Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!sciences.sdsu.edu!ucselx!bionet!parc!zweig From: zweig@parc.xerox.com (Jonathan M. Zweig) Newsgroups: comp.human-factors Subject: Re: gridpad Message-ID: Date: 18 Jun 91 18:47:19 GMT References: Sender: news@parc.xerox.com Reply-To: zweig.PARC@Xerox.com Distribution: comp Organization: Xerox PARC Lines: 16 Here at Xerox PARC we have these neat-o things that you can draw on the screen with a stylus (there are in fact a number of different such devices with screen sizes from notebook- to chalkboard-sized around). While it's nice for drawing, writing is a different matter. The diagrams I have made freehand all look like they were made by a half-drunk eight year old. From a human factors standpoint, this makes handwriting less attractive than typing because it makes you look like an idiot/schoolchild. There are a number of people working on handwriting recognition and gestrue recognition and stuff like that, so someday maybe the machine will look at my scrawl and put nice correctly-sized Times Roman on the zippy zillion-pixel full color lightweight display (just before the part where it dispenses free beer and does my income tax for me.....). -Johnny Scrawl