On 14/11/01 9:08 AM, "Laurent Domenech" <laurent_at_opalis.com> wrote:
>=20
>>> Hey guys! Check out the new tablet PC from Microsoft...!
>>> http://www.msnbc.com/news/656252.asp
>=20
> Maybe it's time to start an open-source clone of the Newton interface tha=
t
> runs on Linux. A tablet PC will be easily hacked and would be the perfect
> evolution for the Newt. I wonder what would be the easiest way to start
> this. Also would Apple allow a duplicate of the Newton interface?
>=20
> Just thinking out loudly,
> Laurent
Well, if this description, taken from the article, is accurate it's hard to
take it seriously:
> The Tablet PC is a pen-driven, fully functional computer that converts pe=
n
> strokes into graphics that can be handled in ways similar to ordinary com=
puter
> type. Although the computer doesn=B9t recognize specific words, it distingu=
ishes
> between words and pictures. It also lets people perform some word
> processing-like tasks, such as inserting space between lines, copying tex=
t or
> boldfacing pen strokes.
In my book there's more to handwriting recognition (HWR) than saying "Yup,
that's handwriting alright!"!!! Surely this is just another example of a
journalist dazed and confused by the fallout from Bill's radiant
personality...
But Laurent's idea is a good one. What's great about the Newton is not so
much the physical object and the software that it runs (though, believe me,
I'm very fond of it) but the ideas underlying it. An excellent example was
in a post a couple of days ago when someone pointed out that another machin=
e
had finally got around to decent HWR, giving accurate renditions, but had
got the ergonomics all wrong -- handwritten image disappears on translation
making correction of inaccuracies difficult/impossible. It's hard to believ=
e
that anyone could make a mistake so crass when NOS got it very right 5-8
years ago.
These ideas must be portable. Moreover, there's no copyright in ideas (or a=
t
least there wasn't until the US patent office started getting all creative)
so much of what we'd want is outside Apple's control.
Best
J
John Whitehead=20
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