keys with the other. Same for just about any application where you need to access a database while you are doing something else. Newtons were big in medicine for this reason. Doctor goes to each patient and can enter short comments, or look up a history by simply writing a few words without sitting down.



    Look, if you sit at a desk all day you do not need one of these. On the other hand, plenty of people need to access information when they are on their feet. Those people need something like a tablet.
  • Reply 22 of 33
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    or when you're in school and the professor is a professional auction caller. sorry, you can W.P.M. my ass, but keyboards just arent as fast as chicken scribble in certain situations.
  • Reply 23 of 33
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Actually, you might want to do a book that way. Charles Moore points out at AppleLinks that writing with a pen is much easier on his (carpal tunnel afflicted) wrists than typing or mousing. I wouldn't be surprised if that's true generally, because writing is no-impact, and most scripts are varied enough that it's not repetitive either. The worst you have to deal with is writer's cramp (and black stains on your shirts ).



    My mother, who is a professional writer, has noted that her prose comes out different when she types it vs. when she writes it out longhand. So she now types nonfiction and writes fiction longhand, then types it in (or asks someone else *cough* to do it). Speed wouldn't be an issue, because she's not a touch typist. Well-done, well-integrated handwriting input would be a home run for her. Workplaces might be keenly interested in something that all but eliminated carpal tunnel, even if it did mean that input was a bit slower - if speed on a particular task was crucial, the person could always pull out a keyboard. Bluetooth means that switching input devices could be trivial and hassle-free.



    Mathematicians might appreciate it too, if something like Mathematica gets savvy enough to auto-format mathematical equations ("Gee, that sigma is really huge relative to the other text. Maybe there's going to be a large equation... yup, here it comes").
  • Reply 24 of 33
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>My mother, who is a professional writer, has noted that her prose comes out different when she types it vs. when she writes it out longhand. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Do you think that is from the input style or from the trivial ease of editing on the computer (and the consequent temptation to constantly tweak rather than writing and rewriting)?



    I agree that a tablet or "tabletable" Mac would be super, I'm just not sure that it would solve the problem (I own a Newton and it is still a temptation to fritter and fiddle with what I've started rather than finishing it and then editing).
  • Reply 25 of 33
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    [quote]Originally posted by JBL:

    <strong>



    Look, if you sit at a desk all day you do not need one of these. On the other hand, plenty of people need to access information when they are on their feet. Those people need something like a tablet.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    If so the tablet has to be small. Maybe not quite PDA sized, but smaller than even a 12.1 screen. I'd say about the size of half a lettersize sheet, about 2/3rds of an inch thick. Basically the size of a small spiral bound notebook. I've managed to cram those into a labcoat pocket, they should be OK. Or a netwon that was all screen and just a tad wider and shorter -- just a little more square.
  • Reply 26 of 33
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    It's all going according to plan, yes.
  • Reply 27 of 33
    [quote]Another possible application can also be used as a security feature. Just write your signature, and then you will be able to log-in.<hr></blockquote>



    Awesome idea. Absolutely awesome idea.
  • Reply 28 of 33
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Inkwell on OSX definitely means no 'Apple' PDA for the next couple of years. However, Apple could license inkwell to palm, or even sell an inkwell for palm. They wouldn't get so cosy with palm if they were planning to go head to head with them.



    A BIG tablet is a waste. Anyone who thinks about it for more than 30 sec knows that. It takes away the only tablet advantage, being able to use it easily with one hand while standing/moving about. So scratch that.



    That leaves only two possibilities that 'might' sell:



    1: the aforemention (nearly newtonesque) spiral bound size lab-coat friendly device. Straight tablet, nothing fancy, bu good for data entry on the go. Mic, pen, HDD. IF not OSX, something that plays really nice with it. Mebbe quicktime, a custom browser and an iPod like file system.



    2: a subnotebook. Expensive, light, and the smallest possible form-factor that will incorporate full size 'alphabet' keys, the rest of the keys can be cut down proportionally to create a narrower footprint. Basically like a sony picturebook's x-wide format, but a lot cleaner.



    This is more appealing/useful, but not untill technology is cheaper, a lot cheaper. Make it thin. External firewire optical. Innovation: 360 degree fold around screen that converts your sub-note into a tablet. A double hinge/spine connects the keyboard and the screen. It is the height of the 'book when closed. You open the book from zero to 180 degrees to use the keyboard. To use it as a tablet you fold the screen 360 degrees right around (like folding back a paperback book). The two 'covers' now meet on the inside and, on the back, the keyboard is exposed to the outside. A circuit detects this config and kills the keyboard giving you pen/touch only input.



    Like I said, expensive. And evn when priced high, not do-able untill a few things are in place. LOW LOW LOW power PPC. Sahara G3 @ 3.6watts/800Mhz might do it. Equally frugal GPU. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP 20GB+ 1.8" drives. CHEAPER LARGER custom Li-poly battery. Screens that don't easily scratch.



    Basically the components to do it already exist insome form. But I don't think Apple could do it for less than 2000. Today, it'd probably come in at the price of a Ti.



    Apple wants 500 for an iPod. Any remotely useful tablet will be expensive to sell well. Not because expensive products can't sell, but because at the price you will get so much more from a traditional laptop.



    About the only thing they could do quickly and without too much development time or cost is source a bigger track-pad with a decent levels of sensitivity and resolution and then incorporate it into the current TiBook's palm rest. For quick sketches on the go it'd be great. Say, make the pad about an inch wider and a half inch taller -- there's just enough room if you push it about a quarter inch closer to the keyboard and make the button about a quarter inch smaller. Give it about 64-128 levels of sensitivity and off you go.
  • Reply 29 of 33
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    [quote]Originally posted by BobtheTomato:

    <strong>



    Do you think that is from the input style or from the trivial ease of editing on the computer (and the consequent temptation to constantly tweak rather than writing and rewriting)? </strong><hr></blockquote>



    More the former than the latter.



    Her fiction manuscripts are frightening. There are very few corrections on them. So I don't think it's the software's editing prowess that makes a difference.
  • Reply 30 of 33
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    [quote]Inkwell on OSX definitely means no 'Apple' PDA for the next couple of years.<hr></blockquote>



    Maybe you guys need a hint.



    What if the input device to Mac OS X WAS the handheld computer! Plug it in via USB (to the keyboard) or Firewire and you have a peripheral that you can bring with you and plug into to sketch on the computer with.



    Actually, why use USB or Firewire when Apple just adopted BLUETOOTH.



    See where I'm going with this? The convergence has begun.



    [ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: Fran441 ]</p>
  • Reply 31 of 33
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Do you guys need another hint?
  • Reply 32 of 33
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Another hint? <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 33 of 33
    allenallen Posts: 84member
    Everyone has talked about this, sort of the i****v2 idea. When will we see it? Who has the inside info?
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