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From: davidc@vlsisj.VLSI.COM (David Chapman)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures,comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: Sony Palmtop w/char recognition - Ultimate Laptop?
Message-ID: <15535@vlsisj.VLSI.COM>
Date: 10 Apr 90 22:49:24 GMT
References: <18720@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <1463@uvm-gen.UUCP> <19307@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <54020@microsoft.UUCP>
Reply-To: davidc@vlsisj.UUCP (David Chapman)
Organization: VLSI Technology Inc., San Jose, CA
Lines: 31

In article <54020@microsoft.UUCP> garye@microsoft.UUCP (Gary ERICSON) writes:
>...  And then, of course, the
>handwriting interface is pushed off in some specialized corner because, of
>course, typing is much more efficient than writing by hand.

I don't know about you, but I get serious writer's cramp after only about
a page or so of writing.  Maybe it's just because I'm left-handed, but a
keyboard is so much more efficient for me (3-4x) that a stylus interface
just isn't going to work.  Having that *plus* a keyboard would be nice.

>...  I think that when people begin realizing this,
>these devices are going to explode in popularity.  Not because it's good
>for non-typists or strictly pictorial languages, but because it finally
>opens the door to computers you can carry in your pocket.

Again, since I'm left-handed there is a pretty large minumum size for
any kind of a notepad, electronic or otherwise.  I need a place to put my
hand while I write at the left margin.  Palm-sized won't work unless I
have a place to put it down.  And then I probably wouldn't need a palm-
sized computer.

Of course, the converse of small is more powerful.  If they can fit that
much power into a palm-sized computer, then the laptops will be proportionally
more powerful.  And I can't argue with that.

Hmmm, maybe I should learn Hebrew or Arabic and write right-to-left...
-- 
		David Chapman

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