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View Full Version : What input method for text do you use? and are you a guy or a gal?


Cortex
02-09-2003, 01:59 AM
It occurred to me that women may have handwritting that is better recognized by transcriber. I personally use Letter Recognizer because I find transcriber (Calligrapher) too frustrating.

Ekkie Tepsupornchai
02-09-2003, 02:16 AM
Interesting thought.

Hardly a scientific experiment, but back in the day when both me and a close girlfriend of mine bought a Palm, I adapted fairly quickly to Graffiti. She, on the other hand, didn't have the patience to learn and always used the on-screen keyboard since there was ZERO learning curve involved.

While I definitely know one or two female geeks who'll go toe-to-toe with me, most of my female friends have very little tolerance for any learning curve associated with technology. I think most all the input methods available have a learning curve involved except for the on-screen keyboard itself.

As for myself, I'm in the "Fancy Schmancy" category with FITALY.

dean_shan
02-09-2003, 02:17 AM
I use the onscreen keyboard because it is faster (for me) to do small messages and urls. I will use transcriber to show people that think I have bad hand writing that if a computer can reconize it then my writing is not that bad. :wink:

pocketpcdude1024
02-09-2003, 03:11 AM
Just a question- what choice does an illiterate gal have if they can barely click the radio button? :lol:

BTW, I come from the Land of the Palms and I use Block Recognizer. I find I get better results if I look at the screen only after I have finished writing. :?

Kati Compton
02-09-2003, 04:35 AM
I'm about 50/50 on transcriber and the onscreen keyboard.

RickP in AZ
02-09-2003, 06:28 AM
I'm about 65% Calligrapher/Transcriber and about 35% Fitaly. But it depends on posture, mood, and the actual content of what I am writing. I also tend to use the Typango full screen keyboard when the mood strikes.

Actually I guess that I tend to use HWR (Calligrapher/Transcriber) more than just 65%. I am sufficiently skilled at Fitaly after 2 months of use but I still find that if I'm writing longer strings of text (more then 2 paragraphs) I can keep the creative flow going far better with HWR.

Of course I'm left handed/right-brained (or no brained if you ask the Missus) so the natural nature of handwrighting recognition works with the way I think. (Or at least what passes for thinking in this pulp of gray matter squashed into my coconut.)

vincentsiaw
02-09-2003, 06:37 AM
i always use the on screen keyboard, as my writting is to bad, trancriber can't recognize most of my writting :cry:

hiroProtagonist
02-09-2003, 08:50 AM
I'm probably using 70% fitaly and 30% CalliGrapher right now (actually I'm using a keyboard RIGHT NOW :roll: ) I really like calligrapher for editing, 'cause I can do so much with penCommander, I just write a "C" and circle it and viola (or as I saw it last week "walla") I just copied, now "V"_circle...paste...very cool 8).

Actually I've found that if I start at the today screen, activate calligrapher by tapping the icon in the lower right corner, launch whatever app I'm gonna use, and then switch to fitaly, I can type with fitaly but cgr is still running in the background. I can switch back and forth either writing or tapping the keyboard. It's not perfect 'cause you can "slide" for capitals and it's a little more time consuming to highlight and drag sliders, but I can use pencommander. :P

An interesting thing I noticed about cgr is that it recognizes cursive much better than print (bummer for me since I stopped writing cursive in about 6th grade) I suppose that this is bucause it is forced to recognize the entire word rather than interpret a bunch of individual cryptic (in my case) letters. So I'm kinda retraining myself to write cursive, but I soon loose patience and...up comes fitaly.

[edit] I just thought of something else cool about pencommander. It lets you copy and paste anywhere (well anywhere I've tried), so even if there
s no edit menu to access 'cut', or 'copy', if you have those commands in pc, they'll work..

Rirath
02-09-2003, 02:45 PM
Almost always on-screen keyboard. Despite my best efforts, Trans/Call won't read my handwriting. :x
And Ekkie, you make a good point abuot the learning curve. Very true.

aris-www.todopocketpc.com
02-09-2003, 04:13 PM
Iīm using the NanoPad, as time goes by I like more and more.
I have used most of them and I think that is probably the best one, and is cheap.
Soon I am going to do a new review about it in www.todopocketpc.com but donīt tell anybody please :wink:
Itīs a secret.
here (http://www.outofnoware.freeservers.com/nanopad/pocketpcnanopad.htm) you can download de nanopad (1,500 characters trial)
Regards,
aris
p.s. Sorry about my English :?

WindWalker
02-09-2003, 04:25 PM
Considering my long time Palm usage, I continure to use Block Recognizer, since I can do that faster than anything else at this time.

I tried to use the Fitaly keyboard for a while, but I needed to get the input speed back. Maybe I'll try it again one day, but for now, I'll keep using BR.

Underwater Mike
02-09-2003, 09:29 PM
Three years after abandoning Palm for PPC, I still find that the Graffiti-style block recognizer is fastest and most accurate for me. (BTW, that option is missing form your poll, since Block Recognizer and Letter Recognizer are two different SIPs.)

For anything more than a couple lines of text, though, I pull out a keyboard. 8)

BTW, I come from the Land of the Palms and I use Letter Recognizer. I find I get better results if I look at the screen only after I have finished writing. :?

Janak Parekh
02-09-2003, 09:41 PM
Cortex, I don't think your female sample size will be big enough to draw conclusions there. :(

It was an interesting thought, though...

--janak

pocketpcdude1024
02-09-2003, 11:12 PM
Three years after abandoning Palm for PPC, I still find that the Graffiti-style block recognizer is fastest and most accurate for me. (BTW, that option is missing form your poll, since Block Recognizer and Letter Recognizer are two different SIPs.)

For anything more than a couple lines of text, though, I pull out a keyboard. 8)

BTW, I come from the Land of the Palms and I use Letter Recognizer. I find I get better results if I look at the screen only after I have finished writing. :?

Quite right! I will change my post to reflect that I use "Block" recognizer! :D

topps
02-10-2003, 08:49 AM
Considering my long time Palm usage, I continure to use Block Recognizer, since I can do that faster than anything else at this time.

I tried to use the Fitaly keyboard for a while, but I needed to get the input speed back. Maybe I'll try it again one day, but for now, I'll keep using BR.

Go back to Fitaly and spend a bit more time with it...it'll pay off in spades.

Especially now with version 3 - sliding and shortcuts greatly speed up the entry of repeated phrases and mixed case text. And that pen-centric layout really works. Occasionally when I have to use Qwerty on someone else's machine, it is striking how much more I have to move the pen around.

Speed testing on our user group has shown speeds that are generally twice as fast as Graffiti, after a little practice.

Can't say enough good things about it. (No, I don't work for them)

spursdude
02-11-2003, 01:52 AM
Nearly 100% on Transcriber. It's got a tough learning curve to learn how to please your Transcriber, but it's worth it. :D

Weyoun6
02-11-2003, 02:25 AM
I use Fitaly. I used to use Block Recognizer, but it doenst work very well on my jornada. Screen is not sensitve enough. I hope to get my wpm up to my old grafitti levels, but me thinks that will be awhile. I do not understand the attraction to transcriber, since you can't type very fast.

Sparkomatic
02-11-2003, 05:07 AM
I used to use Fitaly alot when I had a Palm and I loved it. It was my absolute favorite. I like grafffiti but Fitaly was better.

For some reason I just can't get into using it again on my PPC. I always fall back to Letter Recognizer.

kellys26
02-11-2003, 04:51 PM
I have a newbie question. What the heck is Fitaly? Can someone post a link?
I use Transcriber. I was using Calligrapher until yesterday, and haven't decided if I want to buy it or not. I'm going to give Transcriber another chance.
It does recognize my writing only about 75% of the time. I loved Calligraphers pop-up keyboard to fix all the typo's. I may end up buying it just for that.
KellyS

RickP in AZ
02-11-2003, 04:58 PM
I have a newbie question. What the heck is Fitaly? Can someone post a link?

http://www.textware.com/wince/pocketpcfitaly.htm

There is a 30 day trail period for a reason, it takes a while to really learn the layout. But the time is well worth it as I am now faster with Fitaly than with any other character based input. But as I stated above, my brain seems to run faster with the handwriting recognition of Transcriber/Calligrapher.

targetdrone
02-22-2003, 01:34 PM
Thanks to this thread, I gave the jot character recognizer a try... and I liked it! I will have to do a throughput test to see which is more effecient for me.

Crystal Eitle
03-06-2003, 06:19 PM
Whoa! I had no idea there were so few ladies here.

My preferred "fancy schmancy" method of text input is Quikwriting (http://www.mrl.nyu.edu/projects/quikwriting/). It's a little difficult to use at first, but once you "get it," it's a lot of fun. It has the feel of cursive, but IMO is much more accurate than Transcriber. I can even use it on the bus! (My handwriting is too shaky on the bus for Transcriber to recognize.) Once you install it, it's integrated into the input options (along with your standard keyboard, etc.), and it's FREE!

xendula
03-06-2003, 08:59 PM
While I definitely know one or two female geeks who'll go toe-to-toe with me, most of my female friends have very little tolerance for any learning curve associated with technology. I think most all the input methods available have a learning curve involved except for the on-screen keyboard itself.

ekkie ekkie ekkie. 8O I think that sometimes there IS a need to learn, and sometimes there simply isn't. Why learn a new way to write, if the thing can already read my writing?????!!
I use letter recognizer, and I actually have a horribly messy writing. That's how good it is. Would rather use Transcriber, but it won't recognize the special German characters.

Job
03-08-2003, 05:58 AM
For the record, I had a Palm previous to this, so I am quite comfortable with Graffiti. BTW, it seems this conversation has occured at least once in the past (on this website), but I see that there are all new people involved in this one.

Brad Adrian
03-08-2003, 06:32 AM
...I loved Calligraphers pop-up keyboard to fix all the typo's. I may end up buying it just for that...
If you haven't given the Pen Commander options in Calligrapher a try yet, I think that'll sway you entirely toward Calligrapher. It allows you to create great little macros for text entry. For example, if I write the letter "e" and draw a quick circle around it, Calligrapher types my entire e-mail address.

dotcomguy
03-09-2003, 05:23 AM
Nearly 100% on Transcriber. It's got a tough learning curve to learn how to please your Transcriber, but it's worth it. :D
I definitely agree. Ever since I experimented with it I haven't gone back to block recognizer. It's great!! :D

Ekkie Tepsupornchai
03-09-2003, 02:12 PM
While I definitely know one or two female geeks who'll go toe-to-toe with me, most of my female friends have very little tolerance for any learning curve associated with technology. I think most all the input methods available have a learning curve involved except for the on-screen keyboard itself.

ekkie ekkie ekkie. 8O I think that sometimes there IS a need to learn, and sometimes there simply isn't. Why learn a new way to write, if the thing can already read my writing?????!!
I use letter recognizer, and I actually have a horribly messy writing. That's how good it is. Would rather use Transcriber, but it won't recognize the special German characters.
Not sure what you're point is or what point you're trying to refute on my post. We all have different input requirements. I use FITALY which probably has the highest learning curve of most all input methods... but i use it I do take notes and occasionally write up documents on my PPC and the 40wpm speed is hard to beat.

Letter recognizer would be too slow for me but it works fine for others and I do know many who never grew comfortable with the letter recognizer and opt for the keyboard or transcriber.

My only point above was that all input methods require some learning except for maybe the on-screen keyboard.

xendula
03-09-2003, 03:17 PM
ekkie: I actually meant your opinion on females and the learning curve, but I just realized it wasn't even a general comment, so never mind.
Please disregard my last post.

Ekkie Tepsupornchai
03-09-2003, 04:11 PM
ekkie: I actually meant your opinion on females and the learning curve, but I just realized it wasn't even a general comment, so never mind.
Please disregard my last post.
Yeah, I can see how that can be misconstrued.

I was only commenting on my personal experiences and it wasn't meant as any kind of generalization.

Crystal Eitle
03-10-2003, 06:08 AM
Update: I'm giving up on Quikwriting. It's elegant and aesthetically satisfying, but it's also very slooow. I'm thinking I may give Fitaly a try.

rave
03-13-2003, 06:27 AM
Right now, it's 100% Fitaly. The learning curve isn't as steep as it is hyped, at least for me. :)

Ekkie Tepsupornchai
03-13-2003, 10:31 AM
Right now, it's 100% Fitaly. The learning curve isn't as steep as it is hyped, at least for me. :)
I'm all about Fitaly as well. I'd say one can lessen the learning curve if they completely devote themselves to just learning it over a day or two.

I don't think Fitaly comes as quickly to those who just try to "casually" learn it. It's too different of an input method to learn in that manner.

TheNewSteve
03-13-2003, 11:23 AM
I use letter recognizer and have a really fast input speed. i used to type (on a real keyboard) for a living 40 hours a week, and i'm still pretty fast, but with letter recognizer i can get about 80% speed and take all my notes in real time in classes.

much more accurate than transcriber (or calligrapher) and faster, IMHO. there are little tricks to better success with it as well. type everything in lowercase, i is always upstroke, L is always just a downstroke, you don't have to make dots, "T" is just right then down, to make a space after an i or L, make the space in the uppercase window if you're typing in the lowercase window and vice versa, or it might turn it into a T instead if you're going really fast. also you can set the completed word option to 5 guesses instead of just one. word completion can really speed you up.

-Steve

aris-www.todopocketpc.com
03-18-2003, 09:57 AM
Hi:
I donīt know if you know this input method "nanopad", you cand find here http://www.todopocketpc.com/analisis_ver_soft.asp?id_articulo=42 a review.
It is done in Spanish 8O sorry about that but is for a Spanish Web :wink:
Itīs clear, there is a vidoclip (avi) and you can use a webīs translator. f.i.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/ and also I will be here for the FAQīs :P
Regards,
aris

Geekess
03-23-2005, 11:52 AM
I must say I have tried a _lot_ of input methods and I'm still learning/discovering more.

Calligrapher is absolutely my favorite... but I've stopped using it because it scratches my screenprotector horribly. Well, not the program obviously, but my writing with it. Maybe it's the same problem I have with fountainpens: the tips tend to meld (= sharpen) under my writing stress ;-)
So... no more Calligrapher (or transcriber or letter recognizer). Then what?

I've tried Fitaly. Lovely! After the trial period I'll decide whether I'll buy it.
Major con is the learning curve. Not because I'm a girl ;-) but because I quite often have to write looooong reports. Typing or handwriting is much easier on my hands. I really believe Fitaly can be very fast, with some practice, but at the moment, I need something that's fast _now_.

SpeedScript. Fantastic. The idea of fast alternating vowels/consonants is just brilliant. But the price is very high. They have told me a dutch version with a price reduction is on the way, so I'll just wait :)

Enter the world of Fullscreen Keyboards.
Yesterday I've started trying SPB Fullscreen Keyboard. The concept is interesting, the typingspeed I can reach amazing. If only I could find a DVORAK layout...

Today I've discoverd Typango and I'm going to try that too. It's supposed to be faster and with better (bigger) keys. Still, no DVORAK layout, but maybe I'll spend some time creating one.

Sven Johannsen
03-23-2005, 04:01 PM
For me it's Calligrapher, but I often pop up the keyboard it includes. The poll results this far are causing me a bit of concern in another area though. Where is the next generation of geeks going to come from? Certainly there are more Gals out there than are responding here, but not many that the Guys who are responding to 'what input method do you use' polls are going to be dating :D

Jon Westfall
03-23-2005, 04:19 PM
Wow, here's a thread I didn't think would pop up! I'm usually using the on-screen keyboard or built-on keyboard, although I do use Calligrapher when I want to feel fancy.

discordian
03-23-2005, 04:41 PM
I switch between whatever my mood happens to be in.
It's pretty even between the on screen keyboard and letter recognizer and depends on the application.

oh - and I'm a guy.

drop
03-23-2005, 05:10 PM
I am a dudette and use Calligrapher nowadays.

I used Graffiti in my Handspring days. "What? Like its hard?" <in the most Legally Blonde voice>

Use Block Recognizer for a while but moved to Transcriber soon. If one has to use Transcriber, Calligrapher is the best. PenCommander rules!

Ekkie Tepsupornchai
03-23-2005, 05:54 PM
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a 2-year old thread get revived like this! It's so old, I don't recall writing the response that appears earlier in this page. Well, after 2 years, it's still all about FITALY for me. Handwriting is easier and more convenient, but for me, tapping a letter will always be faster than handwriting it.

I would like a thumbpad for those times that tapping is not practical (anyplace where there's a lot of vibration or movement, such as a airplane, train, etc.). But I'm waiting for the all elusive BT thumbpad. I recall one recently, but it was as big as a house!

dochall
03-23-2005, 09:35 PM
At the moment mostly Fitaly with Calligrapher less frequently.

Will for pure text I find Calligrapher fairly good I have problems with Calligrapher when selecting drop down boxes in a complex form like a PI appointment or selecting timeslots in the time picker in PI. Am I doing something wrong? Maybe I should read the manual.

I'm surprised the number of people using on screen keyboards. I find them to be a complete PIA. The only time I use one if for passwords and then only if risking being locked out.

I have had a look at quickwriting (which just looks weird and complex) and speedscript as a result of this thread. Speedscript looks interesting and I have download the trial. The whole vowel/consanant thing looks like it could fitaly a run for it's money.

humayunl
03-24-2005, 10:19 AM
I'm surprised out of so many people, no one has used or at least mentioned Decuma. Decuma OnSpot is (was) my favourite input method. Unfortunately they do not yet support WM2003SE so when i upgraded my OS to SE from simple wm2003 i had to stop using it.

you can check it out at www.decuma.com if you have a device running the non SE WM2003.

Apparently they are working on a SE version (I got mail toay from their support) and i'm anxiously awiating its release.

SarahMN
03-24-2005, 06:20 PM
I use Letter Recognizer withouts problems. I have never even felt the need to use something to enhance this form of input. It surprises me how many people are using some other program. My husband prefers the keyboard form of input by stylus or on his 6600. I personally have never understood why most men have horrible handwriting. I can't even bear to read a grocery list my husabnd has made. :)

zilla31
03-24-2005, 06:48 PM
wordlogic is pretty money too... they are coming out w/ a VGA version shortly. highlighting the "logical" next characters in green and red is brilliant - you don't notice it working but really helps your brain. a learning dictionary for suggested words is a must... does FITALY have that? i may give it another try (need something VGA).

Jeff Rutledge
03-25-2005, 03:26 AM
I'm surprised how reliant I've become on FITALY. If I try to use another input method, I slow WAY down.

Darius Wey
03-25-2005, 03:36 AM
I usually chop and change between the on-screen keyboard, Fitaly and Letter Recognizer. Funnily enough, I type the fastest on the on-screen keyboard - even faster than some of my friends on a normal computer keyboard. :|

TopDog
03-25-2005, 11:29 AM
I'm most definitely a guy :lol: and I find myself using more and more the Phone Pad (one hand, T9-keyboard) as it's called on my Qtek s100.

AprilRyan
03-27-2005, 01:27 AM
i'm a gal.

before, when i used a palm IIIxe, i used the handwriting feature a lot (can't remember what it's called, darn).

i now have an xda mini, and i use the keyboard a lot. for text messaging or sms, i also use the phone pad feature, which simulates a regular phone pad (i.e. tap the key 'abc' twice, to get the letter b).

F_B_i
03-28-2005, 01:18 AM
I'm a big fan of TenGO (predictive, 6 button, t9 alike) first of all, you can create your own dictionaries for this input method, also it's good that you don't require to be as precise when it comes to hitting the buttons.

I highly recommend this one :)

Phillip Dyson
04-18-2005, 02:48 PM
I use Calligrapher a lot. But when it gets frustrating (or wont start) I switch to Letter Recognizer.

When doing masked fields like passwords, I switch to keyboard.

With Vito Task Switcher I'm really getting into this one-handed thing. I may try out SPB Full screen keyboard.