HWR vs. other methods (or, have you noticed people's reactions?)

[Tye]

Sorry for the confusing title.
I've never been a big fan of HWR systems, but Calligrapher 8 has pretty much made a believer of me. It's a great system.

So now that I've been using C8 for a couple of months, I've noticed that other people are, umm, "more patient" when I am entering information around them. What I mean is that, in the past, when I pulled out my PPC and started tapping on the screen, people would kind of rock on their feet or look around. Now that I'm using C8, they seem to respond better and be more interactive. I've timed myself, and I'm not really that much faster with C8. This has turned out to be a pleasant and unexpeected side effect of using HWR. It makes me wonder if others have perceived the same thing when around others?

[Tye]

Sorry for the confusing title.
I've never been a big fan of HWR systems, but Calligrapher 8 has pretty much made a believer of me. It's a great system.

So now that I've been using C8 for a couple of months, I've noticed that other people are, umm, "more patient" when I am entering information around them. What I mean is that, in the past, when I pulled out my PPC and started tapping on the screen, people would kind of rock on their feet or look around. Now that I'm using C8, they seem to respond better and be more interactive. I've timed myself, and I'm not really that much faster with C8. This has turned out to be a pleasant and unexpeected side effect of using HWR. It makes me wonder if others have perceived the same thing when around others?

[veethree]

I was a beta tester for Calligrapher and was really impressed at the program. That said, it's still not as fast for me as Fitaly - I just can't write as fast as I can tap. HWR doesn't take quite as much concentration as tapping, though, so I often use it for meetings where I'm doing a lot of the talking as well.

As far as people's reactions go, they're only mildly interested when they see me tapping away but they become quite fascinated when they see me using HWR. It's as though they can't believe that scribblings can be turned into something legible on the fly, and meetings are often interrupted while I do an impromptu demonstration and explanation.

[Stephen Beesley]

I have been using HWR as my main means of data input since my first PDA (a Newton MP110) and have to say that it is probably the one feature that has lead to the most comment over the years. Seeing handwriting being turned into text really does seem to excite people about the possibility of PDAs more than just about anything else in my experience.

I have never found that Transcriber/Calligrapher has quite lived up to my earlier experience with the Newton HWR, but it is still my preferred option and I am looking forward to giving Calligrapher 8.0 a go.