A Spot On Solution for Input: Decuma's OnSpot v3.0 reviewed

[Doug Raeburn]

They say that variety is the spice of life, and there are few places where it's more evident than with input methods for the Pocket PC. From Fitaly to Spb Full Screen Keyboard to Calligrapher, the choices abound. Just when you think you've seen them all, Decuma has released OnSpot, its take on the "perfect" character recognizer. What new ideas does it bring to the genre? Join me for an in-depth look!<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-0.gif" /> <br /><br /><!><br />There's an almost mind-boggling array of options available for text input on the Pocket PC, and everyone has his or her own personal favorite. Some users prefer hardware-based solutions, such as plug-in, wireless and built-in keyboards. A downside of these solutions is diminished portability... a built-in keyboard makes the Pocket PC larger, while separate keyboards give you extra hardware to carry. So if you want the smallest and lightest Pocket PC, soft input is the only real alternative.<br /><br />In addition to the standard keyboard, letter and block recognizers and Transcriber included with the Pocket PC, you can buy alternate keyboards such as Fitaly, full screen keyboards such as Spb's, and more powerful handwriting recognition software such as Calligrapher. However, alternate character recognizers are fairly uncommon. But Decuma is throwing their hat into that ring... they've developed a new and innovative character recognition system called OnSpot. Version 3.0 has just been released... let's take a look.<br /><br /><span><b>The Paper Chase</b></span><br />The design goal for OnSpot is to mimic the characteristics of writing with a pen and paper. To illustrate how this was accomplished, let's compare and contrast it with the most familiar character recognizer, the Letter Recognizer that comes with all Pocket PCs.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 1: The Letter Recognizer input area.</i><br /><br />Letter Recognizer has a three-section input area. You enter uppercase characters in the left pane, lowercase in the middle pane, and numbers and special characters in the right pane. As you input each character, it appears on the screen immediately. Any corrections require that you highlight words or characters on the screen and change them as necessary. You don't write words from left to right as you would on paper and you don't see the words displayed in the input area, only on the screen.<br /><br /><span><b>Your Input Is Welcome</b></span><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 2: The OnSpot input area.</i><br /><br />With OnSpot, you write complete words on the green tab. As you enter characters, OnSpot compares each letter, number or symbol against its database and displays the best match. It's interesting to watch this, because the screen display even matches the size of the characters you're inputting. <br /><br />One great feature of OnSpot is that it accepts standard methods of entering letters, numbers and symbols. Multiple stroke characters can be entered just as you would on paper. So, unlike other input methods, you don't have to learn a special alphabet to use OnSpot.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-3.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 3: Mixed characters and numbers on the character tab.</i><br /><br />You can input any type of character on the green tab, not just letters. You occasionally have to give OnSpot some help to distinguish between similarly shaped letters and numbers when doing this mixed input, mostly by adding a slash to a zero to distinguish it from a capital O. Mixed input displays alpha characters in black and numbers and symbols in red. <br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-4.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 4: Numbers on the blue tab.</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-5.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 5: Characters on the blue tab… pardon my French!</i><br /><br />Use the blue tab to input lots of numbers and symbols more easily. You can switch between tabs as necessary, even mid-entry. The input on the previous tab will be sent to the screen when you switch. The only time I switch tabs mid-entry is to input parentheses, which are difficult to input correctly on the green tab. <br /><br />The words remain displayed in the input area until you send them to the screen. One way to do this is to tap on the green arrow on the bottom right of the screen, which sends the text without adding a space at the end. Another way is to tap on the carriage return button, which sends the text and adds a carriage return. This clears the input area so it's ready for new input.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-6.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 6: See the indent and arrow to the left of the words? </i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-7.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 7: Continue writing in the indent, and your previous input goes to the screen.</i><br /><br />The third way to send the words to the screen is one of the product's real innovations. As you fill the line with your input, OnSpot will "crunch" the display a bit and create a small indent on the left of the input area, with a small arrow to the right of the indent (Figure 6). To send the contents of the input area to the screen, simply continue writing in the cleared space before the arrow. OnSpot will send the previous input to the screen and append a space to the last word, while accepting your new input (Figure 7).<br /><br />Why is this so innovative? This feature is a big part of the "mimicking" writing with pen and paper, because you just keep writing, just like you would with pen and paper. Words don't do justice to how quick and natural this feels ... you have to experience it to appreciate it.<br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-8.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 8: If the line is too long, add a dash at the end…</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-9.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 9: …and continue the word from the beginning of the input area.</i><br /><br />Another innovation is the means by which OnSpot handles long words. If you're running out of space in the input area and need to complete a word, just insert a dash at the end of the line. This tells OnSpot that you're continuing the word, and it won't insert a space.<br /><br /><span><b>Editing’s a Breeze</b></span><br />Now for the really big feature. If you've used Transcriber or Calligrapher, you've probably encountered the situation where you realize that you've made a mistake in a word. In that case, you have to let the word be "recognized" and then go back and correct it with the sometimes cumbersome correction window. With Letter Recognizer, you have to leave the input area and go to the error on the screen, and highlight and/or delete characters so you can make your corrections.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-10.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 10: Ooops, misspelled the word…</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-11.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 11: Just overwrite the wrong letter with the right one.</i><br /><br />OnSpot has a better way. As long as your input is still displayed in the input area, you can easily correct any errors. Wrong character? Just write the correct character right over it. Missing character? Just squeeze it in where it belongs. With its set of gestures, you can insert spaces, tabs, carriage returns and even delete entire words with a single gesture. No other input method even comes close when it comes to making corrections this simple.<br /><br />Once your input has been moved to the screen, editing and corrections work much like Letter Recognizer. You can highlight and replace words and letters, delete and re-input, etc. To help make this easier, OnSpot includes left and right arrow buttons, a Space button and a carriage return button to aid with manual corrections and document navigation. These buttons are found in the narrow toolbar just above the input area.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-12.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 12: Personal characters.</i><br /><br />I found my style of character entry to work quite well with OnSpot's standard character library. But if you run into issues with recognition of some characters, you can add personal characters to the library, which should help to increase the rate of recognition.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan04-onspot-13.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 13: Creating shortcuts.</i><br /><br />OnSpot also supports shortcuts, which are symbols that you create to represent long character strings that you use frequently. For example, for this review I created a symbol consisting of the cursive letters "os", and when that symbol is entered, it's automatically replaced with the word "OnSpot". When a symbol is recognized in the input area, it's displayed in green.<br /><br />If you have occasion to write in a language other than English, OnSpot supports special characters. Sets for French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish are included.<br /><br /><span><b>Gotchas</b></span><ul><li>Limit of 10 shortcuts may be insufficient for power users;<li>It takes some practice to place spaces in words reliably.</ul><span><b>Where to Buy</b></span><br />OnSpot can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=93228">downloaded from Handango</a> (affiliate) and purchased for $29.99.<br /><br /><span><b>Specifications</b></span><br />Decuma specifies that OnSpot is compatible with Pocket PC 2002. I've been using it on my iPAQ 2215 (Windows Mobile 2003) and it has worked flawlessly. It requires 688K of storage memory.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />In case it isn't completely obvious, I've become a big fan of OnSpot. Recognition is fast and accurate, and the word display in the input area, along with the ability to make speedy and direct corrections there, make OnSpot the fastest character recognizer around. Once you get a little practice under your belt, you'll find that it runs rings around Letter Recognizer. It also seems faster and more accurate than even the latest version of Calligrapher, and corrections in OnSpot are much faster and easier.<br /><br />So does OnSpot really feel like writing with pen and paper? Well, it’s certainly the best input method around at mimicking that experience. And finally, do I really like OnSpot as much as it sounds? Well, I've already purchased a license, and I used OnSpot to input all of the body text for this review. And it was truly fast and easy. I'll sum things up by saying that OnSpot is my new favorite input method, and you owe it to yourself to try it.

[Pat Logsdon]

Great review! I've been using Decuma for the past 2 weeks, and you taught me a few things I didn't know! 8)

Question: How far do you need to go on the right for the "current slate" to be put up on the page and then wiped clean? I've been using either the "space" button or the green arrow to do this manually.

After trying it just a moment ago, I found that I could get waaaay over to the right without it clearing...am I doing something wrong?

[daveh]

I have to agree with Doug. I have been using this for the last couple of weeks and it is simply the best input method I have ever used.

Believe it or not, it really does make writing on the PPC fun!

[Doug Raeburn]

Great review! I've been using Decuma for the past 2 weeks, and you taught me a few things I didn't know! 8)

Question: How far do you need to go on the right for the "current slate" to be put up on the page and then wiped clean? I've been using either the "space" button or the green arrow to do this manually.

After trying it just a moment ago, I found that I could get waaaay over to the right without it clearing...am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for the compliments on the review... it's really easy to review something that you really like!

As for your question, it sounds like you might be misunderstanding me. OnSpot never "cleans the slate" by itself. You have to do one of 3 things (2 of which you've already mentioned:

- Tap the green arrow
- Tap the space button
- Start writing in the indent that appears on the beginning of the entry area, which moves the contents of the input area to the screen and accepts your new input

From your description, it doesn't sound like you're doing the last item... or did I read it wrong? :?:

[Doug Raeburn]

I have to agree with Doug. I have been using this for the last couple of weeks and it is simply the best input method I have ever used.

Believe it or not, it really does make writing on the PPC fun!

Indeed... there are faster methods, but none that feel more natural.

[karinatwork]

The one thing that held me back from purchasing it so far is that my personalization doesn't seem to work. The program seems to having problems with my "t" and my "f", putting a t most of the time when I want an f, and my "G" it sees as a "6". So I wanted to teach the software how I write, but it didn't change anything. It's still the same.

Now my question: Do I have to install Decuma into the main memory in order to make this option work well?

Thanks for any info!

Karin

[johnm]

Nice review.
I'm still not getting a feel for how it compares with transcriber or calligrapher for overall ease of use, accuracy etc. With transcriber you can use the entire screen for entry and don't have to press a 'space' or convert button. Other than for editing before a convert how does this method measure up to transcriber?

[Doug Raeburn]

The one thing that held me back from purchasing it so far is that my personalization doesn't seem to work. The program seems to having problems with my "t" and my "f", putting a t most of the time when I want an f, and my "G" it sees as a "6". So I wanted to teach the software how I write, but it didn't change anything. It's still the same.

Now my question: Do I have to install Decuma into the main memory in order to make this option work well?

Thanks for any info!

Karin

Hmmm... we may have to ask the Decuma folks about this one. I installed it to main memory, but I really didn't need to personalize anything. So I can't really speak to this. I'll be contacting Decuma later on today to let them know that the review posted. Hopefully someone from their staff will join the discussion.

[Doug Raeburn]

Nice review.
I'm still not getting a feel for how it compares with transcriber or calligrapher for overall ease of use, accuracy etc. With transcriber you can use the entire screen for entry and don't have to press a 'space' or convert button. Other than for editing before a convert how does this method measure up to transcriber?

Thanks!

Personally, I find OnSpot to be more accurate than Transcriber. It's about equal to Calligrapher, IMO. (Obviously, your mileage may vary...) And I find that editing is so much easier than in either of the other 2 products. To me, the corrector window in both products needs some real work.

As for pressing a space or "convert" button, this isn't necessary. Refer to the part of my review starting with figure 6... you can write continuously by writing in the indent to the left of your current input, which automatically sends the current contents to the screen as you enter new text. Unfortunately, this happens so quickly that it's impossible to capture it in a screen shot.

To clarify the figures... while "Pocket PC's" in figure 6 was still in the input area, I started writing "hard" in figure 7. This sent "Pocket PC's" to the screen without pressing any buttons. You just keep returning to the beginning of the line, and OnSpot sends your text to the screen automatically.

[rmasinag]

Hey Doug,

I am trying out the demo. Great review learned so many new stuff! I only have one peeve.

While your writing is still in the green pad, you mention the spacing thing, kinda annoying at this point for me.

How do you go in between words to insert a space in the green pad after it has been "recognized" by Decuma? When I try, I end "printing" the words. :evil:

[Talldog]

...you owe it to yourself to try it.
I believe I'll do just that. This looks very interesting.

[karinatwork]

Hi rmasinag.

The space thing is really easy. You put a little superscript "v" in between the letters where you want your words to separate (superscript meaning that it has to be higher up). It's described in the help files. It really works well.
To delete a letter that you don't like, you just write a hyphen over top of it, but from right to left (backwards direction). It will delete it.

Hope that helps.

K.

[xymantix]

I downloaded the demo and have played with it for a while, and I do agree that it's really cool. So far it's not the fastest method of input for me, but it seems to be the most accurate due to the fact that you can see and correct the 'sections' as often as you want to before comitting them.

I've only got one gripe about it - spaces. I'd rather not move my stylus up and hit the space button, since it seems to detract from the input 'flow'. I can force spaces between words, but only by putting a large amount of space between the words in the input area. To ensure that it gets a space correctly, I have to give up a large amount of the input area. I think all of this would be solved if there were a gesture to force a space - just like there is to force a return. Does something like this exist already and I've just missed it?

I tried to create a personalization to force a space, but when you have it resolve to 1 space, it instantly commits the text. When it's set to 2 spaces, it works (since it inserts spaces without commiting the text), but of course now all my words are separated by two spaces.

It's worthwhile to note that *inserting* a space between existing letters with the superscript 'v' works great. But, that's only handy when the letters already exist. Trying to use the superscript method without letters there already ends up in a 'u' or a 'v' about 90% of the time.

Is there a better way, or should I just learn to use the space button?

[arebelspy]

Great tip about the v, karinatwork!!

:D

-arebelspy

[Godsongz]

I started using this software today, and so far I think its brilliant! I got a little hung up while trying to take notes from a phone call, but only because I'm not familiar enough with it yet. Sweet.

[karinatwork]

I really don't have "spacing" issues. I just make sure that my words are rather far apart on the green screen (about 1 cm or 0.5"). I usually put 2 to 3 words on the screen before the little green triangle on the left appears, at which point I continue writing in front of the triangle, which makes my text go into the document and frees the screen up for more text. So all you have to learn in my opinion is to keep your writing flow up by using the green triangle. It doesn't matter how big your space in between words is, because your flow won't be interrupted as long as you keep on writing from the very far left.

It's hard to explain. Give the instructions a good look. They were really helpful for me.

K.

[Pat Logsdon]

As for your question, it sounds like you might be misunderstanding me. OnSpot never "cleans the slate" by itself. You have to do one of 3 things (2 of which you've already mentioned:

- Tap the green arrow
- Tap the space button
- Start writing in the indent that appears on the beginning of the entry area, which moves the contents of the input area to the screen and accepts your new input

From your description, it doesn't sound like you're doing the last item... or did I read it wrong? :?:
Ah! Once again I have confused my left with my right. :oops:

I was assuming that it knew when I reached the right edge and would automatically "refresh". I never thought about writing in the left area behind the indent. I DID wonder what that thing was for, however...

Thanks!

[spinedoc]

Hey guys how does this program work in VGA resolution. Specifically I have the Toshiba e805 which runs in VGA mode. Anyone have any thoughts on VGA mode? Especially VGA landscape?

Thanks much.

[arebelspy]

SpineDoc: Most SIP aren't VGA compatable. Try it, and let us know how it works out. ;)

-arebelspy

[pdagal]

I'm using Decuma in VGA mode with the e805 and it works fine. I only wish it would fill the entire width of the screen so one would have more room for writing, but alas it does not.

[GaryK]

I only print in capitals. Therefore this program does not work for me. Block recognizer seems to work the best for me.

[stjohn1335]

You guys might disagree, but I wish I could place DeCuma on the top portion of the PDA rather than the bottom. I find this method of writing so realistic that I wish I could start upper-left! But more importantly, I find that as I get to the right of the input area, I have to move my palm off the side of the PDA and have no anchor. This is no problem in Graffiti, because you keep your hand in one place, and you generally don't do multiple strokes for 1 character. But I find if I am in a car using DeCuma and towards the right of the screen, I can never cross my t's correctly and put a dash in either side, due to by hand being unstady. As a result I tense up tring to maintain control.

I know putting the input screen at the top would cause your palm to block the text you've already input, and it would increase the chance of your palm pressing the screen, but for me I find I can rest the right edge of my right palm on the botton right of my PDA, and this would give me a very secure anchor from which to write.

UPDATE: I just figured something out. If I rest my right pinkie on the lower-left side of my PDA, I have greater range of motion left-to-right. It is flexible enought no not have to lift up after each new line, and stable enough to improve my accuracy in a car, especially towards the right.

We all have different hand sizes, but what solutions have you all figured out?

[tanalasta]

Ooooo.... may download a decuma trial now :) And i just installed calligrapher a day or two ago. Hopefully there'll be no conflict issues but if anyone knows of any, let me know before i try!

Has anyone done a good review of Calligrapher 7 on pocketpcthoughts? I haven't found one yet.

[CTSLICK]

I been putting Decuma through the paces and find the recognition better than Calligrapher and simply love the way you can correct recognition errors. Very quick...very natural. Figures I had just coughed up for Calligrapher a couple months ago. Ah well, whats another $30.

[CTSLICK]

Ooooo.... may download a decuma trial now :) And i just installed calligrapher a day or two ago. Hopefully there'll be no conflict issues but if anyone knows of any, let me know before i try!

Has anyone done a good review of Calligrapher 7 on pocketpcthoughts? I haven't found one yet.

I've got Callig 7 installed and have not come across any conflicts or issues with the two installed.

[Doug Raeburn]

Ooooo.... may download a decuma trial now :) And i just installed calligrapher a day or two ago. Hopefully there'll be no conflict issues but if anyone knows of any, let me know before i try!

Has anyone done a good review of Calligrapher 7 on pocketpcthoughts? I haven't found one yet.

I have both installed as well, and I didn't find any conflicts either.

Maybe I'll give the Calligrapher review a shot... but I've got a couple of other reviews that I have to complete first, so it'll be a little while.

[juni]

It's been my input method of choice for a couple of weeks now - I can recommend it to anyone. In fact - I'm using it right now. :)

[getwet]

Great review! I've been using Decuma for the past 2 weeks, and you taught me a few things I didn't know! 8)

Question: How far do you need to go on the right for the "current slate" to be put up on the page and then wiped clean? I've been using either the "space" button or the green arrow to do this manually.

After trying it just a moment ago, I found that I could get waaaay over to the right without it clearing...am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for the compliments on the review... it's really easy to review something that you really like!

As for your question, it sounds like you might be misunderstanding me. OnSpot never "cleans the slate" by itself. You have to do one of 3 things (2 of which you've already mentioned:

- Tap the green arrow
- Tap the space button
- Start writing in the indent that appears on the beginning of the entry area, which moves the contents of the input area to the screen and accepts your new input

From your description, it doesn't sound like you're doing the last item... or did I read it wrong? :?:


There are some videos on this page that I think really well shows how OnSpot works.

http://www.decuma.com/pages/products/latin_recognition.html

[Doug Raeburn]

I been putting Decuma through the paces and find the recognition better than Calligrapher and simply love the way you can correct recognition errors. Very quick...very natural. Figures I had just coughed up for Calligrapher a couple months ago. Ah well, whats another $30.

(Shameless promotion mode on)

Of course, since you're a subscriber, you'll get 15% off from Handango, so it's really only another $25.50...

(Shameless promotion mode off) :wink:

[Talldog]

I agree with the comments about having a gesture to force a space, but other than that, it's pretty slick. Being able to correct in place is a major advantage over Calligrapher, IMO.

[jwf]

I've just installed Decuma and made it the default input method (using PocketTweak). My Jornada now hangs when I reboot it. I think I'm going to have to do a hard reset :-(

[Andy Whiteford]

You guys might disagree, but I wish I could place DeCuma on the top portion of the PDA rather than the bottom. I find this method of writing so realistic that I wish I could start upper-left! But more importantly, I find that as I get to the right of the input area, I have to move my palm off the side of the PDA and have no anchor. This is no problem in Graffiti, because you keep your hand in one place, and you generally don't do multiple strokes for 1 character. But I find if I am in a car using DeCuma and towards the right of the screen, I can never cross my t's correctly and put a dash in either side, due to by hand being unstady. As a result I tense up tring to maintain control.

I totally agree with you here, I find the small entry at the bottom of the screen a minor hindrance and perhaps the only thing I would change about this software. The option to have it at the top would help or even to rotate to landscape offering a wider input section.
Otherwise though its very impressive with good recognition and excellent editing options.

I found the personalisation option works well but I had issue recognising my l and i characters for example. They would get mixed up as I don't like adding a dot about the i. What I did was go to the personalisation section and enter the letter I wanted to learn, look at how it appeared on screen then cleared this and repeated it a few times to get an idea how it normally turns out as there are sometimes small changes in how you write it and this program is very sensitive from an accuracy point of view. I then tried to replicate the final learned letter as accurately as possible with how I normally enter the letter. This has got my personalised recognition up to virtually 100%. Basically you just want to practice writing the letter a few times before accepting the personalised letter.

[Doug Raeburn]

I've just installed Decuma and made it the default input method (using PocketTweak). My Jornada now hangs when I reboot it. I think I'm going to have to do a hard reset :-(

Hmmm... let's hope not... :(

I did read somewhere that someone tried to use the default input setting in Fitaly to set OnSpot as the default and had a similar problem.

[daveh]

Nice review.
I'm still not getting a feel for how it compares with transcriber or calligrapher for overall ease of use, accuracy etc. With transcriber you can use the entire screen for entry and don't have to press a 'space' or convert button. Other than for editing before a convert how does this method measure up to transcriber?

I used Calligrapher as my primary input method and infact upgraded to the latest version a week before I bought OnSpot.

For me, the OnSpot correction method and text recognition works much better. Onspot really seems to recognize whatever I throw at it. I have not customized it yet, but sometimes my "g" returns an 8. Other than that, most of the correction is user error. However, I do think I concentrate a bit more on my writing and form since you have to fit it into the input area.

But, I miss the macros from calligrapher (most of the time I used them to input text anyway which I can do with OnSpot). And, I miss the full screen writing area of Calligrapher. I also think the OnSpot is faster on on my 5400. Calligrapher sometimes had a bit of delay when changing modes. That might not be a problem for folks with more optimized machines. ( I am at that point where I need to do a hard reset and clean up my system)

I have also found that I can use OnSpot to enter passwords. With Calligrapher I would need to turn on the keyboard.

[jwf]

I've had to hard reset it now. Needed a clear-out anyway :-(

[Trimble]

I had a problem with Apostrophe's... I ended up having to create a custom guesture to make them, but other than that, this is the closest thing we've seen yet to the Apple Newton's full screen word-by-word continuous recognition system. They're getting pretty close now.

[Doug Raeburn]

I had a problem with Apostrophe's... I ended up having to create a custom guesture to make them, but other than that, this is the closest thing we've seen yet to the Apple Newton's full screen word-by-word continuous recognition system. They're getting pretty close now.

I had a problem with apostrophes initially as well... I found that if I write them high and slanted, they work very reliably.

[CTSLICK]

I been putting Decuma through the paces and find the recognition better than Calligrapher and simply love the way you can correct recognition errors. Very quick...very natural. Figures I had just coughed up for Calligrapher a couple months ago. Ah well, whats another $30.

(Shameless promotion mode on)

Of course, since you're a subscriber, you'll get 15% off from Handango, so it's really only another $25.50...

(Shameless promotion mode off) :wink:

Ha! True, but I just bought Pocket Controller 2 days ago (using my 15% off of course)...so I think I'll hold off on any further PPC expenditures at the moment. Don't want to anger the Household CFO :wink:

[Doug Raeburn]

Ha! True, but I just bought Pocket Controller 2 days ago (using my 15% off of course)...so I think I'll hold off on any further PPC expenditures at the moment. Don't want to anger the Household CFO :wink:

To be serious for just a second (yes, I can do this... :lol:), I don't think the Handango discount is a one-time shot. In fact, I used it for OnSpot and then later for a game.

[kwoodham]

Very well done review - but I'd like to see some supplemental "head to head" competition.

I am a recent "convert" from the Palm OS world - Used Fitaly for a couple years, Graffiti (Block Recognizer on the PPC), and a graffiti offshoot named Simpliwrite - all over the span of about 5 years. Even though there were faster methods (Fitaly) - I usually ended up returning to Graffiti for the simplicity, the ability to watch the screen text rather than having to focus on a small portion of the input area, and the ability to keep my left (writing) hand in one place.

I have enjoyed using the Letter Recognizer in conjunction with the word suggestion feature. I would be very interested in a "structured" test to see if OnSpot is, in fact, faster. My guess is that it's somewhat of an illusion: I would think that the ability to write letters in place, without having to focus on the relative position of a character with respect to the previous character makes you "busier" - giving the illusion that you are faster. Also, word-completion capability for Letter Recognizer really shines for larger mainstream words.

Additionally, two inches side to side is not enough room - and, using OnSpot, I find myself constantly tracking the characters left in the word to judge if I can get them all in without using a hyphen. Sure, it's a good solution to keep from entering a space in the middle of the word, but it breaks your concentration. Again - it makes you busier, which may contribute to an illusion of speed.

Bottom line: I'd really like to see someone that is proficient with both Letter Recognizer with word-completion AND OnSpot go head to head in an unbiased experiment on entry speed. Until then - I'll keep the $30 in the bank.

[Doug Raeburn]

Very well done review - but I'd like to see some supplemental "head to head" competition.

I am a recent "convert" from the Palm OS world - Used Fitaly for a couple years, Graffiti (Block Recognizer on the PPC), and a graffiti offshoot named Simpliwrite - all over the span of about 5 years. Even though there were faster methods (Fitaly) - I usually ended up returning to Graffiti for the simplicity, the ability to watch the screen text rather than having to focus on a small portion of the input area, and the ability to keep my left (writing) hand in one place.

I have enjoyed using the Letter Recognizer in conjunction with the word suggestion feature. I would be very interested in a "structured" test to see if OnSpot is, in fact, faster. My guess is that it's somewhat of an illusion: I would think that the ability to write letters in place, without having to focus on the relative position of a character with respect to the previous character makes you "busier" - giving the illusion that you are faster. Also, word-completion capability for Letter Recognizer really shines for larger mainstream words.

Additionally, two inches side to side is not enough room - and, using OnSpot, I find myself constantly tracking the characters left in the word to judge if I can get them all in without using a hyphen. Sure, it's a good solution to keep from entering a space in the middle of the word, but it breaks your concentration. Again - it makes you busier, which may contribute to an illusion of speed.

Bottom line: I'd really like to see someone that is proficient with both Letter Recognizer with word-completion AND OnSpot go head to head in an unbiased experiment on entry speed. Until then - I'll keep the $30 in the bank.

Although I did mention in the review that it seemed to me that OnSpot "runs rings around Letter Recognizer", I'll admit that it's a perception... I didn't run any instrumented tests. But after all, the perception of the reviewer is a key part of the review, so I don't have any qualms about making such a statement. :D

As for your speculation that being "busier" creates the illusion of being faster, that's not at all the case, at least for me. On the contrary, I'm very sensitive to extraneous "fiddling around" that an input method may force you to do, because that's something that detracts from the overall flow of your text entry and the thought process behind it. I absolutely hate having to be "busier" when inputting text.

A good example of this is Transcriber and Calligrapher... as long as there are no recognition errors, these methods are as smooth as silk. But in my opinion, as soon as there's any error, the gymnastics you often have to go through to correct it disrupts the smooth flow of your input. Talk about distracting!

Each input method has its own "distractions", and how distracting they are varies from person to person based on their preferences. Word completion can be a mixed bag, since you have to keep looking at it waiting to find a match. "Is there a match? No, keep going... is there a match now? No, keep going... is there a match now? Yes." Now disrupt your text entry rhythm and go to the list to pick the word. Admittedly, it's an advantage for long words, but far less effective with words of average length, IMO. And the correction process is less effective as well, since you always have to go to the screen output, highlight the error or position the cursor or whatever, and go back down to the input area and make corrections. I tend to concentrate on the input area when I'm inputting, so I prefer the OnSpot paradigm of concentrating on that area for all entry and 95% of your corrections, rather than having to constantly look up at the text, look back down to the input area, look up again, etc. Sounds like that may vary from your personal preferences, so that probably would NOT be a distraction for you.

Regarding OnSpot, I don't find the need to constantly track the characters left in the word to be an issue... to me, it's second nature, and it neither adds to the feeling of being "busy" nor does it slow me down. Again, to each his or her own.

And I do have the background with which to evaluate Letter Recognizer... over the years that I've used Palm-sized PCs, Palm OS units and Pocket PCs, the majority of text entry that I've done has been done using Character Recognizer/Letter Recognizer/Graffiti/Jot. I do like these methods, but I find that OnSpot has advantages that those methods lack. And vice versa, of course, but to my tastes, the advantages of OnSpot outweigh the drawbacks.

Ultimately, satisfaction with an input method goes beyond words per minute. It's also the perception of how the whole process flows and from that perspective, the overall OnSpot experience is superior to the overall Graffiti/Letter Recognizer/Transcriber/etc. experience, IMO. Many seem to agree, others disagree, and that's why it's so great that we have so many choices. There's clearly no single best solution for everyone.

I will say that, if I take a more empirical view regarding the speed of these recognition methods, I don't think you'd find substantial differences in your input speed overall... certainly not enough to merit switching to another method that you don't like as well. So, based on your comments and expressed preferences, I would recommend that you stick with Letter Recognizer, because it clearly suits you better. Anyway, I think I'll leave the nitty gritty speed tests to Fitaly and their periodic Dom Perignon tests... I think their structure and larger sample size would yield far more representative results than anything I could concoct. :wink:

[rabbit]

I've downloaded OnSpot and am playing with it right now... however, I've found that it has a hard time with my particular brand of cursive. Have you guys been using print or cursive to test this thing?

For example, despite several attempts to train it to recognize the word "The" -- print capital T, cursive h linked to e, OnSpot has severe issues with the 'he' part, more often than not registering it as a lowercase 'm'.

And I don't know about you guys, but the fact that I have to dot my i's and cross my t's right away runs directly counter to my ingrained style. Transcriber seems to be better at recognizing letters like these, even if I wait a few seconds to come back and dot or cross them.

So getting OnSpot to recognize "The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dogs" is turning out to be an exercise in stubbornness for me.

It didn't take me this long to get Transcriber trained to recognize my handwriting (a combination of print and cursive). Also, I like Transcriber's ability to assign more than one gesture to a character -- it allows more flexibility for me, as I tend to use several ways of forming a letter depending on the situation. I haven't actually printed anything other than mail addresses in years, so having to print my letters is rather unnatural for me at this point.

I will admit that OnSpot is a very nifty interface, though -- being able to just scribble on top of a mistake to fix it is one of the nicer points. Also, the accuracy rate is a lot better than Transcriber when I make sure to print things Very Carefully in OnSpot. But the 'Very Carefully' aspect kind of negates the advantage here, IMO.

One thing: I would suggest to the developers that they make it less of a hassle to get to the ABC personalization tab -- hitting 'Settings' then 'Edit' then 'Next' then 'Personalize' is a bit of a pain.

[kwoodham]

Thanks for the detailed response - as you picked up on, one motivation for my post was your statement that OnSpot "runs rings around Letter Recognizer"

I certainly agree that speed is only one factor - not always the dominant one... comfort and ease of useage (which, as you say, is a personal matter) often outweighs speed. Much the reason why I abandoned Fitaly on the Palm and went back to the simplicity of Graffitti.

Good response - thanks for taking the time.

- Kurt

[Doug Raeburn]

I've downloaded OnSpot and am playing with it right now... however, I've found that it has a hard time with my particular brand of cursive. Have you guys been using print or cursive to test this thing?

For example, despite several attempts to train it to recognize the word "The" -- print capital T, cursive h linked to e, OnSpot has severe issues with the 'he' part, more often than not registering it as a lowercase 'm'.

And I don't know about you guys, but the fact that I have to dot my i's and cross my t's right away runs directly counter to my ingrained style. Transcriber seems to be better at recognizing letters like these, even if I wait a few seconds to come back and dot or cross them.

So getting OnSpot to recognize "The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dogs" is turning out to be an exercise in stubbornness for me.

It didn't take me this long to get Transcriber trained to recognize my handwriting (a combination of print and cursive). Also, I like Transcriber's ability to assign more than one gesture to a character -- it allows more flexibility for me, as I tend to use several ways of forming a letter depending on the situation. I haven't actually printed anything other than mail addresses in years, so having to print my letters is rather unnatural for me at this point.

I will admit that OnSpot is a very nifty interface, though -- being able to just scribble on top of a mistake to fix it is one of the nicer points. Also, the accuracy rate is a lot better than Transcriber when I make sure to print things Very Carefully in OnSpot. But the 'Very Carefully' aspect kind of negates the advantage here, IMO.

One thing: I would suggest to the developers that they make it less of a hassle to get to the ABC personalization tab -- hitting 'Settings' then 'Edit' then 'Next' then 'Personalize' is a bit of a pain.

Rabbit...

Yes, OnSpot is a "character recognizer" as opposed to a "handwriting recognizer". Some people like one or the other... in my case, I tend towards the character recognizers, just because the currently available handwriting recognizers, as great as they are for input, fall so short when it comes to editing and corrections.

Another reason for being for the character recognizers is that even if a person's handwriting is so atrocious that a product like Calligrapher chokes on it, most people can manage to print legibly enough for a character recognizer to work. Obviously, this doesn't apply in all cases.

As for the "very carefully" part, your mileage may vary as well. I've found some characters that I have to be a bit more careful with, but in general, I can pretty much print as I always do and OnSpot doesn't miss a beat. But I do have fairly neat printing.

So, as you've already discovered, the quick brown fox will never make it over the lazy dogs if you use cursive in OnSpot. :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

To be serious for just a second (yes, I can do this... :lol:), I don't think the Handango discount is a one-time shot. In fact, I used it for OnSpot and then later for a game.

The Handango discount coupon can be used a total of 2000 times - meaning each subscriber can use it multiple times if they wish. So go ahead and use it for everything you buy if you're a subscriber! :D

[Doug Raeburn]

Thanks for the detailed response - as you picked up on, one motivation for my post was your statement that OnSpot "runs rings around Letter Recognizer"

I certainly agree that speed is only one factor - not always the dominant one... comfort and ease of useage (which, as you say, is a personal matter) often outweighs speed. Much the reason why I abandoned Fitaly on the Palm and went back to the simplicity of Graffitti.

Good response - thanks for taking the time.

- Kurt

Kurt...

Thanks for your well-considered insight on this as well... even though I like OnSpot a lot, I only recommended that people try it out. Your response really underscores the need to try these methods out to find the one that suits your preferences the best.

At any rate, the discussion of the review is really what makes this whole thing fun for me.

Doug

[PeterLake]

Great review for a great product!

[Doug Raeburn]

Great review for a great product!

Thanks!!!

[lbabus]

Does OnSpot hold the default input setting? I use transcriber and find that the other input methods come up even though the default is set for Transcriber. What a nuisance. So I want to be sure this works.

Thanks.

[Doug Raeburn]

Does OnSpot hold the default input setting? I use transcriber and find that the other input methods come up even though the default is set for Transcriber. What a nuisance. So I want to be sure this works.

Thanks.

It has for me. Once I've selected OnSpot as the input method in an app, it remains the default for all apps until you change it or until you do a soft reset.

However, as mentioned above, there seems to be an issue with trying to make it remain the default through soft resets. I just tried it myself after doing a full backup (using Fitaly's default selector) and my 5455 froze when doing a soft reset.

[yildi]

Thank you for this very nice review but, as someone was suggesting above, a comparison with your favourite SIP is necessary, in my opinion, to make a choice.

Your review has refocused my attention on this product that I have quickly tried before buying Calligrapher 7 some weeks ago. I have again installed On Spot on my iPAq 1915 and it is very nice and natural to use. The possibility of correcting errors on-spot :D , is much more natural than fiddling afterwards with the tools of Calligrapher...

Then, I have done some speed comparisons in French (I have the French module for Calligrapher).

I have typed the same paragraphs of texts with both SIP. I have done this with 4 paragraphs and I have alternated for the first method I used each tilme to not introduce a bias because of a better memory of the text (once I begin with Calligrapher and for the next paragraph, I begin with On-Spot). Each time Calligrapher was quicker on my stop watch.

For me the difficulty comes from the fact that On-spot is mainly a word-by-word typing method, while in Calligrapher one can input whole sentences and this is much quicker even if you must correct it afterwards. The idea is just continuing to write even if you see errors and only correct them at the end (the exact contrary method of On-spot and it works better).

Maybe I will do some more comparisons before taking my final decision but I think that I will stick with Calligrapher even it is quite funny to type with On-Spot...

Very cordially,

Murat

[JVL]

Saturday morning I sat and read your review of the onspot software with great interest, and based on that review I purchased and downloaded the software because this is something that I could really use.
At first I couldn't even find it on my hand held, but after about a half hour of screwing around I finally located it.
When I clicked on it, it would not do anything.
I tried several times and even did a soft reset but nothing worked. (damn ! ! !)
So then I go back to the Handango web site to find a number to get some help.
Guess what,,,They do not have a phone number to actually talk to someone, no, what they have is a help form that you get to fill out and then you get to sit back and wait for a reply.(which by the way I have still not received)
The first thing they want to know is what type of handheld that I have.
I have an hp, but when they want to know what model I have, my 2215 was not even listed.
Figuring that because I am new to this I must have done some wrong, so I went through this procedure several times with the same results. ( strike 2)
Then I tried to download the software again, but I received a message something to the effect that I could not download it again.
( now imp pissed )
This morning I called my credit card company and had the charge dropped.
I know that I'm new to this but anything that is that difficult to operate I am not interested in.( computers are supposed to simplify our lives, aren't they?)
I guess what I saying is buyer beware,,especially if the company is not willing to publish a phone number and offer some help.

[Doug Raeburn]

Saturday morning I sat and read your review of the onspot software with great interest, and based on that review I purchased and downloaded the software because this is something that I could really use.
At first I couldn't even find it on my hand held, but after about a half hour of screwing around I finally located it.
When I clicked on it, it would not do anything.
I tried several times and even did a soft reset but nothing worked. (damn ! ! !)
So then I go back to the Handango web site to find a number to get some help.
Guess what,,,They do not have a phone number to actually talk to someone, no, what they have is a help form that you get to fill out and then you get to sit back and wait for a reply.(which by the way I have still not received)
The first thing they want to know is what type of handheld that I have.
I have an hp, but when they want to know what model I have, my 2215 was not even listed.
Figuring that because I am new to this I must have done some wrong, so I went through this procedure several times with the same results. ( strike 2)
Then I tried to download the software again, but I received a message something to the effect that I could not download it again.
( now imp pissed )
This morning I called my credit card company and had the charge dropped.
I know that I'm new to this but anything that is that difficult to operate I am not interested in.( computers are supposed to simplify our lives, aren't they?)
I guess what I saying is buyer beware,,especially if the company is not willing to publish a phone number and offer some help.

Well, I can't really say much about Decuma's tech support, because I haven't needed it. OnSpot installed easily and worked flawlessly without even so much as a soft reset, at least for me. Since your message is the first that I've seen describing a problem getting OnSpot to work, I have to assume that most of the people who have installed it haven't had such problems either.

But your description of the issue that you ran into is puzzling. Are you saying that OnSpot doesn't show up in your list of input methods after the installation? If you don't find it there, you're not going to find it anywhere else. What is it that you found that "would not do anything", and how did you find it?

As with any soft input method, you choose it through the input settings, either through the Start Menu (Start/Settings/Input) or by selecting it through a program that has soft input access, such as Pocket Word, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Excel and many others.

For future reference, you can often get faster responses through forums like those on Pocket PC Thoughts or Brighthand, especially on weekends. In fact, you could have posted questions in this thread and I'd have given it a shot. Many Pocket PC software developers are very small... often they are one person operations, and they don't have 24/7 support because they don't have the staff to support it. Decuma itself actually has phone numbers listed, but you'd probably want to use e-mail, since you'd be calling either Sweden or Japan. Also, you'd probably find that you'd get better and faster support going to the publisher (Decuma) than by going through the seller (Handango). In all likelihood, Handango would either direct you to Decuma, or forward your inquiry to them themselves. At any rate, if you get a response within one business day, that's pretty much the norm for Pocket PC software.

Again, for future reference, I'd strongly suggest taking advantage of the trial version available for most Pocket PC software, including OnSpot, before you buy. Even if you're convinced that you want it, just to make sure that it's compatible with your hardware and has no conflicts with your currently installed software. Most of these products with trials (again, OnSpot included) simply supply you with a registration key that you enter into the product, so you don't have to install another version. If you had done so, you wouldn't have had to engage your credit card company, because you'd have known about the issues that you encountered before money changed hands.

Since you already had the credit card charge reversed, I guess that means we can't really help you. All I can say is that I think you may have jumped the gun in assuming that no help is available. I may be mistaken, but I think that your problems are the result of some confusion as to how the software is supposed to work. You're right, this shouldn't be so difficult and quite frankly, it really isn't.

[JVL]

Thank you for the reply.
The only thing that I found on my handheld was when I went to Start, Programs,File explorer,My device.
There is where I found a folder "Decuma".
In there was another folder "on spot", but when I picked it nothing happened.
Like I said I'm new to this and I get excited easily when nothing works as expected, I worry about Viruses or just plain screwing something up on my hand held or my computer.
So,,is Decuma the software manufacturer? I thought it was Handango.
Per your review I would really like to try a software because it sounds like it is just what I need.
If Decuma is the manufacturer maybe I should go directly to them.
Guess ill do a search..

[Doug Raeburn]

Thank you for the reply.
The only thing that I found on my handheld was when I went to Start, Programs,File explorer,My device.
There is where I found a folder "Decuma".
In there was another folder "on spot", but when I picked it nothing happened.
Like I said I'm new to this and I get excited easily when nothing works as expected, I worry about Viruses or just plain screwing something up on my hand held or my computer.
So,,is Decuma the software manufacturer? I thought it was Handango.
Per your review I would really like to try a software because it sounds like it is just what I need.
If Decuma is the manufacturer maybe I should go directly to them.
Guess ill do a search..

Yes, Decuma is the software publisher. Handango is a sales site, selling software for a wide variety of publishers for both Pocket PCs and Palms.

Once again, regarding support, there are many very knowledgeable folks in the Pocket PC arena who are happy to help out. Also, many of the software publishers provide excellent support, if you just give them a chance. So next time, don't get frustrated and give up so quickly.

Before trying to contact Decuma, please try the following:

Open your Start menu and select Settings.

The Settings page should open and it should be on the Personal tab.

On that tab, tap on Input.

You should see the Input page, and should be on the Input Method tab.

There's a dropdown to the right of "Input Method" on this page. Tap on the arrow to the right to get it to drop down. At this point, here's what the screen looks like (yours may look slightly different, and may not list all of the same input methods):

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Decuma.gif

Is Decuma OnSpot listed? If so, select it. Tap on OK (upper right corner) to accept it.

Then go into any program that takes text input and see if OnSpot shows up.

If this doesn't work, I would suggest installing OnSpot again, just in case something got messed up when you were trying to get it to work. Then try the listed steps again.

Regarding viruses, as you obviously realize, you should always be careful. However, viruses have yet to prove to be an issue with Pocket PCs. Maybe eventually, but not so far.

[sys202]

So, does anyone know how to make Decuma OnSpot the default input method without locking up PPC?

Thanks in advanced.

[i700SoCalGuy]

That would be great if someone does know how to change input from Windows default without locking up - I nearly always use Decuma's OnSpot now and supplement entry with Access Panel which has in the options the ability to pop back to whatever your input method of choice is - it's just having to change it everytime I reboot is a pain.....

Plus at times OnSpot seems to have a glitch on my PPCPE 2002 in that it is in the list drop down, but just won't activate and i have to use Keyboard until I want to reboot and then sometimes even then, I have to go up and click on Options for OnSpot, browse a second or two and then close options and go back down to the input method and it will pull up- But since I've attempted 2 times now to try and make it the default only to get the total lockup & have once had to do the cold boot because it really messes with the system and the one time I couldn't get in because I had password required and had no way of entering it......so a cold boot was required............. :evil:

I also have a new iPAQ with WinMobile 2003 - am afraid of attempting it - does anyone know if it's possible with the upgraded OS? At least with that one i have the ability to use my fingerprint OR the password, although i'm sure if i tried it again I would remove password and fingerprint requirement just to be safe :idea:

This PPC'er can be burned many times, but not many times by the same act (not usually that is :roll: ) :wink:

Any feedback on either system would be much appreciated....

Peace.......

Michael...............

[sys202]

I'm using upgraded OS (windows mobile 2003) for my iPAQ H3870 and it messes up my PPC everytime (yep, everytime) I tried to assign OnSpot as the default input method. Bummer...

[ctmagnus]

Switching the default input method from anything other than the SIP keyboard and/or (iirc, both may cause this) either block recognizer or letter recognizer will cause lockups. Even setting Transcriber or block recognizer/letter recognizer (the other one from above) will cause this.

Only the sip keybaord and one of block recognizer/letter recognizer (iirc, not both) will not cause lockups on a reset.

[sys202]

$@#@#ing MICROSOFT!!! AUUUGGHGHGHGH!!!!!

[Janak Parekh]

Only the sip keybaord and one of block recognizer/letter recognizer (iirc, not both) will not cause lockups on a reset.
Or Fitaly. I've used Fitaly as my default on 2002 and 2003 devices without any glitches whatsoever. I get the feeling that you'll have problems if you use a "heavyweight" SIP, because the device is "too busy" on bootup or something to load the SIP into memory.

--janak

[Searls]

Decuma just released a code for a $10 discount for OnSpot when purchased through Handango. The discounted price is $19.95. The discount code is 74F3C9.

[karinatwork]

Don't you love it, when that happens AFTER you purchased the software?? :roll:

[cawinters]

:?
I love OnSpot. I finally enjoy input on my Pocket PC! I've even put off that keyboard I was thinking about...
I have one issue, I use a lot of database type programs that narrow your choices etc as you type (like a drug database program) Since the OnSpot does not auto send the letters to the screen, this is much more difficult. Unless anyone knows an easy way to do this, I'm stuck with switching back and forth betweens OS and keyboard :cry:

[Doug Raeburn]

:?
I love OnSpot. I finally enjoy input on my Pocket PC! I've even put off that keyboard I was thinking about...
I have one issue, I use a lot of database type programs that narrow your choices etc as you type (like a drug database program) Since the OnSpot does not auto send the letters to the screen, this is much more difficult. Unless anyone knows an easy way to do this, I'm stuck with switching back and forth betweens OS and keyboard :cry:

Agreed, this is one of the few drawbacks to OnSpot. I don't know of a way around it. :(

[zilla31]

i'm new to PPC and very eager to try this on my 4155 but i have a question... a user way early in this thread said that he prints in all caps and so onspot wouldn't work for him... i also print in all caps - but i'm not sure i can understand (before trying) why that would matter?

is it still worth it for me to try out this program? i basically would like to print in all caps, but have my printing appear on the screen as all lower case (except when i specify somehow)...

help?

[Doug Raeburn]

OnSpot is WYPIWYG (What You Print Is What You Get. That's not an "official" term... I just made it up. But it seems appropriate...) Anyway, it outputs exactly what you print, so if you print in all upper case, that's what you'll get in the document.

[zilla31]

damn... what if i train all the lower case letters to my upper case version? i guess the draw back to that would be i get no upper case pretty much ever... right?

ps great review :mrgreen:

[Doug Raeburn]

Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that. I guess it's a possibility. The only potential issue that occurs to me is... if you basically override all of your uppercase letters to give you lowercase, how would you get real uppercase when you need it?

But, that's what free trials are for... you can always test out your theory on a few letters to see if you can get them to work the way you want.

If you decide to try it and get it to work, please share your results with us.

Thanks for the kind words about the review!

[ctmagnus]

if you basically override all of your uppercase letters to give you lowercase, how would you get real uppercase when you need it?

Not a problem for some (http://www.flashenabled.com/) ;)

[Doug Raeburn]

if you basically override all of your uppercase letters to give you lowercase, how would you get real uppercase when you need it?

Not a problem for some (http://www.flashenabled.com/) ;)

Say what? :?: :?: :?:

[Kati Compton]

if you basically override all of your uppercase letters to give you lowercase, how would you get real uppercase when you need it?
Not a problem for some (http://www.flashenabled.com/) ;)
Say what? :?: :?: :?:
He was pointing to pt's site, presumably because "pt" is all lower-case?

[ctmagnus]

exactly.

[kona88]

Has anyone been able to use Decuma on a VGA device? If so, how? Thanks.