* Sean Cross <scross_at_familycross.com> [24 Jan 2003 15:09]:
> I am a college student, and I intend to use my new Newton as a notetaking
> device, in addition to a PDA. I had a few questions, though.
Good choice... I took all my class notes on my newton for about 3 years,
and boggled my classmates when I could look up notes for the previous
year on a whim :-) (came in very handy in design class...)
If your class has a specialized vocabulary, you may want to spend the
first week writing notes in "ink text" (which isn't translated to typing
immediately) then after class going over it and translating it word by
word, correcting as you go. This teaches the newton the words you're
using, because if the newton doesn't know the word, it'll get it
horribly wrong. This way, you have time to correct it immediately,
which you probably won't in class. Once it knows most of the
vocabulary, you can start taking notes in regular "text" mode, and it'll
get almost everything right, and the one or two new terms it gets wrong,
you can correct as you go.
I found that the majority of the mistakes the newt made - few as they
were - were either terms that it had never seen before, or me writing
the word wrong (dropping letters, pausing in the middle, adding extra
letters...)
> First, what is the best notetaking/outlining program, if one exists? I tend
> to take paper notes in outline form, but I would be open to alternatives when
> using the Newton.
I just used plain notes. Well, I installed BigNotes, which lets you
have much bigger notes. Rather useful when you have lots of equations.
The notes don't actually increase to infinite size, however; if they get
too big, the newt starts feeling *really* sluggish, and starting a new
note makes it go back to normal. I averaged 4-5 notes per 1 hour class,
starting a new one whenever a new sub-topic was started. It made
overview mode much more useful, too.
And a tip: to start a new note, you don't have to go down to the "new"
menu, just draw a horizontal line from edge to edge.
> Additionally, do programs exist to allow the notetaking of calculus symbols,
> such as the integral, sigma, or exponential glyphs?
I used sketch mode for equations, and shapes mode, sketch mode, and text
mode combined for some diagrams.
-Rhonda
-- www.write-on.indy || write-on.homeip.net \/ http://history.ubcengineers.ca/ Discuss the art and craft of writing /\ UBC Engineers History Project That's the problem with world domination. Nobody is willing to wait for it anymore, work slowly towards it, drink more and enjoy the ride more.-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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