Advice - Typing problems, or how to solve them

© 2000 Annie at NativeCelebs:

I've come across this problem mostly with celebrities (you know who you are...), but thought I'd send it to the whole list just in case others can get some use from it. 

Some people have learnt touch typing, and are happy writing long e- mails, while for others it's a struggle to write (=hunt and peck) a few sentences. 

There may be a solution for you. It's not free, and it still takes some getting used to.

There are basically two different roads to take. One involves handwriting recognition, and is used on small PDA's (Personal Digital Assistant). These have no built in keyboard, just a touch screen you write on. There are different solutions there too. One is Graphitti, used on Palm devices. I've never tried it, but they say it's a gesture recognition system. In other words, there's a learning curve. You won't master it in one day. There's another new system (don't remember the name) that's even simpler, and makes for even faster writing if you know it really well. Another system worth menioning is Jot, found on Windows CE devices. I've tried it, and you learn most of the characters in ten minutes. However, it's NOT fast to use, and for someone like me who uses touch, it's a pain to write a letter on it. However, if you still haven't befriended the keyboard, it's something to think about. One word of caution: If your handwriting is illegible on paper, you can't expect a machine to understand it, rounded, precise printed letters will work best. 

With a PDA you can usually write your e-mails with handwriting recognition, then transfer them directly to the internet via modem, or via your computer. It's a little bit more complicated than hotmail, but if you get some initial help you should do fine. 

It should be possible to do this on a PC as well. At least in the future. Look for writing tablets with pen mice. If they give you handwriting recognition programs with these, then maybe? 

The other road involves speech recognition. It's not yet commonplace (in other words, I don't have it on my machine), but a few solutions are cropping up eventually. There's one solution where you can take a small device with you, dictate into the machine, then transfer to your PC when you get home. 

Which of these solutions are for you? Depends on how much you write, and how much you are on the road. I guess I'd go for a PDA if I was on the road a lot without a laptop (but then you won't be able to transfer e-mail to the internet without a modem. Some models have their own modems, others can use standard modems with some trickery like a null modem cable). I'd also include a storage card in addition to the built in memory, in case the batteries run out and you (God forbid) lose everything. Backup pays! 

If you have a laptop and just don't like typing, have a look at speech recognition. If you're OK with lugging the laptop, I guess there's no reason for the PDA. 

Oh, and finally. Be careful with your wrist, if you hold either a PDA or a recorder in your hand for long stretches of time, it's not exactly a natural working position. I guess I just like the old keyboard...! 

On the road? Read this one too:

E-mail when travelling